The goals of swallowing therapy are to reduce food and or liquids from going down the air pipe, make it easier to eat and swallow, and help your child get the nutrition he/she needs to stay healthy. Sometimes young children have problems graduating from the bottle to foods. Or the foods they eat are limited to only a few things.
Lessac Madsen Resonant Voice Treatment program is perfect for children with a hoarse vocal quality. It is a step-by-step program perfect used to teach youngsters how to use their voice without having to strain.
Think of pragmatics as using words to “get what you want.” Some children (particularly the autistic population) have a hard time verbally manipulating others, in a nice way, to get what they want. There are rules for using our words. Children with a pragmatic language disorder need help with learning the rules.
Auditory Processing is making sense of what you hear. Sometimes children don’t know how to listen or can only pay attention for short periods of time. Our therapists, in conjunction with audiology, can test your child’s listening skills and then come up with a treatment plan to improve the “processing” of auditory information.
Articulation/Phonology Therapy focuses on teaching the tongue, lips and jaw to move in a precise fashion when making speech sounds. Sometimes children substitute, omit, and/or distort sounds. This can make their speech difficult to understand.
A doctor makes a small hole in the rear of your stoma leading to the esophagus. Once this puncture heals, a prosthesis is fitted and inserted into the opening. To speak, you occlude (cover) the stoma with your thumb or finger and simply force air through the prosthesis into the esophagus. This air movement vibrates the walls of the esophagus and you can create sounds and words
A flexible endoscope is a machine that consists of a long tube and a camera. During this examination the device is passed through one of your nasal passages to the back of the throat where passage of food and drink can be observed.
A modified barium swallow (MBS) is a special x-ray that allows the doctor, called a radiologist who specializes in using x-rays, to check problems and the Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) to identify why you have trouble swallowing.
Augmentative communication is an alternative way to help people with problems speaking. Devices such as computers or hand held devices can be ordered through your insurance company. Picture communication systems can also be made for those that can not operate a commuter.
When the upper airway is damaged or doesn’t allow enough air to pass through to the lungs, some individuals are provided with tracheostomy tubes via a surgical procedure. We are able to assist patients with reducing speech and swallowing issues related to the presence of the tracheostomy tube. Assistance may include fitting of a speaking