
Voice, Speech & Swallowing Conditions
Speech-language therapy can be helpful for those who have difficulty communicating or swallowing — disorders caused by neurologic conditions, cancer, injury to the vocal cords, or other issues that affect speech and swallowing.
Communication problems fall into two main categories:
- Speech impairment – Affects articulation (how speech sounds are made), voice (pitch or volume) and fluency (smoothness or flow).
- Language impairment – Affects understanding or using language, such as how to use language appropriately in social situations (pragmatics).
Conditions That Require Therapy
At El Camino Health, our speech-language pathologists use a variety of therapies to manage speech, language and swallowing disorders. They develop a personalized program that includes education and one-on-one therapy to meet your specific needs. El Camino Health offers both inpatient and outpatient speech-language therapy services.
Neurologic Disorders
People with brain injury or illness — such as stroke, Parkinson’s disease or multiple sclerosis — often have both speech and language impairments, as well as swallowing difficulties. They often need several speech-language therapies, including cognitive-linguistic training, swallowing therapy, pragmatics and Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT).
Speech-language pathologists are part of the inpatient rehabilitation team at the Acute Rehabilitation Center.
Speech and Swallowing Conditions
Our speech-language pathologists treat conditions such as dysphagia (swallowing disorder) — common in those with head and neck cancers — articulation disorders (such as lisping or mispronunciation), fluency disorders (stuttering) and other conditions. Therapists use a variety of techniques to address these issues, including VitalStim® Therapy for swallowing disorders, and training in articulation, fluency and more.
Voice Disorders
There are a number of things that can damage your vocal cords and affect your voice, such as overuse, chronic coughing and smoking. A number of conditions also can cause vocal cord injury, including throat (laryngeal) cancer, spasmodic dysphonia and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
El Camino Health's speech-language pathologists provide personalized voice therapies to reduce strain on the vocal cords and improve voice quality.
Schedule an Appointment
Make an appointment for rehabilitation or get information about services by calling:
Los Gatos
408-866-4059
Mountain View
650-940-7285