Inpatient speech therapy patients come to SLRC with many different circumstances, so offering patients highly individualized rehabilitative care is a priority. After undergoing a complete diagnostic assessment, each patient begins a program that includes work in the areas of verbal expression, comprehension, memory, reading, writing and orientation. Treatment plans take into account each patients’ prior level of interest and function together with current concerns, and goals are discussed with the patient and family members.
Since swallowing skills are so often affected along with speech, SLRC has developed a comprehensive dietary program that takes the patient through each stage of recovery. Whether the patient is only able to tolerate thickened liquids or is further along in the healing process, SLRC is there for support. The safety of the patient is of the utmost importance, and SLRC caregivers educate the extended family of the patient to help provide a seamless transition to home or outpatient therapy.
For those with swallowing dysfunction, SLRC has speech and language pathologists who are certified in VitalStim Therapy, which is used to improve swallowing through the use of neuromuscular electrical stimulation. The VitalStim device is the only device currently approved by the FDA for the treatment of swallowing dysfunction.
In addition to its personalized care and state-of-the-art technology, SLRC prides itself on creating an atmosphere of support for the patient and his or her extended family. Training and education is given to the family so that concepts that have been worked on in therapy can be reinforced at home after discharge. Patients and their families also receive training in how to deal with swallowing dysfunction, along with the special dietary requirements that accompany these disorders.
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