Trouble remembering, speaking or swallowing? St. Joseph’s/Candler speech language pathologist explains how she can help.

You had a stroke. Thankfully, you have recovered well enough to return to the comfort of your home. But maybe you notice some bodily functions or cognition not working as they once did.

It could be you are having trouble remembering things.

Maybe you get words confused.

Or, you are finding it difficult or uncomfortable to swallow liquids or solids.

It can even be something that once seemed simple, like paying your bills or folding the laundry, now feels like a manual process.

Outpatient speech therapy at St. Joseph’s/Candler can help with all of that.

“In outpatient speech therapy, my role is to continue to help individuals get back to their baseline, or as close as possible,” says Amanda Kidd, speech language pathologist at St. Joseph’s/Candler. “Outpatient speech therapy is a little longer than inpatient may be, but the goal is to make sure we are not missing anything so you can get back to your life and functioning as usual.”

What is speech therapy?

Don’t let the name confuse you. Speech therapy is more than just speaking. Kidd likes to say she helps adults with problems from the bottom of the neck to the top of head.

Speech therapy uses different modalities to help improve vital skills, including communication, cognition and swallowing. Our speech language pathologists often work with patients who suffer from stroke, traumatic brain injuries, movement disorders and cancers that affect speech, memory and swallowing.

We offer speech therapy in an inpatient and outpatient setting. Kidd sees patients in our outpatient environment at the Center for Oto-Neurology, located in Plaza B, across from St. Joseph’s Hospital.

Related Article: Do I need outpatient speech therapy?

How outpatient speech therapy helps stroke patients

A stroke can occur in different parts of the brain, leaving patients with different side effects during their recovery. For example, if the stroke occurs in the left hemisphere, it largely affects language because that side of the brain controls your language function.

A stroke also can damage certain cranial nerves that can cause muscles to stop working, most often the muscles that help you swallow.

Patients recovering from a stroke are a large majority of what Kidd helps treat, especially working with adults. Let’s take a look at how outpatient speech therapy can help with certain conditions following a stroke.

Communication and cognition

A stroke can cause weakness or poor coordination of the speech muscles, making it difficult to talk to others, Kidd says. Speech therapy uses tools and exercises that help with the actual motor speech component if that occurs.

Additionally, there are instances where the speech muscles are not affected, but the brain has difficulty coordinating movements for speech.

That leans into the cognition side of speech therapy. Cognitive communication is the ability to understand what you are saying and communicate it in an effective way. The “communication” part can include verbal expression, responding accurately or simply finding the right words to say.

Then, there’s also direct cognitive complications that can result from a stroke including problem solving, memory loss and difficulty paying attention.

Swallowing

Another side effect of a stroke is difficulty swallowing. Oftentimes, swallowing is a key function we like to get you to return to before you leave the hospital.

However, some patients are ready to go home but may still have some difficulty swallowing. Outpatient speech therapy can help you safely eat and drink and reduce your risk of choking or aspiration, which is where food or liquid enters the airway and lungs instead of the esophagus.

Treating these stroke side effects

With each patient, Kidd starts with a general evaluation to learn their deficits and goals. Then she tailors a treatment plan to work towards those goals.

For example, if a patient has a problem understanding and expressing words (known as aphasia), she will start with exercises to help them communicate their important medical needs, and then work on other topics that are important to them.

If a patient is unable to communicate at all, outpatient speech therapy can help with alternative augmentative communication (AAC) – whether that’s low-tech with writing yes or no on a board or using pictures, or more high-tech, where the patient uses a fully integrated digital system with a tablet that speaks for you.

Another example of treatment could be neuromuscular stimulation, which helps patients with facial weakness regain sensation to their face.

If the side effect of the stroke is memory loss, for example, Kidd can help you implement strategies to work on improving your memory. That might include using a calendar more frequently, setting reminders on your phone or carrying a planner with you.

If you are having trouble swallowing, first, you may be asked to have some diagnostic tests ran to get an idea of where the difficulty is coming from. “We want to look at your risk of aspirating so we know what strategies to use so you don’t backtrack,” Kidd says.

“We have a lot of tools to help people get back to feeling as normal as possible, “ adds Kidd. “The two big things across the board would be regaining independence and improving your quality of life. That’s true of all conditions speech therapy can help with. We want to figure out every possible way we can to get you there.”

A referral is needed for outpatient speech therapy. Sessions can last up to an hour, and vary in duration depending on each patient’s needs. For more information, help with a referral or to schedule an appointment, call the Center for Oto-Neurology at 912-819-2479.