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  5. Speech and Swallowing Therapy

Speech and Swallowing Therapy

Difficulties with speaking and swallowing can occur after injury or as a result of certain conditions. The experts at Sentara design personalized treatment plans to help you communicate clearly and improve your ability to swallow.

Speech and Swallowing Therapy: Why Choose Sentara?

Specialists in our speech and swallowing therapy program help you regain function so you can maintain independence. Program highlights include:

  • Expert therapists: Our speech pathologists have earned a Certificate of Clinical Competency from the American Speech and Hearing Association. This certification, along with extra education, means our therapists have the knowledge to create care plans for your unique needs. Meet our experts.
  • Team-based care: Our wide network of Sentara experts works together on your personalized care plan. This team approach ensures you get comprehensive care.
  • Convenience: We offer speech and swallowing therapy at Sentara Therapy Centers throughout Virginia and eastern North Carolina. Our center locations make it easy to get the care you need.

Speech and Swallowing Treatments and Services

Our licensed speech pathologists diagnose and treat problems with speaking, communicating and swallowing. We help you communicate effectively with those around you and ensure you get the nutrition you need. We offer:

Fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation (FEES)

A speech pathologist certified in FEES inserts an endoscope (small instrument with a lighted camera) into your nose and throat. This procedure provides a view of your larynx and throat so we can see what happens as you swallow. We may ask you to drink liquids or move your head so we can observe any changes as you swallow.

Lee Silverman voice therapy® (LSVT)

We use this specialized training to help you increase the loudness of your voice and recognize voice volume through sensory feedback. You work with our LSVT-certified speech pathologist during four sessions a week for four weeks.

Our specialists use LSVT for people with Parkinson's disease and other neurological conditions. Your therapist will give you homework to do outside of your regular sessions.

SPEAK OUT!® and The LOUD Crowd®

Our speech pathologist works with you to improve your voice and speaking skills. Designed by the Parkinson Voice Project, this 12-session program includes a workbook and specific exercises for you to do at home. SPEAK OUT! Emphasizes speaking with intent and converts speech from an automatic function to an intentional act.

After you complete 12 SPEAK OUT! sessions, you become part of The LOUD Crowd, a weekly group session that offers accountability. We use exercises that help you practice speaking with intention to improve the volume and control of your voice. This maintenance program promotes camaraderie and provides support and encouragement.

Tracheoesophageal prosthesis (TEP)

If you've had laryngectomy (voice box removal surgery), Sentara experts may place a TEP (device that separates the trachea and esophagus). You breathe in through a stoma (opening in the neck created during surgery), but exhale through the device's one-way valve. This exhalation improves airflow to help you make sounds and speak.

VitalStim® therapy

Our speech pathologists use an FDA-approved device that stimulates inactive muscles involved in dysphagia (swallowing disorder) with electrical impulses. This stimulation helps strengthen and retrain muscles used in swallowing.

Voice therapy

Sentara experts design specific exercises to improve the health and quality of your voice. With speech therapy, we help you use your breath properly and relax your throat muscles to restore function.

Conditions We Treat With Speech and Swallowing Therapy

We develop individualized therapy programs to treat problems with speaking and swallowing after:

  • Cancers of the head and neck (and cancer treatment)
  • Dementia
  • Esophagus issues
  • Laryngectomy or vocal cord dysfunction
  • Neurological disease (such as cerebral palsy and Parkinson’s disease)
  • Stroke
  • Traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries

Benefits of Speech and Swallowing Therapy

Speech and swallowing therapy helps strengthen muscles in the head, neck and tongue. Our therapists help you get the nutrition you need, be more independent and communicate better with others. Our experts may use this specialized therapy as part of neurological rehabilitation, occupational therapy or cancer rehabilitation.

Request an Appointment

Learn more about speech and swallowing therapy at Sentara. Visit our Sentara Therapy Center locations.

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