Our speech therapists work with patients who need assistance to speak and communicate clearly. Speech therapy can be especially helpful for patients whose abilities are impaired because of a stroke or head injury, who suffer from speech impediments such as stuttering, who have suffered hearing loss, or who have a mental disability or a condition such as cerebral palsy.
Who needs outpatient speech therapy?
Patients who have suffered a stroke or head injury, have hearing loss, have a speech impediment, or have a mental disability such as cerebral palsy may benefit from outpatient speech therapy. Evaluation and treatment at Wasatch Peak is provided by speech-language pathologists (SLPs), commonly referred to as “speech therapists.”
SLPs do more than help patients with phonetics and articulation; they can also address voice disorders, problems with swallowing and upper aerodigestive functions, issues related to hearing and auditory processing, and more. Patients of all ages may benefit from speech therapy, whether a particular disorder is congenital or caused by disease or injury.
What can speech therapists treat?
Speech-language pathologists may use their training to:
- Treat articulation disorders by helping a patient learn to make certain sounds.
- Improve fluency in patients who stutter.
- Help patients with vocal control and/or respiratory disorders.
- Assist patients with aphasia.
- Help patients with augmentative and alternative communication systems.
- Improve children’s language comprehension and production skills.
- Educate the patient’s family in techniques for supporting the patient.
Who needs speech therapy?
Anyone who has difficulty speaking (or difficulty speaking clearly) may benefit from speech therapy. Children who suffer from hearing impairment, breathing/swallowing disorders, autism, vocal nodules or hoarseness, weak muscles around the mouth, or cleft lip/palate may benefit from speech therapy at Wasatch Peak Physical Therapy.
Likewise, adult patients with any of the aforementioned conditions may benefit from speech therapy. Adults may also suffer from disorders of the voice and speech disorders, such as stuttering, apraxia, or dysarthria; language disorders, such as aphasia; or medical conditions, such as dementia, oral cancer, laryngeal cancer, stroke, traumatic brain injury (TBI), right hemisphere brain injury, Huntington’s Disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). All of these medical conditions and disorders may be cause for seeking treatment through outpatient speech therapy.
Schedule Your Speech Therapy at our Layton location
Do you think you might benefit by working with a speech therapist? Interested in learning more about our services at Wasatch Peak Physical Therapy? If so, call 801-876-1676. Most insurance plans do include speech therapy benefits.
Wasatch Peak Physical Therapy is located in the Wasatch Peak Medical Plaza on the campus of Davis Hospital and Medical Center. Visit us on the south side of the hospital’s main entrance on the first floor in Suite 100. Other locations are in Syracuse, Farmington, and Roy.
Meet Our Speech Therapists
Shawn Clawson
MS, CCC-SLP
Shawn Clawson
Shawn Graduated from Utah State University in 2011 with a Masters Degree in Speech Language Pathology. He earned his Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) in January 2012. He has been a member of The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) since 2011. Shawn has worked for Wasatch Peak Physical Therapy since 2013. He works at Davis Hospital and the Layton Clinic; he will travel to all clinic sites if requested. His areas of specialties include Dysphagia, Dysarthria, Aphasia, Cognition, and working with Articulation/Phonological Disorders. He enjoys helping those who recently suffered Strokes or Traumatic Brain Injuries, along with those who have difficulty swallowing. He also enjoys working with children who need help improving their speech.
Shawn and his wife reside in Davis County where they have 3 children. In his spare time, he can be found doing anything outside with his family. He is an avid USU Aggie and LA Dodger fan. Go Aggies!! Go Dodgers!!