Communication is everyone’s right.
This week we celebrate Speech Week which seeks to promote the speech pathology profession and the work done by speech pathologists. The theme for 2021 is “Communication is everyone’s right” which helps to shine a light on the 1.2 million Australians who have a communication disability.
Here is a “A profile of people with communication disability in Australia” factsheet from the Australian Bureau of Statistics from 2015 which shows the prevalence and impact of communication disability in the national context.
Your Local Experts
Alliance Rehabilitation are your local health & disability health experts providing tailored rehabilitation and support for participants with acquired or developmental speech, language, cognitive, voice and/or swallowing problems. Rehabilitation and support may be delivered individually or in a group, with the goal of optimising communication and swallowing skills for life.
The speech pathologists at Alliance Rehabilitation are registered with Speech Pathology Australia (SPA), the national accreditation body. SPA regulates members to ensure they are keeping up to date with latest evidence based practice.
Speech Pathology Services include:
- Assessment and rehabilitation of disorders affecting communication and swallowing including language difficulties (aphasia), motor speech disorders (apraxia and dysarthria) and voice disorders (dysphonia).
- Assessment and provision of alternative and augmentative communication systems.
- Education of family and carers about communication and swallowing disorders.
- Contribution to discharge planning as part of the Alliance Rehabilitation team.
Safe Swallowing Strategies – What is dysphagia? What is aspiration?
Dysphagia is a medical team that means ‘difficulty or discomfort in swallowing.’ This difficulty can be for many reasons and is often managed by modifying fluids, and swallowing rehabilitation exercises. Aspiration is a medical term that means ‘breathing in a foreign object’. Aspiration of food and fluids means that small amounts of drinks and food are going into the airway instead of down into the stomach, which can cause chest infections (pneumonia).
- Coughing after eating or drinking any food or fluids.
- A feeling of food being stuck in your throat (like a lump) – i.e. choking.
- Having to swallow multiple times to clear a mouthful of food from your throat.
- Food being left behind in your mouth after swallowing.
- Difficulty chewing particular foods – i.e. fatigue.
- Taking a long time to finish a meal.
- Sudden spikes in temperature particularly soon after eating or drinking.
If you notice changes indicating difficulty swallowing it is important to seek advice from a speech pathologist. However, there are some basic strategies that can be used to decrease the chances of choking on food or fluids if swallowing difficulties arise.
- Ensure you are sitting fully upright throughout your meal. Remain seated upright for at least 20 minutes after you’ve finished eating or drinking.
- Ensure you have the TV turned off during mealtimes. Eliminating distractions during mealtime will allow you to focus completely on your eating your meal.
- Take small mouthfuls/sips and take only one bite at a time. Ensure you have finished one mouthful before taking another.
- Alternate mouthfuls of food and drink.
- Listen to your voice, if it sounds gurgly, swallow again.
- Stop eating if there is ongoing coughing or choking during eating.
- Take frequent pauses during the meal – don’t rush.
It is important that if you have any sudden spikes in temperature – particularly soon after eating or drinking – seek medical advice immediately.
Integrated Approach
Our Speech Pathologists can tailor your therapy plan with assistance from our allied health team
Outreach & Telehealth Services
While based in Townsville, Alliance Rehabilitation has extensive outreach services in Ayr, Ingham, Cairns, Charters Towers, Hughenden, Richmond, Magnetic Island, and Palm Island. The Alliance Rehabilitation team travels on a regular basis from Townsville to these smaller communities to provide a consistent scheduled service.
To support our outreach Alliance Rehabilitation offers telehealth services to participants located both inside and outside of Townsville. Combined in-person and telehealth services have proved successful for maintaining the intensity of therapy for our remote participants.
Telehealth services using Alliance Rehabilitation infrastructure can also be arranged between GP’s and specialists external to our service. Not all clinicians can travel to each location, so telehealth allows for a broader reach of the service, greater intensity of services delivered, and improves continuity of care.
