During the month of May, Speech-Language Pathologists (S-LPs) and Communicative Disorders Assistants (CDAs) help raise awareness about communication and swallowing disorders. This month, we’d like to recognize the important work that our CDAs do at Southlake. CDAs work together with SLPs to treat communication and swallowing disorders that may arise following injury to the brain or to the muscles of the head, neck and mouth. This includes working with patients who have developed swallowing or communication difficulties as the result of prolonged support on a ventilator, stroke, acquired brain injury or neurodegenerative diseases.
During the pandemic, we have seen an increasing number of patients who have spent prolonged time on ventilators. Once these patients have been weaned from the ventilator, the recovery process continues. Often, the muscles involved in swallowing and generating voice have been injured and/or deconditioned. A change in the ability to speak or to swallow food and drink can significantly impact a person’s quality of life and participation in social activities that connect them with other people. CDAs play an important role in working with patients to rehabilitate their swallowing and/or communication function, supporting patients through their journey to recovery, and improving their quality of life.
