Speech Therapy

Treatment for Speech & Swallowing Disorders

Your mouth and throat are in nearly constant motion during an average day as you speak, chew, swallow, and cough. If these movements are difficult for you due to a recent illness or an ongoing condition, we can help. The speech therapy team at Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center offers therapies that can help you to communicate clearly and swallow cleanly, so you can get back to the life you deserve.

What Is Speech Therapy?

Speech therapy is a treatment program designed to help you regain and increase your ability to communicate through speech. We offer speech therapy to people with:

• A need for counseling after laryngectomy
• Speech disorders
• Speech or language impairment as a result of stroke, dementia or other neurological disorders
• Speech problems following a head injury
• Voice disorders resulting from disease or misuse of the voice

We also work with people who have developmental disorders that impact their ability to speak clearly.

Our licensed speech therapists can help restore function by offering you a personalized treatment plan. You will be offered an evaluation in your first appointment, and your therapist will use those results to prepare a program that can help you train the muscles of your mouth and throat so you can speak in ways that others can understand.

How Can Speech Therapy Help With Dysphagia?

Dysphagia, or a swallowing disorder, is caused by stroke and other neurological conditions. Dysphagia can be caused by injuries to the head and neck too. A swallowing disorder is serious, as it can impact your ability to eat and drink. Swallowing disorders can also lead to choking episodes, and those can be life-threatening.

Our speech therapy professionals use exercises to help retrain mouth and throat muscles. They can also provide therapies that can stimulate head and neck nerves. When those nerves are working properly, the swallowing reflex will work properly too.

Who Can Enroll In Speech Therapy?

We offer speech therapy in two formats at Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center: Inpatient and outpatient. During a hospital stay, you may meet with a speech therapist. Our inpatient speech therapy sessions are designed to help you build up core skills so you're ready to leave the hospital.

We also offer outpatient speech therapy programs for people who need help but who aren't in the hospital. We offer this therapy in a series of appointments. How often you'll meet with us for an appointment is dependent on your doctor's orders and your condition.

If you'd like outpatient speech therapy, talk with your doctor. You'll need a referral to make an appointment.