Stroke, brain injury, and other neurological diseases can cause problems in understanding, thinking, expression, swallowing, and producing intelligible speech. The Speech Language Pathology program at Siskin Hospital is committed to maximizing the recovery for communication, cognitive, and swallowing functions for persons experiencing difficulty in these areas.
The deficits include:
The speech-language pathologist evaluates the patient to determine the strengths, as well as the areas to address for recovery and/or compensation of function. In conjunction with the patient and family members, an individualized treatment plan is developed to maximize the patient's return to communicative participation at home and in the community. Patients who require augmentative communication can receive an evaluation and treatment to provide an alternative, when speech is not functional to meet his or her needs.
Swallowing disorders (dysphagia) pose considerable risk to the patient because of the potential effects such as malnutrition, dehydration, and pneumonia. Our mission is to provide state-of-the-art treatment of dysphagia. Please refer to the Swallowing Therapy section for additional information. Click here to go to the Swallowing Therapy page.
Speech-Lanuague Pathology Department Facts:
The Speech-Language Pathology Department's Communication Skills Group
Siskin Hospital is now offering a new Communication Skills Group. This group is designed to provide ongoing support to individuals with communication impairments, such as Aphasia.
The Speech-Language Pathologists at Siskin Hospital work daily with adults who have sustained a loss of communication abilities. However, sometimes individuals with Aphasia still need assistance even after therapy ends. This group will ensure that these individuals can receive additional services to address social and conversational skills to help with continuation of progress, when there is difficulty with expression.
The Communication Skills Group will meet weekly at the Fitness Center at Siskin Hospital. A licensed Speech-Language Pathologist will lead each session. Group members will be guided though engaging activities to practice expressing themselves and increase their confidence using a variety of communication strategies. The support and learning from others who have similar needs will be an added benefit of this group.
"We've seen the need to provide further opportunities for our patients that are not offered anywhere else in Chattanooga. It is helpful for those with Aphasia to keep relationships that will help maintain the gains made in therapy and to further practice communication," Will Hutchinson, Speech-Language Pathologist at Siskin Hospital, explained.
To participate in the Communication Skills Group, please call Betty Penley at 423.634.1579 or email at bpenley@siskinrehab.org. At this time, only six participants will be accepted and it is not necessary to be currently enrolled in a formal therapy program to participate. The cost is $30 for four sessions (Members of the Fitness Center) and $45 for four sessions (Non-Members of the Fitness Center.)
Aphasia is an acquired communication disorder that impairs a person's ability to use language, but does not affect intelligence. Aphasia impairs the ability to speak and understand others, and people with Aphasia may experience difficulty reading and writing. According to the National Aphasia Association, Aphasia affects about one million Americans - or 1 in 250 people - and is more common than Parkinson's Disease, Cerebral Palsy or Muscular Dystrophy. More than 100,000 Americans acquire the disorder each year; however, most people have never heard of it.
For more information about the Speech and Language Pathology Program at Siskin Hospital please call 423.634.1689 or email swallowing@siskinrehab.org.
