An extensive rehabilitation program focused on addressing communication disorders impacting the quality of life
As part of Southwest General’s Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine Department, the Speech and Language Therapy Program is designed to help patients of all ages recover or improve speech, swallowing and cognitive function after illness, injury or surgery.
State-of-the-Art Speech, Cognitive and Swallowing Rehabilitation
The Speech Therapy Program at Southwest General acknowledges the profound effects communication and swallowing disorders can have on a patient’s social interaction, interpersonal relationships, independence and health.
To address these concerns, our skilled therapists and speech pathologists use the latest advances in treatment to achieve outcomes that will help a patient reach his or her full potential.
Comprehensive Therapy to Address a Variety of Conditions
Speech, language and swallowing disorders require specialized approaches to acquire or re-learn functions affected as a result of illness (including stroke), injury or developmental delay. The treatments we provide focus on:
- Communication retraining for aphasia, dysarthria, dysphonia or head/neck trauma
- Cognitive retraining
- Augmentative communication devices
- Trach weaning protocols/Passy–Muir speaking valves
- Swallow/dysphagia evaluation and treatment
- Instrumental swallow assessment (videofluoroscopy)
- Post-laryngectomy communication options
Treatment Focused on Individualized Therapy
Each patient presents a unique set of conditions that require a collaborative effort to help assure the best outcomes possible. For each patient, our speech pathologists and therapists include the following components to develop a program tailored to address their specific needs:
- Patient evaluation to determine the extent of their limitations
- Needs assessment to determine what treatments will work best
- A customized treatment plan that is expressly tailored to an individual’s needs
Committed to Successful Outcomes
To maximize the potential for successful outcomes, our program utilizes a multidisciplinary team that is well versed in providing services to address speech and cognitive processes. These include skills and expertise in the following areas:
- Apraxia of speech
- Auditory processing disorders
- Augmentative communication
- Autism spectrum disorder
- Down syndrome
- Early intervention
- Feeding and swallowing disorders
- Fluency disorders (stuttering)
- Hearing loss and deafness
- Orofacial myofunctional disorders
- Pediatric rehabilitation
- Resonance
- Voice
For our pediatric patients, early intervention is essential to success. In most cases, our speech-language pathologists are able to determine what problems a child will “grow out of” and what problems will require treatment.