Speech and Language Pathology

Speech and language pathologists, also called speech therapists, diagnose and treat speech and language and swallowing disorders in adults and children. They work with people of all ages who may have a neurological condition, developmental disorder, illness or injury which prevents them from communicating properly or from eating or drinking effectively and safely.

At Mubadala Health Dubai, our speech and language pathologists offer a range of training, education and therapy services to improve speech, comprehension, communication or to help patients to swallow safely.

Adult speech and language pathology

Our speech and language pathologists work with adults who have cognitive-communication disorders. These disorders cause problems with communication due to impaired memory, attention, reasoning or thought organization due to the way their brain processes information.

Causes of cognitive-communication disorders in adults include

• Traumatic brain injury
• Neurological damage (due to multiple sclerosis, stroke or tumor)
• Progressive degenerative brain disorder (such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease).

We also provide the following speech and language pathology services to adults

• Motor speech disorders Addressing conditions such as dysarthria, in which the muscles don’t coordinate properly to produce speech, and apraxia, in which patients have trouble putting words together in the right order or cannot find the right words to use.
• Language disorders Such as aphasia, a condition caused by damage to the brain that affects comprehension and language expression.
• Speech therapy for conditions such as vocal nodules, vocal cord dysfunction or laryngitis.

Our speech and language pathologists also work with adults with swallowing disorders, called dysphagia. These individuals have difficulty controlling the muscles and structures that allow us to eat and drink safely, leading to coughing or choking. Dysphagia is usually the result of another health condition such as cancer, acid reflux or a condition that affects the nervous system (such as dementia, stroke or head injury).

Pediatric speech and language pathology

Our pediatric speech and language therapists are specifically trained to help children with a range of language, communication and interaction skills. We provide assessment, diagnosis and customized treatment programs across a range of concerns, including

• Articulation and phonology (accurate production of speech sounds)
• Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC)
• Central auditory processing disorder (CAPD)
• Expressive language
• Language development
• Literacy (reading and writing) and phonological awareness
• Non-verbal
• Receptive language
• Social communication (social pragmatics)
• Speech delay/late talker
• Stuttering and stammer (fluency difficulties)
• Tongue tie

Our pediatric speech and language pathologists also support children with a range of swallowing and feeding disorders. Swallowing and feeding disorders in children are common and can be caused by a number of diseases and illnesses or be present at birth (congenital).

Treatment for swallowing and feeding disorders in children is important to ensure they receive the right amount of nutrients to support healthy growth and development. We offer a comprehensive range of dysphagia assessment and interventions, for the following concerns

• Difficulty with feeding, chewing, and swallowing (dysphagia)
• Fussy feeder/picky eater/food refusal.

Contact our team of adult and pediatric speech and language pathologists to learn more about the range of assessments, treatments and therapies available.