Speech Therapy

What is Speech Therapy?

The Speech Therapy team at Life Skills Village is dedicated to helping children and adults with various cognitive-communication, speech, language, social pragmatics, and swallowing disorders. These skilled professionals are trained to provide comprehensive assessment, diagnosis, and treatment services to individuals of all ages, with the aim of improving their communication and quality of life.

Treatment Philosophy

One of the primary goals of the Speech Therapy team at Life Skills Village is to prevent these disorders from developing or worsening. They work with individuals who may be at risk of developing communication or swallowing difficulties, such as those who have experienced a stroke or traumatic brain injury, or who have conditions such as Parkinson's disease or cerebral palsy. By identifying these risks early on and providing appropriate interventions, the team can help minimize the impact of these disorders on the individual's life.

Assessment

Assessment is a critical component of the Speech Therapy team's work. They use a range of standardized and non-standardized tests, observations, and interviews to gather information about the individual's communication and swallowing abilities. This information helps to identify the specific areas of difficulty and develop an appropriate treatment plan.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis is the next step in the process. Based on the assessment results, the Speech Therapy team can diagnose the specific communication or swallowing disorder that the individual is experiencing. This diagnosis is critical in determining the appropriate treatment approach and developing goals that are tailored to the individual's needs.

Treatment

Once the diagnosis has been made, the Speech Therapy team can begin the treatment process. Treatment may include a variety of interventions, such as exercises to strengthen the muscles used in speech and swallowing, therapy to improve language and communication skills, and strategies to improve social interaction and pragmatic language use. The team also provides education and training to help individuals and their families better understand and manage their communication and swallowing difficulties.

Support

In addition to working with individuals who have already developed communication or swallowing disorders, the Speech Therapy team at Life Skills Village also provides support for those who may be at risk of developing these difficulties. They work with parents, caregivers, and educators to identify early signs of communication or swallowing difficulties and provide strategies to promote healthy communication and swallowing habits.

Overall, the Speech Therapy team at Life Skills Village plays a critical role in improving the communication and swallowing abilities of individuals of all ages. By preventing, assessing, diagnosing, and treating communication and swallowing disorders, they help individuals lead more fulfilling and satisfying lives.

Cognitive Evaluation and Rehabilitation

Cognitive-communication disorders include deficits with organizing thoughts, attention, memory, planning, reasoning, and/or problem-solving. These disorders may occur following a stroke, traumatic brain injury, dementia, and/or neurodegenerative disease, or they can be congenital.

Speech and Language Evaluation and Intervention

Speech disorders occur when a child or adult has difficulty producing speech sounds clearly, intelligibly, or fluently (e.g., stuttering is a form of disfluency) or has problems with his or her voice or resonance.
Language disorders occur when a child or adult has difficulty understanding others (receptive language), or verbalizing wants, needs, thoughts, ideas, and/or feelings (expressive language). Language disorders may be spoken or written.

Social Pragmatics or Social Skills Training/Re-Training

Social Communication disorders occur when a child or adult has difficulty with the use of socially appropriate verbal and nonverbal communication skills. These disorders may include problems; communicating for social purposes (i.e., greeting, commenting, asking questions), modifying communication style within different settings and with different people (i.e., work, interpersonal relationships), and following socially appropriate rules for conversations. These disorders may occur in individuals with traumatic brain injuries or autism.

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