Specialized Treatments for Speech and Language Disorders

The multidisciplinary team at Broward Health includes experienced speech therapists who have seen and treated patients suffering from an array of disorders such as:

Dysphasia

Dysphagia is difficulty swallowing, and an estimated 10 million Americans suffer from this disorder. Two-thirds of oral and throat cancer survivors also have dysphagia. If untreated, dysphagia can have serious healthcare consequences, including malnutrition, weight loss, aspiration pneumonia and choking. However, with highly specialized and targeted therapeutic interventions, this does not have to be a permanent condition.

Voice Disorders

Voice disorders can inhibit a person’s ability to communicate. Symptoms can include:

Hoarseness

Breathiness

Vocal cracking

Weakness

Periods of voice loss

Voice Disorder Causes

Vocal nodules

Vocal polyps

Cysts

Vocal misuse and abuse

Vocal fold weakness

Spasmodic dysphonia

Vocal fold bowing

Our program provides individualized treatments, including manual therapy, breath support techniques and laryngeal relaxation. We’ll also help you with vocal hygiene and stress management to improve your long-term vocal health.

Aphasia/Cognitive Impairment

Aphasia is a neurological language disorder that primarily affects spoken language expression and comprehension, written expression and reading comprehension. Some patients may also experience short-term memory loss.

Expressive language impairments include difficulty finding words or forming sentences, speaking with effort, substituting sounds and making up words.

Receptive language impairments include difficulty understanding conversations, an inability to answer simple yes or no questions and a lack of awareness of speech errors.

Aphasia treatments vary based on symptoms but typically focus on specific compensation techniques or augmentative and alternative communication. We provide exercise programs and education for families and caregivers to help restore language at home.

Dysarthria

Dysarthria is a motor speech impairment identified by the speech mechanism's slow, weak and uncoordinated movements. Treatments include focusing on the affected phonemes, increasing breath support and possibly providing augmentative and alternative communication.

Specialized Dysphagia Therapy

Our Dysphagia Program at Broward Health Imperial Point incorporates state-of-the-art diagnosis and treatment with integrative healing. Treatments include, but are not limited to, electrical stimulation, myofascial release, soft tissue manipulation, manual therapy and range of motion and stretching exercises.

If you or someone you know has dysphagia, contact your physician and ask for a video swallow function test. This diagnostic exam only takes a few minutes and allows us to determine the exact cause of your swallowing problems and whether you are a candidate for our dysphagia program.

Female therapist helping little girl
Female doctor checking elderly female patient's neck

Why Choose Broward Health?

Broward Health speech therapists are specially trained in a variety of methods to help patients assess and treat speech and swallowing disorders. We offer care with compassion and tailor treatments to your specific case and needs. If you have speaking, communicating, or swallowing complications, seek support to improve your quality of life. Talk with a doctor about your options and request an appointment with our experienced speech therapists.

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