How Can I Improve My ALS Speech?
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease or motor neuron disease) affects muscle control, including muscles needed to speak, eat and breathe.
For individuals with ALS, working with a speech-language pathologist at the earliest signs of speech or voice changes is vital.
At Comprehensive Rehab, our speech-language therapists work with ALS patients on oral motor exercises to assist with communication issues brought on by the disease.
How does ALS affect speech?
A progressive neurodegenerative disease, ALS affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. In the body, motor neurons connect the brain to the spinal cord and the spinal cord to all other muscles.
According to the ALS Association, “When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. When voluntary muscle action is progressively affected, people may lose the ability to speak, eat, move and breathe.”
Speech changes are common with ALS and advance with the progression of the disease. When they receive signals from the brain, muscles — including those that control speech — must compensate for muscles already weakened by ALS.
ALS has two types of onset:
- Bulbar onset affects an individual’s swallowing and speech first. ALS attacks bulbar neurons, which are the nerve cells responsible for bringing messages from the lower parts of the brain to the muscles in the lips, tongue, jaw, voice box, and back of the mouth.
- Spinal onset affects extremity movement first. A patient may notice difficulty holding a fork, using a keyboard, or conducting other fine motor skills. Speech intelligibility is typically preserved for a longer period of time with spinal onset.
However, regardless of if the onset is bulbar or spinal, the likeness of an individual with ALS developing speech difficulties is high.
As the disease progresses, ALS patients may experience:
- Slowed speech
- Slurred speech
- Breathy or hoarse voice
- Difficulty projecting sound
- Difficulty swallowing
- Drooling
Those with ALS often find communication increasingly difficult and requiring additional effort. As a result, those with ALS might find themselves speaking shorter sentences or withdrawing from conversations.
How Does Speech Therapy Help ALS Patients?
The ALS Association recommends patients “begin working with a speech therapist familiar with ALS at the earliest sign of speech or voice changes, and even prior to changes.”
At Comprehensive Rehab, our speech-language pathologists work with ALS patients on their own custom therapy goals to meet their individual needs pertaining to how ALS affects their speech and communication skills.
Therapy exercises may include slowing speech and exaggerating articulation to improve comprehension for others.
Sentence and word phrasing exercises can help promote energy conservation. Tongue and diaphragmatic exercises also can improve articulation and voice projection.
Swallowing evaluations can help identify problems that occur when eating or drinking. Speech therapists can help design and implement interventions and exercises geared toward these issues.
Our therapists may conduct an oral-motor examination (OME) to assess muscles used for speech on their strength, range of motion, and coordination.
Declining communication skills have a drastic impact on the quality of life for ALS patients. Speech therapy is an empowering way for patients to promote self-advocacy and self-expression.
Comprehensive Rehab Offers Multi-Discipline Therapy Approach to ALS
At Comprehensive Rehab, we are committed to helping each ALS patient reach their highest level of functional ability. Our unique approach allows for treatment integration among multiple disciplines, including speech therapy, physical therapy, and occupational therapy.
We customize each patient’s treatment plan, and therapists collaborate regarding goals as well as treatments to allow for maximum benefit from every session.
Comprehensive Rehab has Iowa locations in Clinton and Maquoketa. For more information, phone (877) 530-6356.
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