Home About Writers Categories Recent Issues Subscribe Contact File Transfer





Dawn Easley
Dawn Easley is the admissions and marketing director for Sandpiper Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center. Dawn has been with Sandpiper Healthcare since 2002. She was born and raised in Wichita. She graduated from Wichita High School North and attended Butler County Community College. Dawn has a great passion for helping people in need. She is proud to be a part of the new face of Skilled Nursing and Long Term Care. Dawn can be reached at 316-945-3606. Sandpiper Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center is located at 5808 W. 8th Street Wichita 67212.
Family Health
2011-03-01 14:39:00
Rehab therapies for seniors - series (for the first parts in this series, refer to Dec. ‘10, Jan. ‘11 & Feb. ‘11 issues)
Question: What exactly are the rehab therapies available for seniors, and what does each entail?
Answer: Thus far in our series we have discussed physiotherapy and occupational therapy. This month, with the continued assistance from www.healthline.com, we were going to discuss speech therapy. In doing so, we will talk about some common speech and language disorders, their common causes and the therapy itself. The common speech and language disorders include: Aphasia Aphasia is loss of the ability to understand or express spoken or written language. It commonly occurs following strokes or traumatic brain injuries, or in people with brain tumors or degenerative diseases that affect the language areas of the brain. This term does not apply to children who have never developed communication skills. There are many different types of aphasia. In some cases of aphasia, the problem eventually corrects itself, but in others the condition is irreversible. Dysarthria In dysarthria, the person has ongoing difficulty expressing certain sounds or words. They have poorly pronounced speech (such as slurring) and the rhythm or speed of speech is changed. Usually, a nerve or brain disorder has made it difficult to control the larynx and vocal cords, which make speech. Dysarthria, which is a difficulty pronouncing words, is sometimes confused with aphasia, which is a difficulty producing language. They have different causes. People with dysarthria may also have problems swallowing. Voice Disturbances Anything that changes the shape of the vocal cords or the way they work will cause a voice disturbance. Lump-like growths such as nodules, polyps, cysts, papillomas, granulomas and cancers can be to blame. These changes cause the voice to sound different from the way it normally sounds. Dysphonia is another type of speech impairment. The excessive activity of the vocal cord muscles drives the vocal cords either too close or too far apart. This causes a hoarse or grating sounding voice, often with pauses (known as adductor dysphonia) or a whispery, breathy voice (abductor dysphonia), which is less common. Common Causes Some of these disorders develop gradually, but anyone can develop a speech and language impairment suddenly, usually in a trauma. Aphasia • Alzheimer’s disease • Brain tumor (more common in aphasia than dysarthria) • Dementia • Head trauma • Stroke • Transient ischemic attack (TIA) Dysarthria • Alcohol intoxication • Dementia • Diseases that affect nerves and muscles (neuromuscular diseases), such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease), cerebral palsy, myasthenia gravis, or multiple sclerosis (MS) • Facial trauma • Facial weakness, such as Bell’s palsy or tongue weakness • Head trauma • Head and neck cancer surgery • Nervous system (neurological) disorders that affect the brain, such as Parkinson’s disease or • Huntington’s disease (more common in dysarthria than aphasia) • Poorly fitting dentures • Side effects of medications that act on the central nervous system, such as narcotics, phenytoin, or carbamazepine • Stroke • Transient ischemic attack (TIA) Voice Disturbances • Growths or nodules on the vocal cords • People who use their voice heavily (teachers, coaches, vocal performers) are more likely to develop voice disorders. Speech Therapy Speech therapy helps the patient correct speech disorders or restore speech. Speech therapy may be prescribed to rehabilitate a patient after a brain injury, cancer, neuromuscular diseases, stroke, and other injuries/illnesses. The duration of the speech therapy program varies depending on the injury/illness being treated and the patient’s response to therapy. Performed by a speech pathologist, speech therapy involves regular meetings with the therapist in an individual or group setting and home exercises. To strengthen muscles, the patient might be asked to say words, smile, close his mouth, or stick out his tongue. Picture cards may be used to help the patient remember everyday objects and increase his vocabulary. The patient might use picture boards of everyday activities or objects to communicate with others. Workbooks might be used to help the patient recall the names of objects and practice reading, writing, and listening. Computer programs are available to help sharpen speech, reading, recall, and listening skills.
 
The Q & A Times Journal accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs.Materials will not be returned unless accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Thank you.
 
Wildcard SSL Certificates