Speech Therapy
Why Should I Choose Speech Therapy?
Speech therapy is beneficial for patients who experience speech or swallowing issues due to health conditions such as stroke, cancer, surgery, or disease. Speech therapists often work closely with children who may experience developmental speech issues. Speech therapy can provide numerous benefits for people experiencing a variety of health concerns, including:
- Speech Disorders
- Language Disorders
- Social Communication disorders
- Cognitive Communication disorders
- Feeding and Swallowing Disorders
What Are the Benefits?
Restore your ability to communicate: by strengthening the muscles used to speak, teaching communication strategies, and using technology Speech Language Pathologists can help you be heard and understood by those around you
Restore your ability to feed and swallow: One of the most basic of human functions, Speech Language Pathologist can provide exercises, education, and modifications of technique and diet to help people safely feed and swallow.
Involvement in your recovery: Treatment with a Speech Language Pathologist is all about you. The patients’ individual goals and needs are the central focus of our care.
How Do I Schedule Speech Therapy?
Most patients receive a referral to Speech Therapy from their physician, specialist, or surgeon. Speech Language Pathologists will communicate with your referring physician and keep them informed of your care and progress.
Spencer Hospital Speech Therapy offers our patients convenient scheduling options in multiple locations. To schedule an appointment with a Spencer Hospital Speech Language Pathologist, call Spencer Hospital Rehabilitation Services at 712-264-8300 extension 6189.
How Should I Prepare for My Therapy Session?
After scheduling your initial evaluation, you will need to register through Spencer Hospital Patient Registration. On the day of your evaluation, please arrive 15 minutes prior to your appointment to complete registration and intake paperwork.
Your first visit with the Speech Language Pathologist, called an initial evaluation, will take about 1 hour. Treatment sessions typically take between 30-60 minutes and you may see your therapist 1-3 times per week, until you meet your goals. The average number of times a patient in our clinic sees their Speech Language Pathologist, including the initial evaluation, is 9.
Education & Certifications
Entry into Speech Language Pathology programs requires a bachelor’s degree to be eligible for admission. Speech Language Pathologist education programs offer graduate level degrees, typically consisting of a Master’s Program. Most programs are 2-3 years in length and include classroom and clinical education. Following graduation, Speech Language Pathologists are eligible to sit for a national certification exam to earn the Certificate of Clinical Competency in Speech Language Pathology (CCC-SLP) designation. In Iowa, once an SLP is licensed, they must complete annual continuing education to keep their license current.