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Straws: There are some great ways to use different straws to help strengthen your child’s oral musculature. First, make sure that your child can use a normal sized straw to drink water. Water is a ‘thin’ liquid, which means it moves quickly, so it’s important to make sure your child is safe drinking water so they will not choke. Once

Individuals with Broca’s aphasia have trouble speaking fluently but their comprehension can be relatively preserved. This type of aphasia is also known as non-fluent or expressive aphasia. Patients have difficulty producing grammatical sentences and their speech is limited mainly to short utterances of less than four words. Producing the right sounds or finding the right words is often a laborious process. Some persons have more difficulty

Normal Velopharyngeal Function To understand velopharyngeal dysfunction, you need to first understand normal velopharyngeal function for speech. The velopharyngeal valve is very important for normal speech production. This valve is made up of the following structures: Velum (also called soft palate) Lateral pharyngeal walls – the side walls of the throat Posterior pharyngeal wall – the back wall of the throat Types of Velopharyngeal

Dysphonia refers to having an abnormal voice. It is also known as hoarseness. Dysphonia has many causes which are detailed below. Changes to the voice can occur suddenly or gradually over time. The voice can be described as hoarse, rough, raspy, strained, weak, breathy, or gravely. There may be voice breaks where the voice completely stops or cuts out. There

Most people already breathe this way when they are relaxed. However, a lot of people take shallow breaths that do not engage the diaphragm very much. Diaphragmatic breathing uses the muscle called the diaphragm, which sits at the base of the lungs. When the body inhales, the diaphragm contracts and moves down. As the breath enters the lungs, the air

Breathing ○Signs of airway blockage: rapid breathing, stridor, sweating, restlessness, irritability, cyanosis ○Most babies with PRS outgrow breathing problems by 6-8 months ○Treatment may include special sleep positioning, oxygen and/or operation ■Do not place a baby or infant with PRS on his/her back (tongue can block the airway) ■Prone position is preferred ●Feeding ○If child with PRS also has cleft

Tactile cueing This method of cueing provides direct articulatory placement of the individual speaking to correct their speech production. The SLP touches the individual’s face, neck, and head to provide a speech movement gesture. Visual cueing This method provides visual cues such as simple hands signs or visual feedback such as using a mirror. Another visual cue to give is

Changes in the environment are made to improve overall functioning in individuals with dementia. They are designed to support communication needs and abilities by reducing obstacles to decrease the impact of impaired body function. Assessing the individual’s performance in relevant settings is important for identifying environmental barriers and their potential modifications Such as; at home a social setting clinical settin

Esophageal speech is essentially the act of burping out air from the stomach and controlling the articulation within the oral cavity. The speech will reduce frequency and pitch causing the voice to sound breathy and rough. Laryngeal speech training may begin as early as three weeks. The airflow in the esophagus will cause mucosa vibrations within the esophagus and the