Speech Therapy Department 515.574.6900 or 515.574.6344   For more information or to schedule an appointment call the Physical Therapy Department.

Helping You Better Communicate with the People Around You

There are many ways to express language. Speaking, using sign language, writing, and using computerized communication devices are some of the most common ones. The professionals who are educated to assess speech and language development and to treat language and speech disorders are speech-language pathologists (sometimes informally referred to as speech therapists). Speech-language pathologists can also help people with swallowing disorders.

At Trinity we work with all age groups from babies to older adults to help you communicate with the people that are important to you and to help you eat and drink safely.

Please note that  a physician referral is needed to receive speech therapy.

Our speech-language pathologists provide:

• Clinical swallowing evaluation and treatment

• Modified barium swallow evaluation with the radiologist (a doctor who is specially trained in X-ray procedures)

• Speech and Language evaluations and treatments

• Cognitive (your thinking and memory skills) evaluation and treatment

• Voice (hoarseness and or things that effect the sound of your voice) evaluation and treatment

People who benefit from speech therapy have problems like:

Dysphagia – This is a swallowing problem. People that have this problem might cough when they eat and drink because their food is getting into their lungs instead of their stomach. This is very common after a stroke or with conditions like Parkinson’s Disease
 

Dysarthria – A person with dysarthria may experience any of the following symptoms: "slurred" speech, speaking softly or barely able to whisper, slow speech, a "mumbling" quality
 

Aphasia – Aphasia is a disorder that results from damage to language centers of the brain. The most common cause of aphasia is a stroke, but gunshot wounds, blows to the head, other traumatic brain injury, or a brain tumor can also cause aphasia. People with certain types of aphasia can think of the words they want to say but can’t seem to get the words to come out right when they go to say them. They might say a word like "happy" when they really meant to say "Halloween". The sentence comes out like "What are you going to wear for happy?"
 

Cognitive problems – Cognition is your ability to think clearly and remember things. Speech therapists help people with memory problems, reading problems and reasoning problems.