Case Scenarios
To help with cognitive-communication and swallowing disorders
to increase life participation and improve quality of life.
What Does Speech Therapy Look Like?
Cognitive Communication Therapy
Eva is a 65-year-old female who experienced a Traumatic Brain Injury after being involved in a motor vehicle accident. Eva is experiencing cognitive deficits that prevent her from remembering her appointments, paying her bills, and having meaningful conversations with others because she is unable to maintain attention to topics for longer periods of time. Eva’s husband is currently handling all of her appointments and finances. Eva really wants to improve her memory and attention so she can be more independent and manage her own schedule. She is starting speech therapy to learn strategies to implement systems that can help her meet her goal of becoming more independent. In her first session, she learns about the strategies she can use at home.. In the following session, Eva shares how these new strategies are helping to improve her daily life.
Voice Therapy
Mr. G is a 75-year-old male with Parkinson’s disease. Mr. G has a very low-volume voice and others have difficulty understanding him. He is participating in SPEAK OUT!® program. The program consists of 12 therapy sessions across 4 weeks. During each session, Mr. G is trained to complete speech activities. He uses a SPEAK OUT!® workbook with vocal exercises, readings, and cognitive tasks. Mr. G also practices these exercises once a day at home. Once Mr. G completes his 12th session, he will join the Loud Crowd!, a group of Speak Out! graduates meeting weekly to practice speaking with intent.
Swallowing Therapy
Trina is a 78-year-old female who recently had a stroke. Trina is experiencing swallowing difficulties. She has been diagnosed with pharyngeal dysphagia and is now on a puréed diet. Trina comes to therapy once a week to work on exercise-based swallowing therapy. Hers goal is to be able to eat more solid consistencies at Thanksgiving dinner. She practices her exercises at home every day. After completing her swallowing therapy program, Trina will undergo an instrumental swallow exam to assess progress and determine if it is safe to advance her diet.
Language Therapy
Adam is a 74-year-old male who had a stroke last month. Adam is experiencing difficulty speaking; he knows what he wants to say but is unable to articulate the correct word. Adam is learning about word-finding strategies, but his most important goal is to be able to maintain conversations with his wife. His wife Linda is part of each session as they work together to achieve improved communication as a part of a treatment approach called Conversational Coaching for Aphasia.
