Speech Therapy for Old Age Patients in Healthcare Settings

Running head: NURSING
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Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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Introduction:
Old age people form a considerable percentage of the Australian population.
According to a report published by Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2019), the
census of 2017, revealed that 1 out of every 7 people in Australia were 65 years old and
above. Research studies further suggest that in the year 2017, a total of 3.8 million were aged
65 years and older and made up a considerable 15% of the total population
(Agedcare.health.gov.au 2019). As per the research studies the proportion of old age
population has increased considerable since 1927 and is expected to rise further (Davies and
James 2016,P.50). It is estimated that by the end of the year 2057, there would be more than
8.8 million people in Australia and by the end of the year 2097, approximately 25% of the
complete population would be aged 65 years and older (Beard and Bloom 2015). Considering
the rising proportion of the older population, the Australian government has put in substantial
efforts so as to alleviate the quality of living of the elderly population. In addition to this, the
government has also integrated the aged care policy so as to support healthy ageing among
the senior adults (Agedcare.health.gov.au 2019). This paper intends to discuss a news article
that sheds light on the benefit of administering speech therapy to old age patients within
healthcare settings so as to improve communication skills. The paper would further discuss
the implication of integrating the theory on the basis of the evidence base.
Source of news item:
The news article chosen for the paper focuses on the integration of routine speech
pathology within aged care facilities so as to improve the communication ability of the
patients. The news article was published in Health Times on 20th of May, 2015 (Health Times
2019). The article critically discusses the potential benefit associated with the inclusion of
speech therapy for the elderly within the aged care homes or residential facilities. It should be

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noted in this context that the published article sheds light on the common misunderstood
notion that speech therapy is only for children. The author in this paper has stated that both
children as well as the elderly can benefit from speech therapy, however the expected care
outcome can be different for both the subjects (Health Times 2019). According to expert
opinion, speech pathology deals with the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of a number of
speech disorders such as swallowing difficulties, voice disorders, language delays, speech
and sound disorders and stuttering (Health Times 2019). The most common speech disorder
among the elderly includes dysphagia. The news article suggests that inclusion of routine
speech therapy within aged care facilities can help in improving holistic patient outcome and
at the same time can also ensure that the patients are able to communicate effectively about
their concerns with the care professionals that would subsequently improve their quality of
life (Health Times 2019).
Synopsis:
The article suggests that old age patients experience a number of speech abnormality
that include Dysphagia, Aphasia and swallowing or speech complications arising from the
disorders of Parkinson’s and Dementia (Health Times 2019). Dysphagia can be defined as a
condition that includes the complication of the swallowing mechanism and affects the ability
of an individual to safely eat and drink (Knecht et al. 2016,P.527). The condition is
characterized on account of a sudden cardiac arrest or a traumatic brain injury (Wertheimer et
al. 2014,P.1066). The speech pathologist assists the patient with the assessment of the
severity of the disorder and makes appropriate dietary recommendations so as to ensure
positive recovery of the patient. The rationale for the diet modification can be explained as
prevention of potential obstruction within the airway or the lungs that could lead to a risk of
aspiration. In addition to this, speech therapists can also assist with the problem of aphasia
which is defined as a problem of neurological impairment that makes the speech slurred and

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unclear. This makes the comprehension of the speech extremely difficult and at the same time
it also causes difficulty to the patient to read and write. Speech pathologists make use of
diverse therapeutic interventions based on impairment based philosophy in order to promote
recovery. The interventions include a multitude of simple exercises such as word finding
activities, problem solving tasks, comprehension exercises and communication therapies so
as to improve the communicating ability of the patients (Beard and Bloom 2015,P.658). In
addition to this, the speech therapists also assist patients with support strategies such as hand
drawings and detailed graphics in order to ensure that the patients are able to communicate
and express their feelings in a better manner. Also, speech therapists effectively partner with
patients suffering from Dementia and Parkinson’s in order to employ customised therapeutic
interventions to improve their communication ability. The article further states that access to
speech therapy for both elderly as well as children comprises of availing the services from the
private or public system which is both expensive and non-accessible for the old age patients
residing within a residential care facility (Health Times 2019).
Therefore, the article recommends that inclusion of speech therapy services within
residential care facilities can improve access to therapy for the old age adults and at the same
time also alleviate the quality of life for the patients and enhance their communication ability.
Discussion:
Upon closely evaluating the proposed recommendation by the news article, it can be
said that implementation of the recommendation would significantly improve care outcome
for the elderly. The evidence base also backs the usefulness of speech therapy in old age
adults. According to Kumar et al. (2014,p.26), it has been mentioned that Dementia is one of
the major health problems that is common with advancing age and has no definite set of
treatment interventions for recovery. The researchers suggest that implementation of