SWR Blog

Auditory Processing Disorder (APD), also known as Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD), is a complex problem affecting approximately 5% of school-aged children. Children with Auditory Processing Disorder have difficulty processing the information they hear in the same way as others because their ears and brain don’t fully coordinate. Children with auditory processing difficulty typically have normal hearing and intelligence. Children with APD often do not recognize subtle differences between sounds in words, even when the sounds are loud and clear enough to be heard. They may also have difficulty paying attention and remembering information presented verbally, trouble following multiple-step directions, need [...]

Bell’s Palsy, an irritation to the seventh cranial nerve, affects thirty to forty thousand Americans each year. Unilateral weakness or paralysis of the facial muscles is not completely understood, but thought to be due to reactivation of HSV herpes virus. Symptoms, which usually manifest and peak within two to three days, may include difficulty blinking, speaking, eating and drinking as well as sensitivity to sound, diminished taste, pain behind ear, and problems with salivation. While medications are usually introduced to manage the inflammation and inhibit the effects of the virus, therapy is typically requested given the possibility that facial exercise [...]

Trismus has many names, such as “lock jaw”, Temporal-Mandibular Joint (TMJ), Temporal-Mandibular Joint Disorder (TMJD), limited mouth opening, and jaw hypomobility. Trismus comes from the Greek word “trismos”, which means a restriction of the jaw due to damage or fibrosis of the TMJ musculature. An inadequate opening of the jaw is classified as anything under 35-40 mm or the ability to fit less than the width of 3 fingers within the oral cavity. Trismus can cause difficulty with mastication, speech intelligibility, and quality of life secondary to reduced range of motion of the joint. Currently there is no consensus on [...]

Is your accent getting in the way of doing business?  Are you tired of hearing, “What did you say?” or “I didn’t understand you!”  When your first language is other than American English, many of the characteristics of your first language will carry over into the second.  While a few differences make your speech interesting, a substantial number of characteristics, such as a trilled /r/ or the substitution of the /v/ for /w/ will result in poor intelligibility. Accent Modification may be the answer.  With the advent of web-based therapies, pronunciation lessons can now be found on-line and completed in [...]

A Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) is a specialist who helps educate patients and their families about ways to minimize the effects of head and neck cancer and  provides treatment when speech and swallowing skills become impaired. Dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing, in one of the the major side effects of chemo and/or radiation treatment.  Including a SLP in the initial treatment planning stage helps prevent/reduce dysphagia and improves quality of life.  The biggest concern with dysphagia due to head and neck cancer is the increased of risk of aspiration.  Aspiration is when food or liquid goes into the airway.  This is often [...]

Slurred speech, also known as dysarthria, is a condition that results from impaired movement of the muscles used for speech production, including the lips, tongue, vocal folds, and/or diaphragm.  Common causes of dysarthria include such neurological disorders as a stroke, Parkinson, brain injury, tumor and conditions that cause facial paralysis (eg. Bells Palsy). When the muscles controlling the face are affected, symptoms may include slurring, speech that is too fast or slow, speaking softly, and impaired pitch and rhythm. Drooling may be present as well as decreased mouth movements. Sometimes therapy can treat the underlying cause of the condition.  With [...]

On Thursday, June 15th from 7:00 to 8:00 pm there will be a free presentation by Melody Sheldon, MA Speech Pathologist on “Auditory Integration Therapy” in the conference room at Southwest Rehabilitation at 2085 Inland Drive in North Bend, Oregon.   Melody Sheldon will be discussing the common problems associated with listening impairments and how to enhance auditory processing, language, learning, sensory processing and socialization.   “There is a difference between hearing and listening,” says Sheldon. “Hearing is the perception of sound and listening is making sense of what you hear.” According to Sheldon, some children have difficulty with processing [...]

Identifying a feeding problem is not easy. There is neither an accepted definition nor classification system.  What is accepted is the need for early recognition and treatment to prevent simple feeding problems from becoming pervasive or resistant to treatment.   Separating a feeding problem from a “picky eater” starts with talking with your pediatrician about your concerns.  It’s understandable that a parent may push their child to eat foods when they refuse.  If, on the other hand, your child prefers to drink rather than eat, won’t transition from purees to semi solids, coughs or gags, has difficulty moving food around [...]

Spaced-Retrieval (SR) is a memory intervention that gives individuals practice at successfully recalling information over progressively longer intervals of time. The ultimate goal is for the individual to retain important information for very long periods. Therapists can use Spaced-Retrieval (SR) to attain treatment goals by helping individuals to remember compensatory strategies such as using a schedule, swallowing safely, using a daily calendar, and/or using a piece of adaptive equipment.  There are two types of goals when applying the concept of Spaced-Retrieval (SR). One is fact retrieval and the other strategy learning. Fact retrieval is remembering names, locations, dates, or the [...]