Clients

 

Diagnosis

 

I provide specialist therapy input for adults with acquired neurological conditions including:

  • Brain injury

  • Stroke

  • Locked-in syndrome

  • Dementia

  • Parkinson’s disease

  • Huntington’s disease

  • Motor neurone disease

  • Multiple sclerosis

  • Guillain-Barre syndrome

I also work with:

  • Clients with a tracheostomy. I can provide specialist support to help with weaning or to optimise communication / swallowing with the tracheostomy in situ.

  • Voice impairments. These may be caused by nodules, vocal cord paralysis, brain injury or ENT surgery.

Communication

The above conditions can result in changes to communication skills:

  • Aphasia: a language impairment causing difficulties speaking, understanding, reading, writing and / or gesture.

  • Dysarthria: muscle weakness of the face, mouth or throat which can cause speech to sound slurred.

  • Apraxia of speech: a speech impairment affecting ability to plan speech movements.

  • Cognitive-communication disorder: “ this includes difficulties with attention, memory, planning and social interaction.

  • Dysphonia: changes to voice quality. This can include having a hoarse, strained, or quiet voice.

Swallowing

Neurological changes can also cause difficulties swallowing:

  • Dysphagia:“ this means swallowing impairment which can impact on abilities to swallow saliva, food and drink. Symptoms include drooling, difficulties chewing and coughing / choking on food and drink.