Speech and language supports residents beyond voice assistance
When people think of speech and language therapy for skilled nursing residents, what comes to mind is general support with speaking. In reality, speech and language therapists support many more aspects of senior rehabilitation, including cognition and swallowing, in addition to voice.
Tarren Leszczynski, a speech and language pathologist (SLP) at SKLD Muskegon and SKLD Whitehall, helps residents with cognitive, swallowing, speech, language and voice.
Tarren Leszczynski, a speech and language pathologist (SLP) at SKLD Muskegon and SKLD Whitehall, helps residents with cognitive, swallowing, speech, language and voice.
May is Better Speech and Hearing Month to raise awareness about communication disorders and the life-altering treatment available
In honor of speech and language month, Tarren recognizes how SKLD encourages continued education. She says, “The staff’s willingness to be educated in different areas of speech is helpful as many people don’t fully understand what we do. I’ll admit, I didn’t know all that a speech pathologist was involved in until grad school.”
Tarren continues, “The staff joins continued education for speech language pathologists so we can better serve our residents. Plus, when other staff members are aware of what we do, they are better able to refer patients, which can make a big difference.”
Awareness of treatment options
Speech therapy treatment for seniors depends on the age and stage of the patient. Tarren says, “Because I work with seniors, one of the areas I focus on is swallowing. For example, if someone comes in with a modified diet, we try to work with them to get their diet upgraded by helping to strengthen their swallow muscle.”
For patients who have dementia, SLP’s also support them cognitively. Tarren says, “When a resident falls and breaks a hip or is recovering from knee surgery, they often need cognitive assistance to help with taking their medications and thrive more independently. They may be in a new place and confused, so we help support them through that transition. Residents who have suffered a stroke may need support with swallowing, and we help strengthen areas that have been weakened.”
There are two approaches to a SLP’s interventions: restorative and compensatory. Restorative care is aimed at improving or restoring impaired function. And compensatory care is aimed at compensating for deficits not amenable to retraining.
“If someone comes in with a traumatic brain injury or a stroke, the restorative approach aims to restore the cognitive function to get back to where it was,” says Tarren.
She continues, “For someone with dementia, the compensatory approach supports them by implementing tools to help them such as a memory book or calendar. The goal is to get them living as independently and comfortably as possible.”
To support residents, SKLD speech therapists apply various interventions and treatment exercises. Tarren says, “We perform oral motor exercises, exercises to strengthen the lips and also for tongue movement. We have exercises for voice, including for stroke patients who may be aphonic and aren’t speaking. We also also have swallowing exercises for the lips, tongue and laryngeal. It’s just like any other exercise program, just from the neck up.”
Family and community support for speech therapy
Families of those who need speech therapy support can help encourage their loved ones in many ways. Patience is key but so is encouragement and time.
That’s been especially true since the pandemic. Residents who are unable to speak may have had a hard time with family members visiting by window or over video chat. Tarren says, “There was a woman whose speech was unintelligible and had a very hard time communicating with her family. They couldn’t understand her over the phone. Through her exercises, she is now able to communicate with her grandkids outside the window.”
These moments when residents see their progress and work pay off occur often. It’s just as rewarding for the SKLD speech therapists as it is for the residents.
Tarren shares, “Recently I was upgrading someone’s diet. They came in with a feeding tube and couldn’t eat or drink anything by mouth. Residents recovering from COVID who have been intubated need support with this, especially. Being able to get them back to eating foods and liquids shows the impact of speech and language therapy.”
These are the moments when Tarren knows her work matters, whether she’s helping skilled nursing residents with cognitive support, swallowing assistance or voice therapy.