In the new episode of Focused Healthy Family Podcast we talk about the crucial role of speech therapy in dementia and memory loss, and what caregivers can do to help their loved ones regain their cognitive skills.
Listen to the podcast using one of the players below:
Episode highlights:
It's important that individuals who are experiencing traumatic brain injuries or memory loss, who are not cognitively completely there, are supported and guided in everyday interactions. The brain is a muscle, and speech-language pathologists work with all those muscles that involve swallowing and speech, as you need to exercise all these muscles to avoid atrophy.
There are similarities in working with children versus geriatric clients:
Whether you're with your four-year-old or your six-year-old or an adult that experiences a traumatic brain injury, you're still working on directions, you're still working on commands.
When it comes to working with a speech-language pathologist, or if you have an aging parent or an aging loved one, notice where they are, what their capabilities are, and what they're doing on a daily basis, so when things start to shift, you will also notice that.
During speech therapy, your SLP will focus on the same two things:
see how they're communicating and
see what they're doing on a daily basis.
Considering therapy for dementia & speech loss?
How caregivers can support people with dementia speech loss:
Maintain them in familiar surroundings like staying at home;
Remind them that they're safe, that they're cared for, and that everybody's doing their best to help them;
Remind them that they also need to help themselves and to participate in therapy.
At Better Speech, we offer online speech therapy services convenient for you and tailored to your child's individual needs. Our services are affordable and effective - get Better Speech now.
About the Author
Lenora Edwards I am ASHA Board Certified Speech Language Pathologist and Chief Knowledge Officer with Better Speech. Since obtaining my CCC’s in 2010, I have worked with individuals of all ages from little ones who are learning to understand and express themselves to adults who want to improve their speaking skills and become a more fluent and effective communicator. I love to teach and educate others, in my spare time I like reading, cooking and traveling!
