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From the moment we utter our first words, a lifelong journey begins that enables us to build rich and deep relationships. However, when something happens that disrupts our ability to translate our thoughts into clear, understandable words, our world gets smaller, and our relationships suffer.

That’s where speech therapy comes in.

In this blog, Caryn McAllister, PT, DPT, and the highly skilled team of speech and language pathologists at High Quality Home Therapy share their insights on speech therapy and how you can maximize the impact of your speech therapy sessions.

Your brain and communication

Front and center in the communications process is the brain. Remarkably, the average brain produces about 48.6 thoughts per minute, totaling about 70,000 thoughts per day.

The frontal lobe of the brain, and more specifically the left part of the frontal lobe, called Broca’s area, is the central area for speech and language ability.

When functioning optimally, brain cells, named neurons, send a signal to the motor cortex, the part of the frontal lobe responsible for voluntary muscle movement. The neurons in the motor cortex transmit a message to the spinal cord, which directs the muscles of the mouth, face, tongue, throat, and lips to speak to others.

When brain trauma from an injury or stroke happens, or a patient experiences a problem in the orofacial muscles, speech and communication functions get disrupted.

Embrace a highly personalized treatment plan

Your best friend’s Mom suffered a stroke, and now your family is going through the same thing with your Dad, but when you discuss the speech therapy treatment plan with your friend, the two plans seem very different. Resist the temptation to compare the two experiences, as no two cases are identical, even if both patients suffered the same triggering medical condition.

Your speech therapist or language pathologist creates a customized speech therapy treatment plan to address the needs and treatment goals of each patient.

The treatment plan typically includes a variety of exercises or activities designed to resolve speech and communication difficulties by strengthening facial muscles, enhancing breathing, or improving language skills, memory, and social communication.

Start from a thorough evaluation

The first step to creating a speech therapy treatment for you or a loved one’s needs is for your provider to perform a comprehensive speech assessment or evaluation. The evaluation establishes a baseline of the patient’s current abilities and challenges, and the data creates a speech therapy treatment plan to reach their goals.

During the appointment, the provider examines the patient’s face and mouth, reviews their family and medical history, and conducts diagnostic tests to evaluate the patient’s ability to understand, respond to instructions, and speak clearly.

Set goals and celebrate milestones

Based on the data collected during the speech evaluation, your provider creates a personalized treatment plan that includes various exercises, frequency and length of therapy sessions, and speech therapy.

Typically, we base the timeline for a treatment plan on the severity of your condition, age, and any underlying conditions that contribute to the speech impairment.

Each treatment plan incorporates goals and milestones that elevate you to the next stage of your treatment. Whether you are doing speech therapy for a few weeks or for a few months, celebrate all the milestones along the way.

Speech therapy can be frustrating, especially in the beginning, so embracing all those small and big milestone moments can make a huge difference.

Do your homework

Speech therapy doesn’t just happen during a session with your therapist. Treatment plans often include exercises that you can do at home. Carve out time in your schedule to focus on these exercises. Making your at-home exercises a priority can bring you one step closer to reaching your goals and helps you make the most out of your speech therapy experience.

Work your treatment plan

Similarly, sticking to your treatment plan by scheduling your appointments and focusing on the work with your provider at each session helps you reach your goals.

If you need to augment your one-on-one speech therapy sessions, High Quality Home Therapy hosts social skills groups to help patients learn and practice communication skills.

Our speech therapists are committed to helping you or your loved one get the care they need. We maintain contact with our patients, family members, or caregivers after a treatment plan concludes to follow up on their progress and ensure long-term outcomes.

If you or a loved one has problems with speech or language skills and wants to learn more about speech therapy, schedule an in-person, home-based, or telehealth speech therapy evaluation at High Quality Home Therapy in Stamford, Connecticut. Use our online tool or call us today to schedule an appointment.