Selected Podcast
When Does It Make Sense To Seek Speech Therapy
Wendy Marr-Smith discusses her role as a speech pathologist, and when one should seek speech therapy.
Featured Speaker:
Wendy Marr-Smith, MS, CCC-SLP
Wendy Marr-Smith, MS, CCC-SLP is a Speech Pathologist. Transcription:
When Does It Make Sense To Seek Speech Therapy
Caitlin Whyte: Communicating ideas can be difficult, which is why many turn to speech therapy for help with a range of issues from articulation to cognition. But how do you know if this route is right for you or for your child? Here to help us out is Wendy Marr-Smith, a speech pathologist with Upland Hills Health.
This is the Inspire Health podcast from Upland Hills Health. I'm Caitlin Whyte. Wendy, to start off this conversation, tell us just what you do as a speech pathologist.
Wendy Marr-Smith, MS, CCC-SLP: Well, a speech pathologist has a lot of different options and job responsibilities depending on where they work. Our primary focus is to evaluate and treat adults and pediatrics patients with communication disorders, cognitive disorders, and swallowing disorders.
Caitlin Whyte: And you mentioned you serve a wide range of issues and people. Where do you provide these services?
Wendy Marr-Smith, MS, CCC-SLP: We can provide services in a hospital setting, in a clinical setting, home care, skilled nursing facilities, school districts. There's a really big variety of environments that we work in.
Caitlin Whyte: So let's talk about those patients. Who do you see? What kinds of populations do you serve?
Wendy Marr-Smith, MS, CCC-SLP: As far as adult clients go, we would often see folks who have had strokes or cerebrovascular accidents as they're formally known. People can often have speech disorders or swallowing disorders associated with strokes or other neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis or ALS, Parkinson's disease, folks with some cognitive disabilities, head and neck cancer folks that have, you know, maybe part of their larynx removed surgically or their tongue removed due to some cancer issues. We also work with folks that have swallowing disorders, voice disorders. Sometimes folks might have like vocal cord nodules or vocal cord issues that they need rehab with. There's a big range of caseload that we address with the adult population.
As far as pediatrics, we see children as young as infancy. They may have swallowing problems when they're born if they're premature or have some type of a syndrome or a medical condition that impairs their ability to swallow or, down the road, to vocalize and produce speech. We also see kids that are just maybe late talkers. You know, maybe they're just not meeting their developmental milestones as they should. And so their physician or their parents may just want them, "Oh, let's just get an evaluation and see where they're at." You know, maybe a two-year-old that just isn't saying much.
Other pediatric kiddos, it might be, you know, just some developmental delays or like a cerebral palsy or Down syndrome type of diagnosis. Kids with cleft palates have a lot of speech issues and challenges to deal with. There's also the hearing impaired population that, if they're born with a hearing loss, have a hard time developing speech. And there are autistic children that are a big part of our case load. It's just a big gamut of kiddos out there that do need speech and language services and adults that need it as well.
Caitlin Whyte: Now, getting into the title of the episode, when does it make sense to seek speech therapy services? Starting out with kids, how do you know it's time to seek this out?
Wendy Marr-Smith, MS, CCC-SLP: You know, I think a lot of times if they're a very medically involved child, having issues at birth or during delivery, their physician is very in tune with their needs and will get them referred for speech services. You know, a lot of them might even get it in the hospital. If they're in like a NICU unit or something, you know, they automatically will get speech involved early on.
But there are those kiddos that are pretty typically developing, but may, you know, have had a lot of ear infections or, you know, tubes placed and maybe some slight hearing loss there, and parents are just concerned that they're just not talking the way maybe another sibling is or maybe their friends are, you know, they just don't seem to be comparing with their communication skills. So that's when you might want to contact your primary physician. Or at a well-check, you know, when you're getting a checkup, the doctor might ask you some questions or do a little screen on their own. And if they don't mention it, you know, the parents should always be proactive and just say, "Hey, I'm kind of concerned. Do you think that we could get a speech therapy evaluation set up? Just so we know where my child is as far as their development goes."
Some children are entered into the school district when they're in kindergarten or preschool and their teachers might notice something, that they're just struggling to be understood, their speech isn't as clear as others. And so a teacher may bring it up to a parent or a parent can bring it up to a teacher. So that can be addressed in the school district as well when they're a little older.
So, yeah, it's really about parents reaching out to their physicians or to other agencies that can get them help. You know, they can always call their local hospital or clinic or local school district. If they're over the age of three, is usually when kids start to qualify for school-based services. And there's also, in Wisconsin anyway, there's a Birth to 3 Agency, which is a federal state and county agency that also help set up speech therapy and other services for children that qualify.
Caitlin Whyte: And what about adults, especially those who might not have gotten these services when they were younger? How would they know it might be time for speech therapy?
Wendy Marr-Smith, MS, CCC-SLP: Well, I think the adult themselves might notice the struggles that they're dealing with and may, you know, inquire again with their primary physician. If they're a person that has recently suffered a stroke or something like that, again, if they're admitted to the hospital or even just a slight stroke and visit their physician, they can definitely seek out on a doctor's referral or a prescription to get those services going. They can always call again their local health agency. If they don't have a primary doctor or are uncomfortable, they can definitely call their clinic or healthcare organization near them. And they would be glad to assist them in getting some help and getting things moving in that direction if they feel they need it.
Caitlin Whyte: And that kind of leads me into my last question here. Once you've decided this is the best course for you, how do you get started at Upland Hills Health? What's that process like?
Wendy Marr-Smith, MS, CCC-SLP: Well, at Upland Hills, we have three speech pathologists on staff and they are local physicians who are pretty familiar with our program and what we are able to provide. And so we do get a lot of referrals from their primary care providers, but we also do see a lot of Birth to 3, which is that county-based program. And sometimes the doctors will contact the Birth to 3 program and get it started through that where that's a more of a home-based program or they are welcome to come in as pediatric outpatients. And adults as well can contact their clinic and reach out to us if they have specific questions or concerns. We're always here to help if they don't know if they really need a formal speech evaluation, you know, maybe they just need some resources or some advice for other options. We're always here to try and guide them and help them get what they need.
Caitlin Whyte: Great. Well, Wendy, is there anything else you'd like to add to this conversation?
Wendy Marr-Smith, MS, CCC-SLP: I guess, just if you have any doubts, it's always good to get things checked out. Don't ever just let it go. You know, an evaluation is going to give you some good information and maybe it will tell you, "Hey, my child doesn't need therapy right now. Maybe we'll just check in in a few months" or "Let's get started. You know, it's better to start earlier than wait on it." So just don't ever hesitate to talk to your doctor or people that you trust and know and get your questions answered, you know. It never hurts to get in and get some advice. And you're better educated about how to proceed in the future.
Caitlin Whyte: Oh, absolutely. Well, thank you so much for explaining all of this to us today, Wendy. That was Wendy Marr-Smith, a speech pathologist with Upland Hills Health. Call the Therapy and Wellness Center at Upland Hills Health at (608) 930-7147. That's (608) 930-7147. And learn more about us online at UplandHillsHealth.org. This is the Inspire Health podcast. I'm your host, Caitlin Whyte. Stay well.
When Does It Make Sense To Seek Speech Therapy
Caitlin Whyte: Communicating ideas can be difficult, which is why many turn to speech therapy for help with a range of issues from articulation to cognition. But how do you know if this route is right for you or for your child? Here to help us out is Wendy Marr-Smith, a speech pathologist with Upland Hills Health.
This is the Inspire Health podcast from Upland Hills Health. I'm Caitlin Whyte. Wendy, to start off this conversation, tell us just what you do as a speech pathologist.
Wendy Marr-Smith, MS, CCC-SLP: Well, a speech pathologist has a lot of different options and job responsibilities depending on where they work. Our primary focus is to evaluate and treat adults and pediatrics patients with communication disorders, cognitive disorders, and swallowing disorders.
Caitlin Whyte: And you mentioned you serve a wide range of issues and people. Where do you provide these services?
Wendy Marr-Smith, MS, CCC-SLP: We can provide services in a hospital setting, in a clinical setting, home care, skilled nursing facilities, school districts. There's a really big variety of environments that we work in.
Caitlin Whyte: So let's talk about those patients. Who do you see? What kinds of populations do you serve?
Wendy Marr-Smith, MS, CCC-SLP: As far as adult clients go, we would often see folks who have had strokes or cerebrovascular accidents as they're formally known. People can often have speech disorders or swallowing disorders associated with strokes or other neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis or ALS, Parkinson's disease, folks with some cognitive disabilities, head and neck cancer folks that have, you know, maybe part of their larynx removed surgically or their tongue removed due to some cancer issues. We also work with folks that have swallowing disorders, voice disorders. Sometimes folks might have like vocal cord nodules or vocal cord issues that they need rehab with. There's a big range of caseload that we address with the adult population.
As far as pediatrics, we see children as young as infancy. They may have swallowing problems when they're born if they're premature or have some type of a syndrome or a medical condition that impairs their ability to swallow or, down the road, to vocalize and produce speech. We also see kids that are just maybe late talkers. You know, maybe they're just not meeting their developmental milestones as they should. And so their physician or their parents may just want them, "Oh, let's just get an evaluation and see where they're at." You know, maybe a two-year-old that just isn't saying much.
Other pediatric kiddos, it might be, you know, just some developmental delays or like a cerebral palsy or Down syndrome type of diagnosis. Kids with cleft palates have a lot of speech issues and challenges to deal with. There's also the hearing impaired population that, if they're born with a hearing loss, have a hard time developing speech. And there are autistic children that are a big part of our case load. It's just a big gamut of kiddos out there that do need speech and language services and adults that need it as well.
Caitlin Whyte: Now, getting into the title of the episode, when does it make sense to seek speech therapy services? Starting out with kids, how do you know it's time to seek this out?
Wendy Marr-Smith, MS, CCC-SLP: You know, I think a lot of times if they're a very medically involved child, having issues at birth or during delivery, their physician is very in tune with their needs and will get them referred for speech services. You know, a lot of them might even get it in the hospital. If they're in like a NICU unit or something, you know, they automatically will get speech involved early on.
But there are those kiddos that are pretty typically developing, but may, you know, have had a lot of ear infections or, you know, tubes placed and maybe some slight hearing loss there, and parents are just concerned that they're just not talking the way maybe another sibling is or maybe their friends are, you know, they just don't seem to be comparing with their communication skills. So that's when you might want to contact your primary physician. Or at a well-check, you know, when you're getting a checkup, the doctor might ask you some questions or do a little screen on their own. And if they don't mention it, you know, the parents should always be proactive and just say, "Hey, I'm kind of concerned. Do you think that we could get a speech therapy evaluation set up? Just so we know where my child is as far as their development goes."
Some children are entered into the school district when they're in kindergarten or preschool and their teachers might notice something, that they're just struggling to be understood, their speech isn't as clear as others. And so a teacher may bring it up to a parent or a parent can bring it up to a teacher. So that can be addressed in the school district as well when they're a little older.
So, yeah, it's really about parents reaching out to their physicians or to other agencies that can get them help. You know, they can always call their local hospital or clinic or local school district. If they're over the age of three, is usually when kids start to qualify for school-based services. And there's also, in Wisconsin anyway, there's a Birth to 3 Agency, which is a federal state and county agency that also help set up speech therapy and other services for children that qualify.
Caitlin Whyte: And what about adults, especially those who might not have gotten these services when they were younger? How would they know it might be time for speech therapy?
Wendy Marr-Smith, MS, CCC-SLP: Well, I think the adult themselves might notice the struggles that they're dealing with and may, you know, inquire again with their primary physician. If they're a person that has recently suffered a stroke or something like that, again, if they're admitted to the hospital or even just a slight stroke and visit their physician, they can definitely seek out on a doctor's referral or a prescription to get those services going. They can always call again their local health agency. If they don't have a primary doctor or are uncomfortable, they can definitely call their clinic or healthcare organization near them. And they would be glad to assist them in getting some help and getting things moving in that direction if they feel they need it.
Caitlin Whyte: And that kind of leads me into my last question here. Once you've decided this is the best course for you, how do you get started at Upland Hills Health? What's that process like?
Wendy Marr-Smith, MS, CCC-SLP: Well, at Upland Hills, we have three speech pathologists on staff and they are local physicians who are pretty familiar with our program and what we are able to provide. And so we do get a lot of referrals from their primary care providers, but we also do see a lot of Birth to 3, which is that county-based program. And sometimes the doctors will contact the Birth to 3 program and get it started through that where that's a more of a home-based program or they are welcome to come in as pediatric outpatients. And adults as well can contact their clinic and reach out to us if they have specific questions or concerns. We're always here to help if they don't know if they really need a formal speech evaluation, you know, maybe they just need some resources or some advice for other options. We're always here to try and guide them and help them get what they need.
Caitlin Whyte: Great. Well, Wendy, is there anything else you'd like to add to this conversation?
Wendy Marr-Smith, MS, CCC-SLP: I guess, just if you have any doubts, it's always good to get things checked out. Don't ever just let it go. You know, an evaluation is going to give you some good information and maybe it will tell you, "Hey, my child doesn't need therapy right now. Maybe we'll just check in in a few months" or "Let's get started. You know, it's better to start earlier than wait on it." So just don't ever hesitate to talk to your doctor or people that you trust and know and get your questions answered, you know. It never hurts to get in and get some advice. And you're better educated about how to proceed in the future.
Caitlin Whyte: Oh, absolutely. Well, thank you so much for explaining all of this to us today, Wendy. That was Wendy Marr-Smith, a speech pathologist with Upland Hills Health. Call the Therapy and Wellness Center at Upland Hills Health at (608) 930-7147. That's (608) 930-7147. And learn more about us online at UplandHillsHealth.org. This is the Inspire Health podcast. I'm your host, Caitlin Whyte. Stay well.