When you think of “speech therapy,” you probably think of a child with a lisp or difficulty pronouncing their “Rs.” It’s true that children with these common articulation challenges are often treated by speech-language therapists, but so are people of all ages with many other communication and swallowing disorders.

And it all happens right here in Craig, at the Speech-Language Therapy Services program at Memorial Regional Health Rehabilitation Center.

Robyn Kitchen and her colleagues Joan Parnell and Colleen Boyle—all certified speech-language pathologists—work with Craig-area adults and children to help them express themselves effectively, understand and produce language, and chew and swallow safely.

“Often people don’t fully understand the large scope of practice we have in our field beyond articulation training,” said Kitchen, who specializes in speech-language therapy for children. “As a lifelong member of the Craig community, I know that we’re incredibly lucky to have this program available to our little ones. There had been a void for many, many years, and I feel incredibly fortunate to be a part of this gift for our growing kids in Craig.”

Helping children find their voice

Kitchen works with educators at Moffat County School District as well as local family care providers and pediatricians to identify children who might be helped by therapy services. A doctor’s referral is required. Parents, of course, give permission and stay involved in their children’s care.

Children who often benefit from speech-language therapy include those with autism spectrum disorders, cleft palate, genetic disorders such as Down syndrome, intellectual or learning disabilities, and brain injuries. Therapy helps them communicate and live their lives more fully.

One-on-one therapy sessions often take place at the children’s schools. Kitchen recently spent part of a day at Sandrock Elementary’s summer school program, working with several students on exercises to help them with their articulation and language targets to ensure their speech skills stay strong over summer vacation. Therapy sessions are once a week and typically run 20 minutes.

“I have loved the opportunity to work with kids who come to me with a range of strengths, needs and cultural diversity,” she said. “Relationships with students and families become incredibly strong, as I get to work with many of the same kids from age 3 through graduation from elementary school, middle school or high school.”

A Craig native and mother of three, Kitchen has two bachelor’s degrees, a Master’s in Speech-Language Pathology and 20 years of pediatric speech-language experience. She’s employed by Moffat County School District and also provides therapy at MRH part-time. “I absolutely love working here!” she said.

Helping adults perform tasks of daily living, communicate and be nourished

Parnell works with Craig-area adults. Her patients may be challenged by neurological diseases, brain injury, stroke, speech and language disorders, dementia and more. She sees patients at the MRH rehab clinic, in the hospital or in their homes.

“I perform evaluations to determine if patients can understand and express their needs, safely take medications, complete their finances and do things like cook and drive,” Parnell said. “I also assess swallowing difficulties for people who may be aspirating food or liquids and help them eat more safely when possible.”

“When people are having trouble swallowing, I assess their oral and pharyngeal function,” Parnell said. “I can use modified barium swallow studies when needed, to identify the problem area. The whole swallowing sequence takes two to three seconds. We don’t usually think about it, but it’s a complex set of movements of the tongue and throat. These muscles sometimes weaken as people age, just like muscles all over our bodies do.”

One technology Parnell has in her toolkit to enhance patients’ capacity to swallow is called VitalStim. It’s a noninvasive, FDA-approved therapy that uses mild electrical current to stimulate the muscles responsible for swallowing. In her office, she attaches quarter-sized electrodes near the patient’s chin and on top of the larynx. Patients do swallowing exercises while Parnell sends current on and off, on and off, to the electrodes.

“It feels like a little shock,” she said. “It’s strong, but it’s not painful. It’s startling at first, but most people get used to in a just a few moments, and I adjust the strength of the current based on what each patient can tolerate.”

Parnell said that VitalStim is similar to the electrical stimulation that physical therapists sometimes use to help patients strengthen compromised arm and leg muscles. “It kicks the nerves in those muscles into gear,” Parnell said. “It retrains them to move.”

Patients return for a number of sessions of VitalStim, usually twice a week for four to six weeks. She said about 80 percent of patients notice a marked improvement in their swallowing abilities post-therapy.

Parnell also helps adults with voice disorders, training them to effectively and safely produce clear speech.

“Community members often don’t realize that outpatient adult speech-language therapy is available locally in addition to services for children,” Kitchen said. “It’s a relief for many families to not have to travel for therapy appointments or go without needed services.”