A Deeper Look at CCMH’s Speech Therapy Services
July 27, 2020
CARROLLTON, Mo. – Did you know that Carroll County Memorial Hospital offers extensive rehabilitation services? Let’s discuss our Speech Therapy Services.
Lacey Long, MS, CCC-SLP, has been a member of the CCMH team for over eight years. Long has been providing CCMH patients with quality care to prevent, assess, diagnose and treat speech, language, social communication, cognitive-communication, and swallowing disorders in children and adults.
Long recently acquired the designation of Registered MBSImP Clinician by successfully completing the Modified Barium Swallow Impairment Profile training. The training provides standardized protocol to interpret and communicate swallowing impairment in a manner that is specific, consistent, accurate and objective.
The assessment of swallow function is completed through examination of 17 physiologic components necessary for the execution of normal swallowing. Components break down into oral impairment, pharyngeal impairment and esophageal impairment.
“I am very excited about the information I received during this training as it utilizes evidence-based standardization. I have performed Modified Barium Swallow studies (MBSS) for several years; however, the MBSImP protocol allows me to create a less subjective study that focuses on the dysfunction of all physiologic impairments,” Long said. “The goal of MBSS shouldn’t be focused solely on penetration/aspiration or determining the least restrictive diet, but most importantly determining dysfunction. This will allow us to re-habilitate the swallow system and re-evaluate to determine improvement of the function.”
Long works with both children and adults across the lifespan.
Areas of speech-language services include:
• Speech disorders occur when a person has difficulty producing speech sounds correctly or fluently (e.g., stuttering is a form of disfluency) or has problems with his or her voice or resonance.
• Language disorders occur when a person has trouble understanding others (receptive language), or sharing thoughts, ideas, and feelings (expressive language). Language disorders may be spoken or written and may involve the form (phonology, morphology, syntax), content (semantics), and/or use (pragmatics) of language in functional and socially appropriate ways.
• Social communication disorders occur when a person has trouble with the social use of verbal and nonverbal communication. These disorders may include problems (a) communicating for social purposes (e.g., greeting, commenting, asking questions), (b) talking in different ways to suit the listener and setting, and (c) following rules for conversation and story-telling. Individuals with autism spectrum disorder and other conditions such as traumatic brain injury have social communication problems.
Cognitive-communication disorders include problems organizing thoughts, paying attention, remembering, planning, and/or problem-solving. These disorders usually happen as a result of a stroke, traumatic brain injury, or dementia, although they can be congenital.
• Swallowing disorders (dysphagia) are feeding and swallowing difficulties, which may follow an illness, surgery, stroke, or injury.
Speech-language pathologists also provide:
• Aural rehabilitation for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.
• Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems for individuals with severe expressive and/or language comprehension disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder or progressive neurological disorders.
• Accent modification or other forms of communication enhancement for individuals who want to learn how to communicate more effectively.
For more information about the services at Carroll County Memorial Hospital, visit our website http://www.carrollcountyhospital.org or call 660-542-1695.
Carroll County Memorial Hospital (CCMH), the area’s premier healthcare resource, is a 25-bed Critical Access facility serving Carrollton and the surrounding communities. It offers 24-hour emergency care, specialized services such as advanced diagnostics, post-acute skilled care (swing bed) and comprehensive family care. CCMH is dedicated to the Health and Well Being of All We Serve. For more information, visit carrollcountyhospital.org.