Speech Objectives for Verbalization

Aphasia, or the inability to speak and communicate, occurs in two forms, sometimes concurrent. Expressive aphasia is the difficulty to form and speak words while receptive aphasia is the limited ability to understand words that are written and spoken. Speech language pathologists are trained in speech disorders and specialize in therapy to treat speech disorders. Speech therapists use a variety of techniques, exercises and activities to facilitate speech recovery after illnesses or injuries such as stroke, brain tumor or an exacerbation of Parkinson's disease.

Exercises

• Many conditions can cause the decreased ability to control and coordinate oral and facial muscles, which results in slurred and unintelligible speech. Speech therapists teach a variety of speech muscle exercises, such as touching the tongue to the roof of the mouth, pursing lips or making a "cluck" sound. As muscles strengthen and coordination improves, the ability to correctly form words also improves.

Breath Support

• Appropriate breath control is vital to verbalization and affects the volume of speech. After a stroke or other brain injury or after intubation, volitional breathing may have decreased strength. This poor breath control results in faintly spoken words or only one word of a sentence being audible. Taking multiple breaths while speaking one sentence improves speech volume.

Word Selection

• Word selection can be a difficult speech impediment to overcome for most patients. Various forms exist, including the inability to select any word or the selection of the wrong word. Speech therapists rehabilitate word selection by having patients identify objects in pictures and progress to helping select the right word to complete a sentence. With word selection improvement, therapists then teach patients how to form full sentences and convey thoughts effectively.

Functional Verbalization

• Once the mechanics of speech impediment are improved, speech therapists advance the focus of treatment to functional verbalization, addressing grammar, semantics and social communication. Therapists may assess and treat concomitant issues such as memory, reading skills and simple cognition such as identifying present date and location. Social communication is the final phase of speech therapy for verbalization, with therapists performing spontaneous, social communication with patients and facilitating effective social verbalization.