Thank you for the question. May I ask what type of injury? That would lead me in the right direction to answe. is there voicing? How is his comprehensio? respiratory status? Looking forward to your response.

speech language pathologist

First, like Mrs. Mayya, it would be helpful to know what type of injury he suffers from. Secondly, assuming his vocal chords are fully healthy, the only other possible physical disablement that may be causing him to not speak would be his breathing and lung capacity. However, if that's alsi fully functional and his lack of speech is purely voluntary, an unwillingness, then there's only two things I could suggest. (1) The first, less aggressive, approach would be to simply play some music he likes and sit in the room with him and start singing along. This would encourage him to start singing as well, and that would work as a way to get him to restart using his vocal chords, but without any obligation. That is,  just by singing along, his words don't have any "consequences", so he shouldn't be afraid to say them. (2) The alternative, less pleasant and more aggressive approach would be to give him two options, but he needs to speak to tell you which he chooses. Along the same lines as the music choice, that could be as simple as telling you which band/CD he would like for you to put on. And don't hold up the CDs, but just lost the options and ask him which he'd like best. Then, instead of just pointing at his choice, he would actually need to speak and tell you his choice! Worst case scenario he still refuses to talk, you might need to use some more aggressive mean. For example, the two music choices are one band he really likes, and one he really hates. If he refuses to talk, then put in the one he dislikes, and let him kno that he can simply tell you to switch, but only by using his voice. Of course, you should only use this option after trying the other ones, and even then, only once all physical inability reasons have been definitively ruled out.  Hope this helps, and best of luck Moniquebtown!

My 20y/o son is 22 months out from date of injury and is still nonverbal. His vocal cords have been scoped and show no sign of injury. He can communicate with his hands. How can I help him to regain speech???

How to help with return of speech

Answer transcribed from the <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.brightwayhealth.org/podcast-episodes/10%3A-symptoms-%26-approaches-to-care-after-brain-injury-with-speech-language-pathologist-amber-kloess" target="_blank">Brightway Answers interview with speech-language pathologist Amber Kloess</a>: This happens quite a bit in my current position as a speech-language pathologist.&nbsp; We have a lot of long-term survivors - two, three, ten years post brain injury, so they switch therapists a lot.&nbsp; That can be frustrating but it can also be a positive thing - it's almost like a breath of fresh air with new treatment ideas, new areas that they might want to work on. I do a thorough case review prior to the patient’s first appointment. I’ll review progress notes from the last speech pathologist, their recent neuropsychological reports, and feedback from other clinical team members.&nbsp; When I meet the patient, I’ll summarize the case history as much as possible instead of having them repeat their case history again to me. I then ask them or the family member if there's anything specific that is missing. Motivational interviewing, a person-centered approach to assessment, is also important to make the patient feel heard.&nbsp; During treatment I give open-ended questions like “what is important to you?”, “what are your goals?”, “what do you want to improve on?”, and this can guide therapy goals and sessions. Having my patient provide as much input into their therapy as possible is important - if they don't want to work on a certain goal that I have for them, I'm not going to work on that. If they don't want to get better in an area, then we'll find something else that is more meaningful to them. Motivation seems to play a very large part in how successful recovery is.

Speech-Language Pathologist

It's hard to stay engaged with a new therapist because there may be some overlap, or they focus on something tangential to what the patient wants to work on.

As a therapist, how would you handle taking over a case where a patient has worked with other therapists already?

My partner is 9 years out. Has been seeing a speech therapist for most of that time. At about the 1 year mark an ent scoped the vocal cords to discover one was paralyzed. With the help of an outstanding speech therapist and hyperbaric oxygen it is now fully functional. (hbot regenerated the nerves).

My voice was only a raspy whisper for over a year. Vocal therapy is what helped me, not speech therapy. I still have to be careful to not talk for too long or my voice will get very gravelly. I randomly have trouble swallowing. The odd thing is that I mostly have trouble with liquids.Seeing an ENT before doing more therapy is probably to check if your vocal cords are closing/opening properly. If they aren't, then the therapy will be targeted to get your vocal cords working properly.

I am about 9 months into this journey. I was in speech therapy and switched drs. And they don't even want to start speech until I see an eye, ear, and throat specialist. I still get issues when drinking water and eatings things like watermelon, fruit..etc. my voice is deeper sounding and breathy. Will something need to be fixed surgically? Have any of you gone through this? Thank you in advance!

Have any of you experienced issues with your throat or voice and for a long time?

Yes, SP for 8 weeks; continue to utilize tools to help.

Browse Questions

How to help with return of speech

As a therapist, how would you handle taking over a case where a patient has worked with other therapists already?

Have any of you experienced issues with your throat or voice and for a long time?

I’m curious. How many people here worked with a Speech- Language Pathologist after your injury?

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