Learn How Speech Therapy Can Help Treat a Wide Variety of Conditions
Speech therapy is often used to help improve speaking and communication skills. However, strengthening vocal muscles can do so much more than just enhance pronunciation. From language and speech disorders to swallowing difficulties and hearing issues, learn how speech therapy can help treat a wide variety of conditions.
What is speech therapy?
Speech therapy is typically comprised of various exercises that help condition the throat and vocal cords. It’s often part of a multidisciplinary approach to address different disorders. The exercises used depend on the condition being treated and other therapies involved. Some of the most common elements of speech therapy include:
- Differentiating between individual sounds and syllables
- Producing certain sounds to improve fluency
- Expanding vocabulary, word recall and grammar
- Breathing, voice, swallowing and hearing exercises
- Using hearing aids, sign language, communication boards and computer-assisted speech
One of the goals of speech therapy is to help implement strengthening exercises into everyday life to help promote long-term success. While there are stand-alone speech therapy practices, you can often find a speech-language pathologist on staff at hospitals, schools and rehab facilities.
What speech therapies can help treat
Speech therapy is known for treating speech disorders. Patients who have difficulty producing certain sounds and speaking clearly or fluently — including a lisp or stutter — can benefit from specialized exercises. Speech disorders can stem from developmental delays, psychological factors or neurological disease. The underlying cause impacts treatment options.
In addition to speech disorders, speech therapy can also help treat the following conditions:
Language Disorders – These may be a result of brain injury, disease or development issues and affect the ability to distinguish between sounds, remember words and form complete sentences.
Voice Disorders – Often referred to as dysphonia, this can make a person sound hoarse or quiet. While it’s more prevalent after speaking loudly or too much, it could also be caused by using the wrong breathing technique, issues with the larynx and vocal nodules or mental health conditions such as depression or stress.
Hearing Disorders – Those with hearing loss or impairment are unable to hear sounds properly, which can affect their speech. This can be caused by infections, injuries, exposure to loud noise or age-related issues.
Trouble Swallowing – Also known as dysphagia, this muscle impairment can affect the way food, water and air are transported through the mouth and throat. These issues can be side effects of conditions including a head injury, stroke, multiple sclerosis, tumors or infection. Swallowing issues may also lead to life-threatening complications if food or water gets into the lungs.
Treatment of any of these conditions should be tailored towards the individual and underlying cause. However, there are various methods of speech therapy that can help.
Speech therapy treatment techniques
Treatment of any disorder often benefits from a multidisciplinary approach. Discuss options with your primary care and specialty clinician. Other therapists, nurses, dietitians and caregivers can also help ensure a cohesive rehabilitative strategy.
Speech therapists use a variety of exercises to help strengthen vocal muscles and assist with swallowing. Here are a few examples of dry swallowing maneuvers:
- Effortful Swallow: Swallowing hard to help increase muscle activity.
- Tongue-hold Swallow: Swallowing while gently holding your tongue between your teeth to help increase muscle contraction.
- Supraglottic Swallow: Swallowing while holding your breath then coughing.
- Shaker Exercise: Lying on your back and lifting your head to look at your toes to strengthen the elevation muscles.
- Mendelsohn Maneuver: Squeezing your larynx muscles during a swallow.
- Effortful Pitch Glide: Making an “eee” sound while moving from a low to high pitch.
Speech therapists can also evaluate a patient’s swallowing to help determine if it sounds normal. These non-invasive measures not only help evaluate a patient’s condition but may also work to treat the issue while teaching patients and caregivers coping strategies for long-term care.
Source: National Institutes of Health