How speech therapy can benefit all ages

Speech allows you to express yourself. So, when you fully or partially lose your ability to speak, it can be extremely frustrating. That’s where speech therapists, or speech-language pathologists (SLP), come in to help. 

Speech therapy involves the assessment and treatment of communication problems and speech disorders. It’s a great resource for patients of any age with speech-related issues. 

“Speech pathologists treat a wide variety of speech, voice, communication, cognitive and swallowing problems,” says Julie Devaney, a speech pathologist at Advocate Health Care. “They will evaluate the patient and then collaboratively work with them to develop an individualized plan of care to treat the areas of concern.”  

The reasons why children and adults might need speech therapy will vary. Speech, language, cognitive and swallowing issues can be the result of a stroke, brain injury, neurological disease, voice problem, developmental or learning disability, autism spectrum disorder and many other conditions.  

Benefits of speech therapy 

Utilizing speech therapy can help improve communication skills, which is essential to expressing thoughts and feelings, building relationships and helping people fully engage in the world around them. Other benefits include:  

• Improving language skills, such as understanding and finding words, reading, and writing 
• Helping you communicate with clear speech sounds and voicing 
• Helping you safely eat, drink and swallow 
• Improving memory and thinking skills  
• Improving social skills at school, work and in the community  

Your speech evaluation and therapy may include a variety of specialized assessments, treatment tools and supporting technologies. These can include:  

• Augmentative/alternative communication devices
• Computerized voice assessment 
• Videofluoroscopic swallow examination 
• Fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) 
• Videostroboscopic examination of the vocal cords  

“Our goal is to address speech, communication, cognitive and swallowing impairments,” says Devaney. “We’ll then work to improve our patients’ skills, confidence and quality of life.” 

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