Speech Therapy

Speech therapy can help those with MS who are having difficulty speaking, to communicate better and to break down the barriers that result from communication impairments.  Speech therapy can also help if you are having trouble forming sentences or are having difficulty understanding what someone is saying to you.  This type of disorder can be a result of your MS and is called expressive and receptive aphasia. The goals of speech therapy include improving pronunciation and strengthening the oral muscles.  Our speech therapists are MS certified specialists and will help you develop strategies to improve your ability to communicate with others as well as understand what they are saying to you.

Speech therapy can be used for a lot of different impairments and disorders. Communication disorders resulting from your MS, can affect your ability to speak, to name objects and build complete sentences. This can have a profound effect on your quality of life and overall independence.

Oral Dysphagia is when a person has difficulty preparing and manipulating food/liquids in preparation for swallowing due to reduced tongue, lip or palate ROM and weakness. Pharyngeal Dysphagia is when a person has difficulty swallowing food or liquid through the pharynx leading to residual food and /or aspiration of the food/liquid. Aspiration is when food/liquid has entered the airway (trachea) and continues on to enter the lungs either before, during or after the initiation of a swallow. This can lead to aspiration pneumonia. Our Speech Language Pathologists  conduct an in depth swallow evaluation and determine the least restrictive diet. They will also determine if therapy and additional testing is indicated.  Following an evaluation by the SLP, a treatment plan will be developed. This plan may include diet modifications for solids, thickening liquids, oral, laryngeal, and pharyngeal exercises, and various swallow strategies.

Our speech therapists who are MS certified specialists will provide you with:

• Immediate feedback and education on where your speech or aphasic deficits are and the best course of initial treatment.
• Educate on the most effective way to improve your overall communication.
• A plan of care that identifies the specific deficits which can lead to larger impairments.
• Constant visual assessment and subjective feedback to determine the effectiveness of your plan of care as is relates to your communication.
• Exercises that you will perform with our specialists.
• Perception exercises to differentiate between individual sounds and syllables.
• Exercises to produce certain sounds and improve the fluency of your speech.
• Exercises to improve breathing, swallowing and your voice.
• Help with communication and if necessary, use of communication boards and computer-assisted speech.
• Education for people who need speech therapy, their family and other loved ones.
• Support in implementing these measures in everyday life.