There are multiple senior speech therapy benefits that can support seniors who have trouble speaking or swallowing due to aging or experiencing a stroke or other neurological disorder. Muscle strength in your jaw and the shape of your tongue can change over time, and if vocal cords are too weak, it can impact a person’s ability to communicate with others. Vocal fatigue can cause hoarseness and make speaking clearly more difficult and tiring, to the point where some seniors stop talking.
Baptist Retirement Community is a full-service senior living community that offers senior speech therapy services for our short and long-term residents. Our speech therapists have years of experience working with seniors with a number of speech and swallowing troubles caused by aging, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, or other neurological conditions. For more information about our senior speech therapy program, call 325.313.7931 today or fill out our online assessment tool, and we will get back to you within 24 hours.
Senior Speech Therapy Advantages
Speech therapy is not just for seniors who experience a stroke or other neurological disorder that impacts their ability to function. It can also benefit senior adults whose voice is hoarse or scratchy due to weakened muscles in the larynx and vocal cords. Speech therapy is also for seniors who choke while eating or drinking due to weakened or smaller swallowing muscles. These conditions can be caused by aging, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, dementia, a cleft lip or palate, or a growth in the mouth or throat. Other common types of speech impairments that can affect senior’s ability to eat and speak include:
- Apraxia (AOS) – This is a neurological disorder that makes it difficult for a person to say what they mean correctly. Instead of saying, “I want to go for a walk,” they may say, “I want to cat for a walk,” and believe they said it correctly.
- Dysarthria – This disorder is characterized by slurred or choppy speech.
- Dysphagia – This is a medical condition that impacts a person’s ability to swallow solids and liquids.
Speech therapy is like an exercise program for your vocal cords, voice box, tongue, and lips. At Baptist Retirement Community, our speech therapists work closely with each resident to restore lost functions or find new ways to communicate and eat. Our community employs full-time physical, occupational, and speech therapists to care for our residents and improve their overall quality of life.
Senior Speech Therapy Benefits
Senior adults who experience problems with speaking and eating are more likely to withdraw from society rather than struggle with their symptoms. This can lead to isolation and depression and the rapid onset of other senior-related issues. Enrolling your parents or elderly loved ones in a speech therapy program can decrease their symptoms and give them an active social life.
Here are just some of the benefits of senior speech therapy that seniors can experience during the program:
- Strengthens vocal cords – As we age, our vocal cords become less elastic, and the larynx will weaken. Speech therapy improves their ability to speak through various exercises, such as:
- Tongue movement exercises
- Smiling, puckering, and other mouth movements
- Consonant and vowel pronunciation exercises
- Phonological processing and sentence-building exercises
- Decreases swallowing problems – Many seniors will experience problems with eating and drinking due to missing teeth or reduced strength in the tongue and throat. This program teaches seniors how to reduce the risk of choking caused by swallowing problems that develop as they age.
- Help with Dementia symptoms – Speech therapy can preserve brain functions associated with communication and can improve other communication and cognitive function, memory retention, and problem-solving skills.
- Stroke support – Seniors who experience a stroke may experience aphasia, a disorder that affects seniors’ ability to communicate. Speech therapists work with seniors to restore some or all of their communication abilities or find new ways to communicate and eat.
These are just a few of the senior speech therapy benefits that seniors can expect from a speech therapy program. This program is available for short and long-term residents and is just a small part of the type of services that are available to residents living in a senior living community.
Senior Speech Therapy at Baptist Retirement Community
At Baptist Retirement Community, we support seniors who have trouble speaking or swallowing through our senior speech therapy services. Each resident receives an individualized treatment plan that focuses on the specific issues that are impacting their lives. Treatment plans can include:
- Physical, speech, and occupational therapy
- Medication management
- Assistance with daily living activities
- Nutritious meal plans that consider dietary and medical restrictions
- Short and long-term rehabilitation
- Skilled nursing care
To discover all of the benefits of our senior speech therapy program, call 325.313.7931 today to schedule a tour and meet our friendly team.
Contact Baptist Retirement Community Today
If you are looking for a full-service senior living community that offers a comprehensive speech therapy program, look no further than Baptist Retirement Community. Contact us today at 325.313.7931 or fill out our online assessment tool to find out more about the services we offer and how they can benefit your elderly loved ones.