Communication disorders

Communication covers a wide range of speaking, understanding and thinking abilities. When your ability to communicate is altered from a disease, injury or other impairment, it can impact how you form sounds and words, what you understand, how you process information or even your memory.

Communication disorders can be present from birth, start in childhood or can be acquired in adulthood. They may result from nerve and muscle disorders, neurologic impairments such as a stroke, physical impairments such as cleft lip or palate.  We treat communication disorders such as aphasia, which is a language impairment that can occur after stroke or head injury; dysarthria, a motor speech disorder that can impact how you produce speech sounds; and apraxia of speech, which refers to a difficulty with the motor programming of speech that makes it difficult to produce the intended words or sounds.  We also help people learn to communicate after tracheostomy  (an opening in the windpipe) and after being dependent on a ventilator for an extended period of time, using either a speaking valve to produce verbal messages, or through writing and speech-generating devices.

Our trained speech-language pathologists will work closely with you to understand how your communication disorder is impacting your quality of life. We work with you and your family to create a plan based on your individual needs, and use a wide variety of simple and sophisticated tools to help you achieve success.

Choose Duke speech pathology because we offer:

A team approach. Our speech-language pathologists coordinate your care with teams of specialists in Huntington’s Disease, ALS, Parkinson’s and other movement disorders, concussion, neonatology and special infant care.

Individualized care. We combine formal standardized testing with information about your experiences and every day tasks that we obtain through a personal interview, surveys and quality of life measures. The information gathering results in an accurate assessment of your communication deficits and needs. It is also used to measure and track your progress toward reaching your goals.

High- and low-tech therapy tools. We help you learn to use mobile devices, smart phones, computers, and other types of technology to meet your individual therapy goals, which may include skills like communicating your ideas to another or remembering appointments.   We may also  recommend low-tech devices such as eye gaze boards, visual schedules, memory books, and communication boards and books. We recommend the tool that works best for you.

Augmentative and alternative communication program. We have a wide variety of equipment and speech-generating devices in our clinic, including innovative technology for diagnosing and treating all types of communication disorders. Our rehabilitation engineer can help you use technology regardless of any physical challenges you may have. We also offer an assistive device loaner program so you can try devices before making commitments to them. 

Trained, knowledgeable professionals. Our speech pathologists are up to date on the latest techniques for evaluating and treating all types of communication disorders. Our services are based on therapies that are proven successful, are supported by published studies, and are backed by a national consensus of experts.