Speech-Language and Cognitive Therapy
Have you had a stroke and are experiencing difficulty with any of the following:
- finding words or getting words out when speaking
- putting words together to make phrases and sentences
- pronouncing your words because the muscles in your face, tongue, and lips are weak
- being able to perform the motor-planning necessary for producing speech
- with the rhythm of speech
- understanding what others are saying
- with your reading ability or understanding what you read
- understanding television shows
- writing
Have you had a traumatic brain injury or a stroke on the right side of the brain or have multiple sclerosis and are experiencing difficulty with any of the following:
- paying attention or maintaining attention
- remembering the day, date, month, year or time
- remembering appointments and important dates
- remembering where you put things
- remembering how to get from one place to another
- with short-term memory
- learning and remembering new information
- organizing thoughts
- organizing tasks in the home and sequencing the steps to complete tasks
- switching from one task to another
- staying on a topic in conversation
- taking turns with others in conversation
- problem solving
- with impulse control
You may have been told you have one, all, or any combination of the acquired speech-language impairments below:
Aphasia- an acquired communicative impairment that may affect the ability to understand others, speak, read and/or write.
Dysarthria- a general term to describe several motor speech disorders caused by muscle weakness, paralysis, slowness, dyscoordination or sensory loss. Dysarthria may produce “slurred speech”.
Apraxia- a disturbance of speech resulting from impairment of the ability to program commands for the positioning and movement of muscles for the voluntary production of speech in the absence of muscle weakness.
You may have been told you you have something called, “Cognitive-Linguistic” or “Cognitive” deficits.
Cognitive-linguistic deficits may include experiencing difficulty with:
- attention
- memory
- visuo-spatial skills
- executive function (cognitive abilities that control and regulate other abilities and behaviors, including the ability to initiate and stop actions, to monitor and change behavior appropriately, and to plan future behavior when faced with novel tasks and situations. Executive functions allow us to anticipate outcomes and adapt to changing situations)
- social interaction
- problem solving skills
- awareness/insight/judgment
What are outpatient adult speech-language pathology services?
Outpatient adult speech-language pathology services include the evaluation and treatment of the deficits and difficulties noted above. Services are provided by or under the supervision of a Certified Speech-Language Pathologist. Patients must be referred for Outpatient Adult Speech-Language Pathology Services by their doctor. Patients may be referred for Outpatient Adult Speech-Language Pathology Services following a hospital stay or after a visit to their physician.
The goal of Outpatient Adult Speech-Language Pathology Services is to provide the patient with skills necessary to communicate effectively in his or her environment. Work re-entry may serve as another goal of Outpatient Speech-Language Pathology Services.
Program Focus:
- improvement in overall ability to speak and understand spoken language
- improvement of memory and other cognitive-linguistic areas via direct treatment and via the use of compensatory strategies which are meaningful, functional and appropriate to each patient.
- patient focused treatment is established with the patient and his or her family/caregivers
Our commitment is to help you develop skills necessary to optimize communicative functioning in your environment.