Patients who may benefit from speech, swallowing and/or cognitive-linguistic therapy include those who have suffered or suffer from any of the following:
- Stroke and other neurological disorder causing difficulty communicating (aphasia) or slurred speech (dysarthria).
- Parkinson's disease
- Huntington's Chorea
- Multiple sclerosis
- Traumatic brain injury
- Cognitive deficits - difficulty with thinking, remembering information or reasoning. Our Rehabilitation Department uses a brain fitness and training program from CogniFit®.
- Swallowing disorders - coughing or choking at meals, frequent bouts with pneumonia
We also offer an accent modification program through the Compton ESL Program.
VitalStim® Therapy for Swallowing Disorders
CentraState's VitalStim® Therapy program is specifically targeted for those with dysphagia— or problems swallowing—which can occur due to stroke, traumatic head injury, certain cancer treatments or the onset of a neurological disease or respiratory condition. VitalStim Therapy uses an electrical current to stimulate the muscles that are responsible for swallowing. While the muscles are stimulated, a trained rehabilitation specialist guides the patient through a series of exercises designed to "re-educate" the muscles to help with swallowing.
For more information on VitalStim Therapy at CentraState, please refer to the VitalStim Therapy brochure in the Related Documents box to the right.
Marilyn Abrahamson performs a Modified Barium Swallow test to visualize the patient’s swallowing function. This x-ray diagnostic procedure helps the therapist guide patients with impaired swallowing on what types of solid foods and liquids are safe for them to eat and drink. It also helps determine the most effective therapy regime.
Marilyn Abrahamson assesses a patient for timeliness of swallow. If a patient’s normally automatic swallowing function has been impaired by a stroke, cancer or other disorder, the speech-language pathologist can teach him/her compensatory strategies to ensure correct swallowing so that food and liquids do not enter the airway and cause choking.
When the muscles in a patient’s mouth have been weakened by stroke or other disorder, an oral motor exercise regime of resistance and range-of-motion exercises – as demonstrated here – can help restore strength and movement. The regime can improve the patient’s ability to articulate as well as overcome swallowing deficits.
