Hearing and speech therapy can have a positive impact on home care patients. Accredited Home Care offers the ability to bring these therapies right to your home.
In Home Hearing and Speech Therapy
It’s not difficult to find in home care in Woodland Hills or throughout the Orange County / Long Beach area. However, finding an in home care company that can also provide hearing and speech therapy is not nearly as common. Our home health services allow us to stand out among our competition.
Hearing & Speech Therapy Benefit Home Care Clients
5 Ways Hearing and Speech Therapy Can Have a Huge Impact on Home Care Clients
Home care clients have a particular set of needs. In addition to home care assistance, many will also need special therapies. In-home therapy allows the patient to stay in the comfort of their own home while addressing particular needs that can benefit from certain types of therapy to increase quality of life.
Hearing and Speech Therapy Benefits for Home Care Clients
Our focus in this section will be the benefits for adults who require in home care. In addition to needing in home caregiving they may be suffering from speech and/or hearing difficulties.
Aphasia
- Aphasia occurs from a brain trauma.
- You can read more about aphasia here.
- An estimated 1 million Americans are affected by aphasia[1].
- One of the most common reasons for adults with aphasia is the result of having a stroke.
1. Benefits of At Home Hearing and Speech Therapy for Aphasia Patients
Having a certified therapist work with the adults in their home is extremely beneficial. One of the biggest benefits is that we can use a technique referred to as the “Life Participation Approach” with clients.
Working with people in the relaxed atmosphere of their own home is very helpful. Using real life actions and reactions, while concentrating on the therapy, brings a sense of reality into the picture.
2. Focusing on What the Patient Enjoys; With One-on-One
Because aphasia patients are also recovering from a health issue that caused the speech problems, having a caregiver there too is an added benefit. Another benefit is that there are fewer interruptions and distractions when working one on one in the home.
There are no other patients needing attention. The focus is completely on the client and the therapist working together. The therapist can bring a variety of items with them to help with the therapy. In similar fashion they can also utilize items around the house to keep the therapy interesting. An example of this would be using a magazine that the client has in their home to encompass their world into the therapy.
Dementia
- Dementia is an all encompassing term that covers anyone with cognitive issues.
- Contrary to most believe, dementia is not Alzheimer’s disease. However, dementia is a symptom. Alzheimer’s causes about 60% of dementia; nonetheless it is not the only reason for dementia to occur.
- There are over 100 causes of dementia[2]. It is important to know exactly why a person is experiencing dementia because some causes are highly treatable.
3. The Benefits of Speech Therapy for Dementia Patients
One of the issues we see in dementia patients includes the inability to find words. A therapist can help to teach the skills needed to take a breath and focus to help. Along with teaching clients techniques to help them find the right words there are other areas that many may not realize speech therapists can help.
In addition to the actual use of speech, the therapist is highly trained in the anatomy of speech. Specifically, one of the greatest benefits of utilizing a speech therapist for dementia patients is their ability to recognize and treat swallowing issues commonly associated with dementia.
Information on how hearing and speech therapy can have a positive impact on home care patients with dementia is covered in this free pdf brochure from RCSLT.
4. Quality of Life Benefits of Hearing & Speech Therapy for Home Care Patients
Consequently, people who require in home care will often have health issues too. Quality of life should be a priority for everyone. When someone is suffering with hearing and speech problems their quality of life suffers too.
The benefits provided include increased socialization, increased feelings of independence, and promoting self esteem. Having more social interaction helps battle depression, loneliness and feelings of inadequacy.
5. Benefits of Hearing & Speech Therapy for Home Care Patients with Hearing Loss
Undoubtedly, having a hearing loss changes how a person deals with communicating. Adults who have hearing loss can consequently begin to withdraw socially. It is especially traumatic if the adult has gone through hearing loss in stages and doesn’t want to accept the loss it can be difficult to talk them into accepting help.
If we already have an in home caregiver working with the client they may be more acceptable to having another team member come to the home to increase their quality of life. They may be more accepting to working with our therapists. We can assess the client’s needs and work with them to develop better means of communication.
Let Us Help You
Let us be a part of your home care team. You can benefit from both in home caregiving and in home health services. We want you to understand the ways hearing and speech therapy can have a huge impact on the lives of home care clients.
[1] The National Institute on Neurological Disorders and Stroke – ASHA Article
[2] Speech & Language Provision for People with Dementia, Position Paper 2005/2010
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