Whether you are recovering from a stroke, have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, have suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI), or have another condition that is causing speech difficulties, speech therapy can give you the tools to improve your communication skills.
If you are struggling to speak as clearly as you used to, it can be both physically and emotionally exhausting. Speech therapy exercises can help recover your ability to form words properly and may even help with swallowing problems.
Speech therapy exercises are designed to strengthen your muscles, improve coordination, and help you gain control over your movement. For example, if your tongue feels too heavy for you to use it for speaking, this could actually be caused by weak muscles in the jaw. By doing exercises that strengthen these muscles, you may find that your tongue is back to its old self in no time.
Speech therapy exercises help adults who have had a stroke, a head injury, or a learning disability that affects their speaking abilities. Speech therapy exercises are also a good way to maintain and practice speech skills if you have been diagnosed with progressive conditions, such as early onset dementia.
First, it’s important to understand what causes speech disorders. Speech is produced by the coordinated efforts of our vocal chords, tongue, lips, and more. When one piece of the puzzle is missing or not functioning properly, it can cause speech disorders.
A speech therapist will work with you to identify what type of disorder you have and create a personalized plan to help you overcome your symptoms. They may also recommend exercises that you can do on your own at home.
A speech therapist is a professional who assesses and treats children and adult patients with communication disorders. These professionals may work with patients who have difficulties producing sounds, have problems with their voice or have trouble with speech fluency (stuttering). Speech and language pathology is a challenging field as it requires the ability to develop and implement treatment plans that are tailored to each patient’s needs.
The role of speech therapists in rehabilitation is quite important. In fact, they play an indispensable role in the process of recovery from injuries involving the brain and other parts of the nervous system. Speech therapy may be prescribed when a person has suffered a stroke, head injury or brain surgery, has Parkinson’s disease or multiple sclerosis or has developed problems after being on a ventilator for an extended period of time. Patients with cerebral palsy, cleft palate and autism also benefit from speech therapy.
Speech therapy may also be used to treat people who cannot speak because of vocal cord damage, vocal cord paralysis or throat cancer. This type of therapy can help people regain their ability to speak after suffering from these types of conditions.
Speech therapy exercises for adults can help with a range of language and speech disorders. Some people have problems with the mechanics of speech, like word-finding or articulation. Others struggle with stuttering, or may need to retrain their voice after surgery. As an adult, you may also have difficulty expressing yourself due to cognitive impairment following a stroke or other brain injury.
Whatever your reason for needing speech therapy, there are plenty of exercises you can do at home to help improve your speaking skills. If you have concerns about your speech, talk to a professional therapist who can give you a personalized assessment and treatment plan.
Although many people think of speech therapy as being only for children, it can be a highly effective therapy for adults, too. Adults can benefit from speech therapy to improve their overall communication abilities and to also address any issues with swallowing. They may also need assistance with overcoming an accent or improving their pronunciation of certain words.