Celebrating Better Hearing and Speech Month
In May we celebrate and recognize our Speech and Language Pathologists with Better Hearing and Speech Month. The month of May is dedicated to creating awareness about communication, cognitive -communicative and swallowing disorders and available treatment options for individuals. At Upland Hills Health, we have 3 amazing Speech and Language Pathologists (SLP) including Morgan Enright, Wendy Marr-Smith and Krisann Karls, who work to improve the quality of life for those who have communication, cognitive and swallowing impairment.
According to ASHA, American Speech-Hearing-Language Association, speech disorders occur when a person is unable to produce speech sounds correctly or fluently, or has a problem with their voice or resonance. Language disorders occur when a person has trouble understanding others (receptive language) or sharing their thoughts, ideas and feelings (expressive language). Cognitive-Communication disorders is defined as: difficulty with any aspect of communication that is affected by the disruption of cognition (attention, memory, organization, problem solving/reasoning, and executive functions). Swallowing disorders (dysphagia) is any swallowing problem related to the oral cavity, pharyngeal cavity and/or the esophagus.
Our speech and language therapists at Upland Hills Health are incredibly diverse, providing services to individuals in the following settings: schools, Birth to Three, inpatient, outpatient, Skilled Nursing Facilities and home health. A few examples of what our therapists provide include voice programs for people with Parkinson’s Disease, assisting adults with head and neck cancer rehabilitate their swallowing, develop augmentative/alternative methods of communication, help people with cognitive-communication difficulties after a neurological event such as a stroke/head injury, assessing swallowing function through modified barium swallow studies, and help young students communicate and interact with their families.
