Speech Therapy

Department Hours

The Speech-Language Pathology Department will be open five days a week, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Services are available seven days per week. A certified and licensed speech-language pathologist will be available at all times and on call for weekends.

Check our community calendar for information about the next meeting of our Stroke and Brain Injury Support Group.

Scope of Services

The Department of Speech Pathology offers a range of services to individuals with communication impairment regardless of age, race, sex, creed or religion. The Speech-Language Pathology service will be directed by a licensed and certified speech-language pathologist. 

Our Goals for You

It shall be the objective of the JPMC Speech-Language Pathology Department to:

• Establish, maintain and evaluate speech and language pathology services which are appropriate and meet current professional standards that are ethical and realistic according to the standards of the American Speech, Language, and Hearing Association.
• Assist referring physicians in the diagnosis and treatment of communication and swallowing disorders by offering the most statistically effective and reliable testing and therapy techniques by the Board-Certified Speech-Language Pathologists.
• Develop and improve speech and language pathology services through participation in in-service training, seminars and continuing education courses.
• Promote a better understanding of speech and language pathology services through community involvement by providing support groups to individuals with various communication disorders.
• Provide information and support to family members and significant others.

What is a speech therapist?

A speech therapist is a specialist with training in the diagnosis and treatment of a variety of speech, voice, and language disorders who works with people who are unable to make speech sounds or cannot make them clearly. They also work with people who stutter, have fluency and rhythm problems, inappropriate pitch, or harsh voice and speech quality problems. The most widespread and obvious speech disorder is stuttering, often caused by anxiety.

The speech therapist sets up a program of speech exercises to reduce the disability, and if necessary, enlists the aid of a psychologist or psychiatrist. Other disorders may result from hearing loss, stroke, cerebral palsy, mental disability, or brain injury. Speech therapists keep careful records on the evaluation and progress of patients, often developing and implementing individualized treatment programs based on the input of physicians, psychiatric social workers, and psychologists.

In fact, because speech disorders are usually related to neurological, psychological, and physical conditions, speech therapists must be able to work as a member of a team which may include other healthcare specialists such as a neurologist and psychiatrist. An important part of a speech therapist's work is the counseling and support of individuals and families on speech disorders and on how to cope with the stress associated with these problems.

Therapists also work with families on treatment techniques to use at home and on how to modify behavior that impedes communication.