Adult speech therapist Birmingham

Adult Resources

Here at Concierge Speech, we specialize in offering services to individuals with a variety of diagnoses, including the ones detailed below.

Stroke

Have you or a loved one recently suffered from a stroke? Speech therapists can be crucial in recovery from a stroke, by improving cognition, language, speech, and swallowing abilities if impaired. Call us today to find out how we can help!

Dementia

Do you or a loved one have a diagnosis of dementia or Alzhiemer’s? A speech therapist can play a vital role in prolonging cognitive and language skills while improving safety with swallowing throughout the process.

TBI

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is caused by an external force that injures the brain. By addressing communication and swallowing challenges, speech therapists contribute significantly to the recovery and rehabilitation of TBI patients, helping them regain independence and improve their quality of life.

ALS

ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, leading to muscle weakness and eventual paralysis. A speech therapist can help manage your symptoms and can be crucial for improving safety with swallowing.

Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s Disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects movement and often leads to speech and swallowing difficulties. A speech therapist can help by improving voice, speech, cognition, and swallowing skills if issues arise in these areas.

The neurological events and disorders described above may lead to the following conditions:

  • Aphasia

    Aphasia is a language disorder typically caused by brain damage that can affect speaking, understanding, reading, and/or writing. Speech therapy can play a vital role in improving communication skills and overall quality of life.

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  • Dysarthria

    Dysarthria occurs when the muscles for speech production are weak or you have difficulty controlling them. It is often caused by damage to the brain and can sound like ‘slurred’ or slow speech production. Speech therapy helps improve your articulation skills, making it easier to express yourself clearly again.

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  • Cognitive Disorders

    Cognitive disorders are conditions that affect mental processes like memory, attention, perception, and problem-solving. They can result from various causes such as brain injury, neurological conditions, or mental illnesses. A speech therapist can help in restoring or managing these functions following a neurological event or diagnosis.

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  • Swallowing Disorders

    Swallowing disorders, also known as dysphagia, make it difficult to swallow food, liquid, or saliva safely and effectively. Symptoms may include coughing or choking while eating, frequent throat clearing, or feeling like food is stuck in the throat. A speech therapist can help restore swallow function, modify your diet, or make adjustments during mealtimes to improve safety when eating.

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  • Voice Disorders

    A voice disorder is a condition that affects the quality, pitch, loudness, or resonance of the voice. It can result from various factors such as vocal cord damage, muscle tension, or neurological conditions. Symptoms may include hoarseness, breathiness, or strained voice. Working with a speech therapist can help improve vocal quality.

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  • Apraxia

    Apraxia of speech, is a motor speech disorder that affects the ability to plan and coordinate the movements needed for speech. It's often caused by damage to the parts of the brain responsible for speech production. Speech therapy can help improve speech clarity and coordination.

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Signs you may be a candidate for speech therapy services

  • As detailed in the descriptions above, a neurological event can lead to a wide range of communication or swallowing deficits. Speech therapy can play a vital role in helping individuals regain communication and swallowing function, improve quality of life, and maximize independence following a neurological event.

  • This could indicate a cognitive decline associated with an unnoticed neurological condition. Decline in memory abilities can affect daily functioning or interfere with everyday tasks. Speech therapists can play a vital role in memory restoration, memory care, or providing strategies to compensate for the change in functioning.

  • This could indicate you have dysphagia, a swallowing disorder. A speech therapist can help by providing compensatory strategies to make mealtimes easier, assistance in completing various exercises to restore swallow function, and extensive education on how to effectively manage swallowing difficulties.

  • Individuals with dysarthria often have difficulty producing lengthy words, phrases, and sentences. Speech therapists can perform detailed evaluations to determine the best treatment approach for you. Therapy may include articulation therapy, oral exercises, breathing exercises, and/or teaching clear speaking strategies to improve your intelligibility to all listeners.

  • Vocal changes may be attributed to a number of things, such as suffering a neurological event, overuse of your voice, or structural abnormalities. Working with a speech therapist can help you learn appropriate vocal hygiene and exercises that may be beneficial in restoring vocal function.

  • Changes in your receptive language skills (i.e., your ability to comprehend written or spoken language) could indicate an underlying issue such as a neurological condition, aphasia, or hearing loss. A speech therapist can help by providing various exercises and strategies aimed at improving your ability to understand others' messages and successfully interact with others in the home and community.

  • A common symptom of Aphasia is difficulty with ‘word finding’. This can present as trouble naming objects in front of you or difficulty keeping up in a conversation with other people. Many describe the feeling of their words being ‘stuck’ and ‘unable to come out’. Speech therapists can help by providing language exercises and a variety of communication strategies to improve your communication skills at home and in the community.

Have concerns regarding you or your loved one’s communication skills? Call us today to find out if speech therapy can help!