Speech Therapy

At Tays, speech therapists test and rehabilitate child and adolescent patients with speech, linguistic and communication disorders. The speech therapist also evaluates and rehabilitates oromotor function disorders and eating and swallowing functionality.

The goal of speech therapy is to improve, support and maintain the patient's communication skills, communicative function as well as safe eating and swallowing.

At Tays, speech therapy is related to treatment of the following patient groups, for example:

  • children with speech and language disorders
  • cleft lip and palate children
  • extensive developmental and neurological disorders that are congenital or incurred in early childhood, such as a developmental disability or CP
  • symptoms related to the sequelae (consequences) of a brain injury or spinal cord injury
  • symptoms related to the sequelae (consequences) of a tumour in the area of the mouth and larynx
  • symptoms related to the sequelae (consequences) of a stroke
  • hearing injuries
  • voice disorders
  • progressive neurological diseases in adults which affect speech, communication and swallowing, e.g.ALS or Parkinson's disease

Tests and rehabilitation at Tays

At Tays, speech therapists meet patients at outpatient clinics and wards. A physician's referral is always needed in order to get an appointment for a speech therapist.

The specialised health care speech therapy includes the following:

  • tests, resolving the diagnosis in collaboration with an interprofessional working group, disability assessments
  • creating a follow-up or rehabilitation plan for basic health care or Kela
  • counselling the patient, family members and close environment about the speech, communication and swallowing difficulties, how to rehabilitate them, as well as compensation methods for swallowing problems
  • planning and counselling for communication methods supporting or replacing speech
  • mobility aid services for communication and counselling on how to use them.

At Tays, we offer short counselling and rehabilitation periods at the outpatient clinic for e.g. voice disorder patients or patients with a severe swallowing difficulty. It is possible to receive intensive daily speech therapy rehabilitation at the adult neurology rehabilitation units of Tays (Valkeakoski Rehabilitation Unit and Neurology and Rehabilitation Ward). Rehabilitation is mainly implemented in basic health care or organised by Kela.

Special expertise at Tays

At Tays, the work of a speech therapist is focused on diagnosing a disease or injury and creating a rehabilitation plan as part of an interprofessional working group. We also examine and study rare neurological diseases that affect speech, communication and swallowing.

Some of our therapists at Tays have been trained especially in the assessment of eating and swallowing functions in adult patients. In the units of phoniatrics, otorhinolaryngology and adult neurology, speech therapists make a clinical assessment as well as independent fiberoptic endoscopic evaluations of swallowing (FEES). The swallowing functionality can also be assessed in collaboration with a radiologist by using an x-ray scan at the X-Ray Unit.

The speech therapy services at Tays also include assessment of the need for communication aids and monitoring of aid usage at the mobility aid unit.

Persons in charge

Chief Speech Therapist Eliina Kankare
Speech Therapist in Charge Tanja Makkonen, neurological specialties