Aging in Place: Speech Therapy’s Role

Are you managing well in your home right now, but have started noticing trouble remembering your medications or keeping track of dates and appointments? Do you have concerns about being able to stay independent at home in the future?

Or are you caring for a parent or loved one at home, and have concerns about safely managing changes to their memory and communication long-term?

As we age, however, certain daily tasks become more challenging, particularly for those with cognitive decline or diagnosis of dementia.

Dementia in itself is not a disease; it is a term for those who have impairment in the ability to remember important information, think, and perform daily activities requiring decision making, such as taking medications correctly or managing bills and finances. There are various types of dementia, with Alzheimer’s dementia being the most common. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), in 2021 an estimated 6.2 million people age 65 and older have Alzheimer’s disease in the United States, and that number is growing.

Those with dementia may have difficulty maintaining attention to conversation or a simple task, have bouts of forgetfulness and confusion, have difficulty making plans, and have difficulty following conversation or being able to tell other people what they need. In later stages, people may have personality changes, depression, and even difficulty eating and swallowing.

Though there is no cure for dementia, speech therapists can play an integral role in helping to keep you or your loved one safe and independent at home, whether through management of cognitive-communication changes (such as memory, attention, thought organization, word finding and communication) or management of swallowing safety.

Our main goal is to maintain you or your loved one’s quality of life as long as possible.

Speech therapy treatment will vary depending on the degree of impairment. Therapy tasks may include practicing learning important information, using visual aides to help a person carry out daily tasks, making ‘memory books’ to help with remembering personal information, and perhaps most importantly, training family members and caregivers how to communicate better with the person with dementia.

In later stages of dementia, eating and swallowing may become impaired. Speech therapists are the swallowing experts — we work together with the client and their caregivers to make sure eating and swallowing remains safe and enjoyable by recommending different types of foods, training strategies to eat and drink more safely, and assist in ensuring the person with dementia is able eat enough.

If you or your loved one are concerned about cognitive changes, trouble communicating, or safe eating and swallowing, ask your doctor for a speech therapy referral.

Together we can work to make aging in place a reality and maintain quality of connection for you and your loved ones.