When we think of speech therapy, images of children working to express themselves or adults learning how to work through a stutter may come to mind. However, speech therapists can also offer their services to elderly patients for several reasons. In fact, speech therapy can be provided by home care agencies as part of their services to help seniors age in place.

Here, we discuss the ways speech therapy helps the elderly:

• Improve one’s ability to swallow.
  Dysphagia is caused by structural changes in the swallowing mechanism that make it challenging to swallow liquids and solids. This increases the risk of choking and malnutrition for seniors. In addition to receiving help from a personal care aide, seniors can also benefit from speech therapy intervention to strengthen their muscles and improve their ability to swallow.
• Improve speech caused by dysarthria.
  Dysarthria occurs when the muscles that produce speech have difficulty with coordination. This makes it challenging for seniors to communicate their needs as they may struggle in making certain sounds. This can also cause them to unintentionally substitute one word for another.
• Prevent unhealthy weight loss.
  When an older adult is unable to communicate his or her needs or is unable to swallow food and liquids properly, they may lose an unhealthy amount of weight. In addition to having a home health aide in Ohio, receiving speech therapy can be a first-line intervention to prevent weight loss and assist seniors with maintaining their nutrition.

Al Amal Health Care Inc is a reputable agency specializing in home health care in Lakewood, Ohio. To provide comprehensive care and overall wellbeing, we offer speech therapy services. To learn more about speech therapy and other ways we can facilitate healthy aging, get in touch with us today.