Speech therapy services through the lifespan

Speech and language disorders affect a person’s ability to speak, understand, write and read. These disorders have a range of causes and may vary from a few speech sound errors to a total loss of the ability to speak and communicate effectively.

Speech therapists

• Director of Speech Therapy, Karen Hartung, MS CCC-SLP Vital Stim Certified, LSVT Certified
• Speech Therapist: Debora Braun, MA CCC-SLP Vital Stim Certified, LSVT Certified
• Speech Therapist: Janine Meister, MA CCC-SLP

Our Speech Therapy Department offers experienced staff to work with a variety of impairments that affect a person’s ability to communicate effectively and swallow safely. The CMH Speech Therapy Department provides evaluation and treatment services to children and adults.

Appointments are by referral only. Please contact your primary care provider to initiate an appointment.

Pediatric speech therapy services

Whether your child is having difficulty developing communication or swallowing skills, or has had an injury, accident, or illness where they need to relearn these skills, our speech therapy team is here for you. We know children learn best through play, so we will motivate your child to develop to their full potential through fun play-based activities.

We frequently help children with:

• Language disorders: Not meeting language developmental milestones in the expected timeframe, difficulty communicating, difficulty with grammar, difficulty comprehending language, difficulty reading, difficulty writing.
• Articulation disorders: Difficulty pronouncing words correctly, substituting sounds, difficult to understand
• Swallowing disorders: Difficulty nursing/taking bottle, Difficulty advancing to solid foods, difficulty chewing, coughing, gagging, choking frequently, messy eating, reduced oral motor skills for eating
• Stuttering: Difficulty with speech fluency, repeating words/partial words, difficulty getting words out, extra non speech noises
• Voice disorders: hoarse vocal quality, nasal vocal quality, vocal loudness issues
• Augmentative/alternative communication: Teaching use of pictures, gestures, speech generating devices, and high-tech communication systems
• Concussion, brain injury, and stroke rehab
• Social communication disorders: difficulty with social skills, figurative language, expected social behaviors
• Pediatric Rehab Program: coordinated care with PT and OT to meet all of your child’s needs. Coordinated scheduling efforts to make back to back appointments when able. Collaboration between therapies when appropriate to have multiple disciplines involved in a single appointment

Adult speech therapy services

Adults generally seek speech therapy after an illness or injury changes their ability to communicate or swallow. At times, adults need speech therapy services for gradual changes through aging or unknown causes.

We frequently help adults with:

• Communication problems after a concussion, stroke, brain injury, or illness
• Swallowing disorders: difficulty chewing, difficulty swallowing foods, coughing or choking after swallowing, foods sticking in your throat. We complete Modified barium swallow study/Videofluoroscopic swallow studies (VFSS) to assess swallowing functions and make recommendations for treatment. We may recommend altered foods/liquids or strengthening exercises with Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (VitalStim) to improve swallowing
• Augmentative/alternative communication: Communication through non-speech methods including high tech communication systems
• Cognitive communication disorders: Difficulty with cognition and language related language, including difficulty recalling what was said, difficulty comprehending, difficulty with verbal reasoning, difficulty with concentrating on conversation
• Stuttering/fluency disorders: Difficulty with speech fluency, repeating words / partial words, difficulty getting words out, extra non speech noises
• Voice disorders: hoarse or harsh vocal quality, nasal vocal quality, problems with vocal loudness
• Communication following a laryngectomy, as well as rehab following treatment for head and neck cancers

Speech therapy is part of CMH’s Concussion Rehabilitation Program team

Are you experiencing sleepiness, nausea, more frequent headaches, dizziness, difficulty concentrating or mental fog, sensitivity to light or noise, or vision problems? You may be experiencing the effects of a concussion: a traumatic injury causing the temporary loss of normal brain function.

Early intervention is crucial to concussion patients’ recovery. The CMH Concussion Rehabilitation Program works with this concept in mind—offering compensatory techniques

As part of the program, speech therapy assesses and treats impairments involving concentration, processing speed, memory, reading comprehension, word retrieval, reasoning, critical thinking, and range of motion.

Ask your physician for a referral to the CMH Concussion Rehabilitation Program.

Speech Therapy is available for patients who may be suffering from long COVID

The challenges that may accompany COVID-19 can continue for many weeks or months following a diagnosis and can drastically impact a person’s well being and ability to conduct their daily life.

Speech Therapy can help you take your life back! Our interventions include:

• Linguistic evaluations for “COVID Brain Fog” to determine the exact nature and severity of impairment. Tailored rehabilitation exercises to help patients improve.
• Assessment and treatment for swallowing problems and breathing difficulty caused by uncoordinated swallowing
• Treatment for improving vocal loudness and quality

Embracing speech therapy at CMH: a patient testimonial

Five year old Thomas Power, who struggled with chronic ear infections as an infant, developed difficulty hearing. This affected his speech development and that of his younger brother, Joey–who patterned his communication.

Together, the two boys underwent speech therapy with CMH therapists Deb Braun and Karen Hartung. Their mom, Terese Power, said, “They met Joey and Thomas’s needs and really worked to identify different methods of engaging the boys.” The personalized approach, Terese said, made the experience fun for the boys and introduced tips and tools for the boys to continue working with once they finished therapy.