Speech-language pathologists at SLI identify, assess, and provide intervention for individuals with a variety of disorders, including:

Articulation
  • Sound substitutions, distortions or omissions; difficulty producing specific individual sound(s) correctly in words, sentences or conversation
  • Difficulty with a pattern of sounds that occur in language
Fluency (Stuttering)
  • Speech disorders in which the flow of speech is broken by repetitions, prolongations, or stoppages and may include unusual facial and body movements
  • Rapid repetition of distorted speech sounds (cluttering)
Voice and Resonance
  • Difficulties with vocal pitch (frequency), volume (intensity) and/or quality (tone)
  • Hoarseness, harshness, breathiness, strained voice quality
  • Voice Abuse/Misuse
  • LOUD Crowd® support group, for individuals with Parkinson disease who have completed SPEAK OUT!®, a speech therapy program developed by Parkinson Voice Project.
Receptive and Expressive Language (Including Reading and Writing)
  • Difficulty with comprehension of spoken language (listening) or written language (reading)
  • Troubles communicating thoughts, feeling and experiences in both verbal (talking) and written (writing) form, across 5 parameters:
    • Phonology (rules for speech sounds in a language)
    • Semantics (meaning of words used in a language)
    • Syntax (order of words in a language)
    • Morphology (how words are formed in a language)
    • Pragmatics (use of language in social interactions)
  • Nonverbal aspects of language may include struggling with making or interpreting facial expressions, body language, tones of voice and situation use/rules of communication
Hearing
  • Deficits in hearing as related to their impact with communication (aural habilitation/rehabilitation)
  • Full audiological evaluations may be scheduled with our partner clinic, the Pennsylvania Ear Institute
Swallowing
  • Impairments of the oral preparatory, oral, pharyngeal and/or esophageal phases of the swallow (dysphagia)
Communication
  • Cognitive aspects of communication
    • Conditions that affect:
      • Attention
      • Memory (short-term or working memory and long-term memory)
      • Reasoning
      • Problem Solving
      • Orientation (person, place, time and situation)
      • Insight/Judgment
      • Executive Functioning (planning/sequencing, self-monitoring skills)
  • Social aspects of communication
    • Disorders affecting the ability to use and interpret language in social context
  • Augmentative and alternative communication modalities
    • The use of manual, augmentative and alternative communication techniques and/or assistive technology for temporary or permanent communication disorders impacting spoken and written modes (box)

SLI also provides evaluations and follow-up sessions to enhance presentation style and professional communication skills.

Communication Skills:

Topics such as interpersonal communication, presentation skills, writing abilities, personal/professional appearance, negotiations/assertiveness, problem solving and decision-making aids, and stress management