Voice, Speech & Swallowing
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The staff consists of experienced, certified/licensed speech-language pathologists specializing in caring for the voice and throat. Therapists work in collaboration with the ENT medical team, including board-certified physicians, nurse practitioners, and audiologists to treat patients with voice and speech disorders, swallowing disorders and head/neck cancer.

Voice services are available to children and adults. Symptoms of a voice problem may include chronic hoarseness or breathiness, pain or discomfort when speaking or singing, difficulty adjusting pitch or loudness of the voice, chronic cough or throat clearing, effortful voice production, and voice loss.  If one or more of these symptoms persist for more than two weeks, a voice evaluation is merited.

Voice Services Include:

¢ Voice evaluations to assess voice use patterns and habits.

¢ Laryngeal endoscopy with videostroboscopy,

¢ Voice treatment including vocal mechanics, breathing mechanics, reduction of vocal abuse and misuse, and vocal hygiene education,

¢ Reflux management.
 

The speech pathology section is a unique resource for both the general public and professional voice users such as singers, teachers, attorneys, clergy, broadcasters, elected officials, actors, coaches, salespeople and telephone operators. 

Swallowing services are also available to adults and children. Symptoms of a swallowing problem, or dysphagia, may include coughing or choking when eating or drinking, sensation of a lump in the throat, pain or discomfort with swallow, sensation of food sticking in the throat, difficulty clearing food or liquid from the mouth, food coming back up into the mouth or upper throat, and unexplained weight loss. If you have one or more of these symptoms, a swallowing/dysphagia evaluation is recommended.

Swallowing/dysphagia Services Include:

¢ Swallowing evaluations to assess swallow mechanics and function.

¢ Oral-motor evaluations to assess structures and functions for swallow.

¢ Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES.)

¢ Dysphagia treatment including diet recommendations, swallow retraining, and training in swallow strategies.

¢ Reflux management.

Speech services include both speech and language concerns. Pediatric speech problems may include speech/language delay, difficulty making speech sounds, slurred speech, hyper- or hypo-nasal speech, and other issues related to hearing loss, autism, cleft lip/palate, tracheostomy, or other medical diagnoses. 

Adult speech problems, or dysarthria, may include slurred speech, difficulty being understood by others, and other speech issues related to head/neck cancer. Language problems, or aphasia, may include difficulty understanding others’ language, difficulty expressing oneself, and new difficulty reading or writing.

Speech Services Include

¢ Speech evaluations to assess speech production.

¢ Oral-motor evaluations to assess structures and functions for speech.

¢ Pediatric speech therapy to improve speech production.

¢ Pediatric language therapy to improve expressive and receptive language skills.

¢ Adult speech therapy to improve speech production and intelligibility.

¢ Adult language therapy to improve verbal and written expressive/receptive language skills.

¢ Non-verbal communication skill training.
 

Head and/or Neck Cancer Services Include:

¢ Pre-operative assessments using laryngeal endoscopy with videostroboscopy.

¢ Pre-operative counseling regarding speech, voice, or swallowing function changes expected after surgery.

¢ Post-operative training in alternative communication methods such as electrolarynx use or communication boards.

¢ Tracheoesophageal (TEP) voice restoration with candidacy assessment, prosthesis placement, and education.

¢ Swallow function retraining.

¢ Speech retraining.