This is the scenario I get almost every time I tell someone what I do for a living. I find from personal experience that the average person doesn’t think of a speech-language pathologist (SLP) as working outside of schools. But I’m here to tell you there is so much more to speech pathology.

Yes, we can help a young child that stutters, but SLPs can also help someone relearn to speak after having a stroke. SLPs can help someone swallow safely after head and neck cancer. SLPs can help someone rehabilitate their cognitive skills so they can go back to work after a traumatic brain injury.

The scope of practice of a speech-language pathologist is vast.

Here’s what we can do for adults!

Types of Patients we are involved in at Royal

There are various reasons adults may see a speech pathologist. Some of the most common diagnoses include:

• Stroke
• Traumatic brain injury
• Concussions
• Brain tumors
• Encephalopathy

• ALS
• Parkinson’s disease
• Dementia
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Head and neck cancer

SPEECH & LANGUAGE

There are three different disorders that fall under the speech & language category. The most common being aphasia. Aphasia is a loss of language caused by a brain injury, whether that be a stroke, TBI, or tumor. Aphasia can affect any domain of language. There are four language domains – speaking, understanding, reading, and writing.

Apraxia is a speech disorder that makes it difficult to coordinate and sequence sounds in words. This is caused by a disruption from the brain to the muscles of the mouth. In the case of apraxia, there is most often no actual weakness of the muscles related to the mouth.

Dysarthria is a speech disorder that results in slurred speech. This impairment is due to weakness of the muscles of the mouth or possibly those used for breathing.

COGNITION

There are six domains of cognition and any or all of them can be impaired. These include attention, memory, executive function, language, visuospatial, and social cognition.

Cognitive therapy is different from person to person depending upon the goals of the client. For example, a college athlete with a concussion is going to have many different goals than an older adult with dementia.

SWALLOWING

Did you know that an SLP can help you relearn to swallow? Dysphagia is a disorder of swallowing. There are various causes of dysphagia that may present with a variety of symptoms. SLPs are skilled in diagnosing, compensating, and rehabilitating the swallowing mechanism to safely eat and drink.

Our Role at Royal Hospital

1.      Providing individual assessments of patients to develop plans for their therapeutic journey.

2.      Therapy that is relevant and encompasses the total patient and their communication and feeding skills allowing them to be more funstional within their home environment.

3.      Intergrating communication and nutritionals skills into daily lives to ensure patients are discharged with the skills they require to empower them within their homes.

How do we achieve this :

1.      Individual therapy

2.      Group work

·         Baking

·         Cooking

·         Spa Days

·         Movies

·         Arts and crafts

·         Bingo

·         Education and support

·         Holiday Groups

Celebrating Calendar days