Convenient, In-Home Speech Therapy Services

Speech-Language Pathology Services in Philly

Explore the in-person speech-language evaluation and treatment services offered by Fishtown Speech.

Speech & Voice Services

Apraxia, dysarthria, fluency/stuttering and voice disorders.

Language Disorders

Aphasia, Autism Spectrum Disorder, receptive and expressive language disorders

Cognitive-Communication

Cognitive disorders including traumatic brain injury, dementia, head and neck cancer, tracheostomy

Speech & Voice Services

The term speech disorder refers to a person who is unable to produce speech sounds correctly, clearly or fluently.

Children may experience developmental articulation delays while adults may experience speech difficulties due to neurologic disease or acquired injury.

Fishtown Speech provides speech therapy services for the following disorder groups:

Speech Disorders

Apraxia

Apraxia is a disorder of motor speech planning caused by damage to the parts of the brain associated with speaking. Adults with Apraxia may have difficulty producing sounds, syllables, and words due to a variety of inconsistent speech errors. Severity will depend on the affected area/s of the brain.

Dysarthria

Dysarthria is a motor speech disorder due to oro-muscular weakness. The muscles of the mouth, face, vocal tract, and respiratory system may be weak or move slowly. Weak musculature can result from progressive neurological disorders that may occur after a stroke or other brain injuries. Dysarthria may vary depending on the location of the damage within the nervous system. Speech intelligibility may be severely affected.

Dysarthria occurs when the muscles of the mouth, face, and respiratory system become weak or slow moving. The type and severity of dysarthria is dependent upon which area(s) within the nervous system are affected. Signs of dysarthria include slurred speech, speaking softly, slow rate of speech, rapid rate of speech, mumbling, hoarseness, breathiness, drooling, chewing and/or swallowing difficulty.

Fluency/Stuttering

Stuttering is a speech disorder which disrupts the flow of normal speech pattern. Adults with stuttering may exhibit struggling behaviors such as lip tremors and rapid eye blinking. Symptoms of fluency can vary throughout a person’s day.

Voice Disorders

Voice Disorders are characterized by damage to the vocal cords resulting in nodules, polyps, and cysts. This can result in changes to vocal quality, pitch, loudness, and resonance. Causes of voice disorders include stroke, trauma, respiratory disorders, or damage to the vocal cords. Voice disorders can be caused by vocal abuse and misuse, degenerative neurologic diseases, musculo-skeletal tension or gastro-esophageal reflux (GERD).

• Orofacial Myofunctional Disorders

• Articulation & Phonological Disorders

• Apraxia

Language Services

Aphasia

Aphasia is a disorder caused by damage in a specific area of the brain that controls language expression and comprehension leaving a person unable to communicate effectively with others. Aphasia can cause problems with receptive language, the ability to understand what’s being said to you, or expressive language, the ability to express wants/needs/thoughts, and ideas. Reading and writing can also be affected.

Approximately one million people in the United States have aphasia, with about 80,000 cases diagnosed each year. Both genders are affected equally, and most people with aphasia are in over the age of 60. The number one cause of aphasia in the United States is stroke.

Autism Spectrum Disorders

Receptive and Expressive Language Disorders

Cognitive-Communication Services

A cognition disorder may cause an individual to have difficulty processing information. This may be observed in reasoning, perception, rationality, memory and awareness. Causes may include neurological disorders such Parkinson’s Disease, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease), Multiple Sclerosis, Stroke, traumatic brain injury, and aging. Therapy would focus on strengthening cognitive skills such as semantic knowledge, memory, vocabulary, sequencing, and processing speed.

Treatment will focus on helping individuals improve cognitive-linguistic skills such as executive functioning, problem solving, attention and memory, sequential thought organization, and information processing necessary to fully participate in activities of daily living

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Dementia

Head and Neck Cancer

Tracheostomy

Philadelphia-based Speech Therapist

Alexandra Gibson M.S., CCC-SLP offers specialized speech therapy for all ages, focusing on disorders related to communication and medically complex conditions, with services available in-person in Philadelphia and via speech tele-therapy for patients in Pennsylvania and New York.

Your Communication Partner

Dedicated to Your Progress

With extensive experience in medical and home settings, Alexandra evaluates and treats speech and language disorders, ensuring personalized care for infants, children, and adults in the Philadelphia metro area.