Finding a Speech Pathologist in Las Vegas can be daunting. A speech pathologist isn’t as simple as googling “nearest dry cleaners.” There are so many different reasons to need speech therapy, so simply searching speech pathologist may not find your needs. Each speech pathologist can specialize in specific types of therapy, whether that be voice therapy or strokes, children or adults, swallowing or feeding, etc.
Speech Therapy at Vegas Voice Institute
At Vegas Voice Institute, we specialize in adult speech therapy, focusing on voice and swallowing problems. We also work with adults with neurological disease with speech and cognition difficulties, including dysarthria, aphasia, memory loss, apraxia, and needs for AAC.
Voice Therapy
Our speech therapists are trained in a multitude of therapeutic techniques in voice therapy. Voice disorders come in many different shapes and sizes. There are hypofunctional disorders like glottal insufficiency, paralyzed or paretic vocal folds, and sulcus vocalis. We also treat voice disorders that stem from tension and voice misuse, like vocal nodules and polyps, muscle tension dysphonia, and aphonia.
Voice Therapy Techniques We Use
Some voice therapy techniques that are common with vocal weakness are Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT) or PhoRTE. With vocal fold paralysis we work closely with Laryngologists in the cases where surgical options may be needed.
For muscle tension we utilize a combination of semi-occluded vocal tract exercises, vocal hygiene education, myofascial release and voice massage, and resonant voice therapy.
The thing about voice therapy is you can’t just do every technique on everyone. That can waste the patient’s time and cost a lot of money. Vegas Voice Institute utilizes stroboscopy to accurately diagnose the patient prior to starting therapy and develop an individualized curated therapy plan for each patient to improve patient outcomes.
Swallowing therapy
Swallowing problems, or dysphagia, can occur at any stage in our lives but can be detrimental to our health when they do. Treating dysphagia early and quickly is important to decrease the risk of aspiration pneumonia.
Vegas Voice Institute utilizes a combination of neuromuscular electrostimulation, strengthening exercises, and functional swallowing exercises to improve swallowing and decrease risk of aspiration.
Swallowing problems can be caused by neurological disease like strokes, ALS, Parkinson Disease, and can also stem from head and neck cancer or surgery in the neck or larynx. Utilizing the correct evaluation tools can determine the safest diet and best way to treat patients with dysphagia.
Speech Therapy
This is the one that sometimes gets confusing for people. People often say, “Oh, you do speech therapy, so like, stuttering and stuff?” Well, yes, but more emphasis on the “stuff.” Speech therapy with adults looks more like working with patients with aphasia or loss of language, dysarthria or slurred speech, memory loss and cognition disfunction.
Treating these disorders means understanding their cause and prognosis. Creating a care plan that is functional for patients with neurological disorders means understanding if the patient can improve or will continue to decline. It doesn’t mean you can’t treat patients who will always have a decline, like a patient with Alzheimer’s Disease. It just means that the care plan for speech therapy with these adults will be based around compensation for deficits and family education instead of improving deficits. Choosing a Speech Pathologist for Adults
When looking for a speech pathologist, or any type of therapist for that matter, we want to feel comfortable wherever we end up. Finding the right type of office for an adult can be important so that you feel comfortable when you go for an appointment.
Locate an office that works specifically with adults and therapists who specialize in the type of disorder that you are experiencing.
Telepractice in Speech Therapy
Some speech therapists are continuing to provide telepractice visits. Vegas Voice Institute will continue to provide telepractice visits for their patients when accessible. Teletherapy can be beneficial to patients who are far from the office or live outside of the city. Teletherapy offers accessibility to speech therapy for these patients. Vegas Voice Institute has been utilizing teletherapy for patient long before the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Vegas Voice Institute
If you are looking for speech therapy, feel free to call Vegas Voice Institute at 702-558-9900 to schedule an appointment with us.