ABOUT | ASVC

What is Speech Therapy?

"I don't need speech therapy; I can talk just fine."

I've heard this phrase more times than I can count.

When people hear "speech therapy," they tend to think of speech therapy with kids - helping them turn their adorable "wabbit" into "rabbit", helping children who stutter, working with children on the autism spectrum or with developmental disorders. But what on earth is speech therapy for ADULTS? Well, let me tell you.

Picture this: You have a loved one, maybe a parent or grandparent, who goes to sleep just like every other night, then wakes up the next morning, and suddenly they can't speak. In the blink of an eye, a stroke has taken their ability to communicate with you; to tell you their needs, how they feel, to be included in conversation... These are the people I help.

How about this: Your family member gets diagnosed with dementia and you begin to watch the person you love forget the routines they've done every day for a 65+ years, or begin to forget names and words... These are the people I help.

Here's another: Your mom has eaten the same meal every week for as long as you can remember, and now you notice she's changed her diet. When you ask why, she tells you that she's begun choking on those foods so frequently that she's now avoiding them... These are the people I help.

One more: You are a teacher, mother, singer, professional speaker, preacher...and one day you get a cold and, even after you are healthy again, your voice doesn't seem to work the same way, sound the same, or come across with the same ease you're accustomed to...These are the people I help.

Speech therapy can be so much more than just fixing sounds, lisps, and stutters for children. I am honored to have the pleasure of working with adults here in Northwest Arkansas, to meet their speech, communication, or voice goals. Hover over each topic below to learn more!

Swallowing/Dysphagia

Swallowing problems can lead to malnutrition, dehydration, pneumonia, etc.

Voice Disorders

Voice Disorders are problems with vocal quality, loudness, and pitch, as a result of overuse, misuse, paralysis, disease, Parkinson's Disease, ALS, etc.

Fluency

Stuttering, cluttering, etc. can be developmental or seen in adults as the result of a neurological event.

Pre-/Post-Operative Care

Pre- and post-operative care consists of managing the physical, emotional, and functional tolls of vocal cord or head/neck surgical procedures.

Cognitive & Communicative Disorders

Cognitive communicative therapy addresses decreased memory, attention, and problem solving, often related to mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's Disease, dementia, traumatic brain injury, stroke, etc.

Aphasia

Aphasia typically refers to difficulty with language, i.e. expression, comprehension, writing, reading, etc.

Right Hemisphere Dysfunction

Right Hemisphere Dysfunction can present as difficulty with perception, cognition, and social interactions, with a lack of awareness of deficits

Apraxia

"Apraxia" means difficulty speaking caused by difficulty planning motor movements.

Dysarthria

"Dysarthria" is difficulty with speech due to weakness of the muscles used for speech and breathing.

Mild Cognitive Impairment

Mild cognitive impairment presents as difficulty with high level thought processes like organizing, prioritizing, sequencing, etc. This can be caused by various things, including COVID-19, concussions, TBIs, etc.

Transgender Voice

Many members of the transgender community may find, as they transition, that their voice no longer matches their identity. Voice therapy can help teach the subtle vocal and language cues we tend to associate with specific genders.

Accent Modification

Accent modification can help non-native speakers learn to communicate in their new language with clarity and be understood by the general public.