As your loved ones get older, they’ll find themselves having a harder time to communicate efficiently and effectively. This can be extremely infuriating and dangerous as loved ones are no longer able to express themselves freely, especially when it comes to emergency situations and they can’t relay their pain or discomfort. As you can see, having a speech impediment can negatively affect your loved ones’ social life and this can cause some of them to disengage from society. This further leads to a higher risk of social isolation and loneliness, which can be detrimental to your loved ones’ mental health. However, there is a way to cure speech impediments and it’s through speech therapy. As such, here are the benefits of speech therapy for seniors.
Improves Vocal Cords
When our bodies age, it’s natural for our vocal cords to loosen and become less elastic over time. This is the main reason why your loved ones face challenges in speaking clearly as the larynx muscles are gradually weakening. During speech therapy sessions, our therapists have the capability to help your loved ones to strengthen their vocal cords by conducting vocal aerobics, such as breathing exercises, relaxation exercises, and even movement and posture practices. With enough speech therapy sessions, your loved ones may find an improvement in the quality of their communication.
Alleviates Eating Issues
If you find that your loved ones face trouble swallowing their food, they may suffer from weakened larynx muscles as well. Therefore, your loved ones may be at risk of speech impediment, so it’s recommended to seek a doctor’s advice as immediately as possible. Difficulty in swallowing food is highly threatening as it will lead to a higher likelihood of your loved ones choking on their meals. How speech therapy helps is by strengthening both the larynx and jaw muscles, making it easier for your loved ones to chew and swallow.
Treats Aphasia and Apraxia
Aphasia is a stroke-related condition that affects the ability to communicate, whereas Apraxia is a neurological disorder that prevents the affected individual to move their lips properly. Aphasia is the more common of the two and the patient will experience difficulty in expressing their thoughts clearly.
For patients who are diagnosed with either Aphasia or Apraxia, speech therapy is highly recommended and should be implemented as quickly as possible to increase the likelihood of a cure.
Manages Memory Loss and Dementia Issues
Here at Discovery Commons Cypress Point, we especially recommend speech therapy for our Memory Care residents. Research has shown that speech therapy has the ability to maintain or improve the brain’s specific communication function, which is part of the overall cognitive health. In the long run, speech therapy can also help your loved ones’ to boost their problem-solving and attention skills.
Enhances Quality of Life
As mentioned above, your loved ones will no doubt receive a higher quality of life after attending a number of speech therapy sessions. From having the capability to eat well and communicate effectively, your loved ones can get by more independently and they no longer have to sacrifice their social life. At the end of the day, their health, safety, and happiness will increase.
