A speech therapist’s (or speech language pathologist’s) role is to provide treatment to help increase a person’s communication ability in writing, reading, speaking, and listening. Communication function is always affected when an individual has memory and other cognitive deficits, such as dementia. Our speech therapist will create an individualized plan of care for each patient that strengthens the knowledge and memory processes that have the potential to improve and reduce demands on impaired cognitive systems. A critical part of treatment is also caregiver training and family counseling in order to promote positive communicative interactions and increase success with daily living activities (such as meals, getting dressed, social outings, etc).
Signs That You May Benefit from Speech Therapy:
- Difficulty choosing appropriate words, mislabeling common objects and forgetting names
- Difficulty recalling current events and/or personal history
- Responses in conversations are delayed or inappropriate
- Difficulty with concepts of time or money
- Difficulty following directions, both verbal and written
- Difficulty following sequences for basic daily activities (such as doing laundry or making a sandwich)
- Limited social behaviors or avoidance of social situations
- Difficulty paying attention
