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 Who Needs to See a Speech Therapist?
People of all ages seek treatment from a speech-language pathologist (or "speech therapist") when they experience difficulties communicating or swallowing. These problems may have existed from birth or resulted from an illness, accident or disease and can significantly impact a person’s self-esteem, motivation, socialization and quality of life. |
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| Anyone who experiences any of the following problems can benefit from speech therapy: |
Speech therapy is for people of all ages. Someone can benefit if he or she have:
- Speech Disorders: Difficulty producing speech sounds correctly. Children may have difficulty learning to articulate sounds correctly; acquired neurological disorders may result in weakness, slowness or coordination of the muscles used for speech or difficulty planning speech movements.
- Language Disorders: Difficulty comprehending language or expressing one’s thoughts; can also affect reading and writing. Children may have difficulty learning language and its rules. Aphasia is an acquired language disorder caused by damage to a specific area of the brain.
- Voice Disorders: Abnormal pitch, loudness, or quality of voice which may be hoarse, breathy, or nasal sounding.
- Fluency Disorders: Stuttering – the flow of speech is broken by abnormal stopping, repetition, or prolongation of sounds.
- Cognitive Communication Disorders: Difficulty with cognitive processes, such as attention, memory, reasoning, judgment, and problem solving, which affect communication skills.
- Augmentative/Alternative Communication: Communication modes used as a supplement or alternative to spoken language, including gestures, sign language, communication boards, and voice synthesizing computers.
- Swallowing Disorders: Dysphagia – difficulty with any part of the swallowing process, including chewing, manipulating food and liquid in the mouth, and moving it from the mouth through the throat and esophagus to the stomach.
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| How do I participate? |  |
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A referral from your physician is necessary before speech therapy services can begin. Our services are covered by most private insurance, Medicare and Medicaid. Contact your insurance company for specific details about coverage.
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| Who do I contact for more information? |
| Waverly Health Center has a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist on staff. |
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| For more information, please call the Speech Therapy Department at (319) 352-4961. |
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