Speech Therapy Care

HOME SPEECH THERAPY

Home speech therapy can help people who are eligible get better at things like talking, swallowing, and processing information. Patients receiving home health speech therapy may be suffering from medical issues such as stroke, dementia, cancer, or brain trauma. Some people may have trouble speaking because their vocal cords and muscles have changed with age.

There is no need to suffer in silence if you are suffering from any of these illnesses and are qualified for home health care. Tahara Health speech therapists may work with you, your caregivers, and your doctor to create a treatment plan that is tailored to your specific needs. You will get encouragement, help, and resources to help you deal with your illness in the safety and comfort of your own home.

What is Adult Speech Therapy?

Assessing and treating swallowing issues, communication, cognition (thinking and understanding), language, and speech disorders are all parts of speech therapy for adults.

It is administered by speech-language pathologists (SLPs), also known as speech therapists. These people have a lot of education and training that makes them qualified to do speech therapy. The American Speech-Language Hearing Association certifies all Tahara Health speech therapists.

A speech therapist visits your home for home health care speech treatment. This might be your own house, the home of a family member, a group home, or a senior living complex. Our speech therapists can help you recover from an accident or surgery or deal with a sudden or long-term health problem. You’ll also discover healthy living suggestions and activities you can do on your own to improve your ability to think, speak, and eat or drink.

SPEECH THERAPY SERVICES AT Tahara Health

What do speech therapists perform, and who benefits from speech therapy? Our in-home speech therapy services are tailored to your specific requirements and doctor’s recommendations. Here are a few examples:

• Cognitive, linguistic, communication, and swallowing impairments are assessed and treated.
• Care intends to address swallowing and communication issues while also improving safety.
• Patient and caregiver education that may include oral motor and breathing exercises, safe swallowing methods, and compensatory measures
• Exercises to build and protect the speaking muscles
• Memory, logic, planning, concentration, organization, and problem-solving abilities are all required.
• Visual and auditory aids, as well as other tools, are available for people with cognitive disabilities.
• Diet planning, feeding and hydration practices, and postural adjustments can all aid with swallowing issues.
• Services for articulation, voice, and resonance to improve speaking
• Writing, word-finding, reading, and understanding are examples of language services.
• Alternative (verbal and nonverbal) communication methods, such as specific gadgets, computers, tablets, and smartphones

   

TREATED CONDITIONS TYPES

A wide range of disorders can be treated with home-based speech therapy. If you have had a stroke, some types of cancer, dementia, a brain injury, or a neurological disorder, you may benefit from exercises that help you re-learn important skills. We frequently treat patients in home care speech therapy with:

• Inability to communicate or speak
• Cancer of the brain, throat, or mouth
• COPD
• Parkinson’s disease is a neurological disorder.
• Difficulty swallowing or chewing, which is frequently caused by a stroke, degenerative neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s and MS, head and neck cancer, pneumonia, dry mouth, or other oral abnormalities,
• Difficulty finding the proper words, utilizing or comprehending language, or speaking in a halting or confusing manner (aphasia or other communication disorders, often related to stroke or a brain disorder)
• Using words out of sequence or having difficulty formulating words (apraxia, often due to stroke)
• Speech that is slow, slurred, or difficult to comprehend (dysarthria, which is frequently associated with Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or stroke)
• Vocal cord and/or larynx muscle weakness
• Alzheimer’s disease/dementia and its associated attention, memory, and problem-solving difficulties
• difficulty speaking, which is frequently a result of a stroke or brain damage
• Disorders of articulation, or the inability to form particular words
• Stuttering and cluttering are examples of fluency impairments.
• Resonance abnormalities are frequently associated with neurological illnesses.
• Receptive problems are frequently associated with hearing loss or a head injury.
• Expressive problems are frequently associated with head trauma, physical diseases, and hearing loss.
• Cognitive-communication difficulties are frequently associated with brain damage, stroke, or another neurological illness.
• High risk of falling, aided cognition, hearing loss assessment, diet, and hydration

   

If you meet the criteria, Medicare, Medicaid, or other insurance may pay for and allow you to receive speech therapy in the privacy of your own home.

What does speech therapy cost?

Speech therapy: is it covered by insurance? If you qualify for home health care and your doctor authorizes it, the cost of speech therapy is usually covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and certain private insurance plans. To learn more, contact Tahara Health today.

Do you qualify for home health speech therapy?

If you find it difficult to leave your house, you may be eligible for home health care. To be eligible for Medicare coverage for home health care, you must fulfill certain requirements such as :

• You are homebound, for example. This implies you find it difficult to leave the house and require the assistance of supporting equipment (a  walker, a wheelchair, etc.) or another person to do so, and
• You require intermittent or part-time skilled care, which may include speech therapy, skilled nursing, physical therapy, or occupational therapy
• Your doctor may order home health care for you

If you do not satisfy these home health criteria, you may be able to have speech therapy at home if you pay for it out of pocket or via private insurance. Outpatient clinics, rehabilitation centers, doctor’s offices, private speech therapy practices, and hospitals may also provide speech therapy.

YOU MAY NEED SPEECH THERAPY

If you’ve never been to speech therapy before, you might think that the changes you’re seeing are just a normal part of getting older. However, speech therapy services can significantly enhance a patient’s quality of life. Look for the following symptoms to see if you need adult speech therapy:

• Have you noticed any changes in the way you talk, like speaking in short, choppy sentences or repeating words?
• Is it tough to swallow? Do you cough when eating or get the sensation that something is caught in your throat or chest?
• Do you have trouble requesting items or responding to questions?
• Do you worry that you won’t be able to communicate your feelings or needs in an emergency?
• Is it difficult for you to understand others or to communicate in a way that others can understand?
• Have you stopped talking as much as you used to?
• Is your voice hoarse or raspy?
• Do you become upset or furious because it’s hard to comprehend people or express yourself?
• Do you have a hard time paying attention or solving problems?
• Because it’s hard for you to talk, do you have trouble managing your money or keeping doctor’s appointments?
• Have you been hurt (for example, as the consequence of a fall) or gotten into a risky situation?

   

These may be signals that you may benefit from speech treatment at home. If you’re coping with concerns like these, ask your doctor if you fulfill the criteria for home health speech therapy.

HOW TO DO SPEECH THERAPY AT HOME

What can you anticipate from speech therapy home visits? What happens in speech therapy for adults, and how does speech therapy work?

With Tahara Health, in-home speech therapy starts with an evaluation. During the initial visit, we’ll get to know you and your environment and talk with your family and caregivers. We may ask you to undertake specific tasks or answer questions to help us understand your needs.

Your home health SLP will build a plan that incorporates the best exercises and tools to help address the things you’re having a hard time accomplishing. They will also rule out other variables that may be causing or contributing to your issues, such as drugs or dehydration. You’ll work together to set objectives for care and a visit schedule. At each speech therapy home visit, your therapist may:

• Ask about your medicines and any upcoming doctor’s visits.
• Ask whether there have been any changes since your last visit.
• Check your vital indicators, such as your weight, pulse, and oxygen saturation.
• Educate you and your caretaker so that you can be in charge of your care and illness at home.
• Give you activities to work on between sessions so you may accomplish your objectives quicker

After visits, your speech pathologist will report your progress back to the rest of the home health team and your physician to make sure everyone is up to date on how you’re doing.

How long does speech therapy take?

How long speech treatment takes depends on your needs and your doctor’s recommendations. When making a care plan, your doctor will look at the type of speech problem, how often therapy is needed, and any underlying health problems. The speech pathologist will change how long the session is and what you do during it so that you feel challenged and learn new skills without getting tired or giving up.

HOME HEALTH SPEECH THERAPY GOALS

Speech therapy seeks to help people optimize their abilities to talk, listen, read, write, and swallow. Some of our home health speech therapy goals are to:

• Restore communication if you can, or come up with ways to make up for it to keep what you have and keep it from getting worse.
• Improve eating and swallowing
• Maintain an appropriate diet and weight, and remain hydrated.
• Reduce the risk of choking and aspiration.
• Strengthen your vocal cords to improve communication.
• Increase independence
• Improve the quality of life
• Teach family members or caregivers about your condition and appropriate exercises and treatments

   

After home-based speech therapy, patients and caregivers feel more confident doing their exercises and are better able to manage safely at home.

How does speech therapy work?

Speech therapy can be effective for a variety of health conditions. Most patients can hold onto the gains they make during speech therapy home visits by doing exercises as assigned by their speech therapist. Several factors can determine how helpful speech therapy is, including:

• The type of disorder being treated; the severity of the impairment
• The patient’s age
• How early/late you start speech therapy after onset/injury
• Number and frequency of visits
• Whether the patient practices’ the assigned exercises on their own

   

Speech therapy at home usually works best when it starts soon after an injury or when a condition starts. However, you can make progress even if your injury or condition has existed for some time. In these situations, the goals of home health speech therapy are usually to keep your current level of function, stop your condition from getting worse, and teach you how to deal with it.

HOW CAN IN-HOME SPEECH THERAPY HELP?

Many people feel home is the best place to receive speech therapy. In addition to being more comfortable, being at home can enhance the benefits of speech therapy for the elderly, so patients can get the most out of each session. Here are some of the benefits of speech therapy at home with Tahara Health:

• Home health SLPs learn about the patient’s home environment and can tailor therapy to the patient’s specific needs.
• The patient can use their own items in therapy, such as photos for memory tasks and silverware for swallowing tasks. This makes the therapist’s instructions relevant to the patient’s daily life and maximizes the effectiveness of each session.
• Patients can spend more time and energy on therapy when they don’t have to spend time and energy driving to and from appointments.
• Family members and/or caregivers can observe sessions and learn the exercises and techniques. This way, they can help their loved one practice in between sessions and continue to make progress.
• Home health therapy can improve the quality of life by helping people pay more attention, remember things, think more clearly, and solve problems.
• Patients develop coping strategies, gain confidence in communicating with others, have better safety awareness, and have the ability to stay independent at home.
• For some, home health therapy makes it possible to stop a feeding tube or start going out to dinner or family gatherings as swallowing improves.

   

Why Speech Therapy for Seniors?

Speech therapy can be helpful at any age, but it can be vital for older adults. Here are a few benefits of speech therapy for the elderly:

• Safety
• Emotional Health
• Daily Tasks
• Independence
• Memory
• Quality of Life

Misconceptions About Speech Therapy at Home

1. Speech therapists just help people talk : People sometimes wonder, “Why do I need speech therapy?” “I can talk just fine.” Helping people communicate is an important part of speech therapy. However, the best speech therapists can help with much more. We also try to get patients to be able to swallow again, help them solve problems better, and improve their memory, thinking, reading, and writing skills.
2. Speech therapy is primarily for children with speech issues: Many people think speech therapy is for children with a lisp, stutter, or other speech issue, but speech therapists also care for seniors and adults.
3. Speech Therapists Are All the Same : Some speech therapists specialize in working with seniors, while others work with children. They may also have experience in particular settings, for example, home health, hospitals, outpatient clinics, or nursing homes.
4. The issues I’m having are just part of growing older: Speech therapy for seniors can help with several issues that often come with age, such as loss of elasticity in the vocal cords and strength in the larynx muscles. Speech therapy can also help after a stroke, a head injury, or a condition like dementia or cancer, which are not inevitable parts of growing older. Patients can see significant improvements in their ability to function every day.

Where can I find a speech therapist?

Since home health speech therapy requires a doctor’s order, many patients find speech therapy services through their healthcare provider. Ask your doctor if home speech therapy could help you. Your doctor may refer you to a home health provider. You have the right to choose the company that best suits your needs. You can call Tahara Health to learn more about your options and next steps.

Here are a few considerations when choosing the best speech therapist for your needs:

• What population does the therapist serve most often (e.g., seniors vs. children)?
• What is their area of specialization?
• Does the speech therapist have experience with or specialized training in the issues you’re facing?
• Can they come to your home?
• Do you feel comfortable around them, or are you confident you’ll be able to build a good rapport with them over time?
• Does the provider accept your insurance?
• Have you asked your doctor if you qualify for home health care?

   

Ask your doctor how to do speech therapy at home. Getting care as quickly as possible, especially after a stroke or other health event, can give you the best results.

Call Tahara Health now to learn more. We’ll work closely with your doctor to provide speech therapy, as well as any other services ordered by your doctor, to help you stay independent at home.