Speech Language Pathology (SLP)

Communication disorders or swallowing issues may occur in people of all ages. Developmental concerns include autism spectrum disorder (ASD), fluency, language or articulation delays, or childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). Congenital or acquired conditions may result from stroke, traumatic brain injury (TBI) or other injury, tumor, inflammation, structural or neurological changes, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), dementia or other degenerative diseases.

Innovative Care for Speech-Language Conditions

Get innovative speech-language pathology (SLP) care for yourself, your child or loved ones of any age from experts at OU Health outpatient rehabilitation clinics in Oklahoma City, Edmond and Tulsa, at the OU Health John W. Keys Center in Oklahoma City or through teletherapy sessions for rural schools and individuals unable to travel or meet in person.

When you choose OU Health, you and your family members work with extensively trained and licensed speech-language pathologists and therapists, as well as SLP graduate medical students under direct supervision of clinical faculty in the OU Health John W. Keys Speech and Hearing Center. These specialists can treat or help you manage or prevent language, social communication or cognitive disorders such as:

• Aphasia – Impaired ability to talk, listen, or use reading and writing as a result of brain damage
• Articulation, motor speech and speech sound disorders – Muscle weakness (dysarthria), motor coordination of sequential activities (apraxia), childhood apraxia of speech (CAS)
• Attention, memory, ability to problem-solve, pragmatics
• Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) – Behavioral, sensory
• Central auditory processing disorders in ages 6 and older
• Fluency disorders – Stuttering, cluttering
• Neurologic disorders – Parkinson’s, traumatic brain injury (TBI), dementia or stroke
• Receptive language disorders – Trouble understanding (processing) words while reading or listening and using language skills expressively
• Selected mutism – Communication disorders in children and adults diagnosed with selective mutism
• Social language disorders
• Swallowing disorders (dysphagia)
• Voice and resonance disorders – Problems with pitch, volume, resonance or voice quality

Speech-Language Services & Programs for Adults

Your OU Health speech-language pathologists and team provide compassionate care with patience and expertise using services and treatment options such as:

• Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) – Access to assistive technology (tools/devices, strategies, programs) for developmental or acquired communication disorders
• Central auditory processing disorders testing – Coordinated with audiologists; emphasizes language processing, phonological awareness skills, auditory memory, oral language, written language, reading comprehension
• Cognitive-linguistic therapy
• Group activities and therapy sessions
• Impairment-based techniques for acquired language and cognitive-linguistic disorders
• Parkinson’s voice and dysarthria treatment through Speak OUT!®, LOUD Crowd ® or LSVT® approaches
• Social approaches to facilitate compensation and life participation for acquired language and cognitive-linguistic disorders
• Speaking valves
• Swallowing therapy
• Teletherapy – Online/telephone/remote services for available for individuals and for rural school districts without access to SLP specialists or resources
• Tracheoesophageal prosthesis
• Voice therapy

Adult Neurogenic Communication Disorders Program

Get expert care at OU Health if you or a loved one 18 years or older live with an acquired speech-language disorder that affects language, motor speech, voice, fluency, cognition (thinking) or swallowing. For issues related to stroke, TBI, dementia, Parkinson’s and other conditions, you benefit from our multi-pronged approach to treatment with a research-driven assessment tied to your personal rehabilitation goals.

Through restorative, skills-based approaches used at OU Health, you’ll learn communication strategies to help compensate for functional and structural changes you experience from illness or injury. In addition, you and your loved ones can receive communication counseling and referrals to other healthcare disciplines and professionals to help with personal goal setting, education and self-advocacy. You’ll also learn how to get the support that ensures full participation in your own life.

At OU Health, you’ll work with SLP clinicians who focus on intensive early intervention to stimulate recovery of speech, language and cognitive function that helps you regain your maximum potential. You also benefit from functional training in multiple modes of communication that encourage your return to work and the life you love.

Take advantage of our twice-monthly aphasia support group – meeting safely via Zoom during COVID-19 – to gain motivation and information from other participants and OU Health SLP experts.

Speech-Language Programs & Services for Children

Depending on your or your child’s specific situation and goals, you may choose to participate in additional speech-language programs for children through the OU Health John W. Keys Speech and Hearing Center in Oklahoma City.

iLEAP: The John W. Keys Interprofessional Language Enrichment and Pre-Kindergarten Program

This part-time program enrolls children ages 2-1/2 to 4, including those who show communication delays or behavioral challenges and those on the autism spectrum, as well as children who show typical communication development. Through iLEAP, your child benefits from:

• Language-rich preschool environment
• Behavior supports and interventions
• Small-group instruction; low child-to-teacher ratio
• Individualized speech and language treatment

Participation in iLEAP helps your child prepare to successfully mainstream into their local school classrooms. With the ongoing support of our community partner, the United Way of Central Oklahoma, the iLEAP program continues to help all children in the Oklahoma City area prepare for pre-kindergarten. All children in iLEAP get supportive care provided by our OU Health professional colleagues in audiology, dentistry, nutritional sciences and occupational therapy.

iLEAP Tuition, Fees, Fundraising & Scholarships
As a member of the iLEAP family, you may be asked to assist with fundraising efforts for this self-supporting program that depends on tuition fees, grant funds and donations.

• Tuition – Flat fee of $185 per child, due at the beginning of each month; partial months prorated at $25 per day; speech therapy at Keys Clinic billed separately
• Scholarships – Preference given to families with demonstrated financial need; for scholarship forms or information, contact: Beth Lane, MA, CCC-SLP or Jessica Lathem, MA, CCC-SLP

Pediatric Speech-Language Program

Get complete diagnostic evaluation of communication disorders, along with individual speech and language treatment, for your child or teen – from birth to age 18 – who experiences difficulty with:

• Articulation of speech, including phonological disorders, childhood apraxia of speech (CAS)
• Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) – Includes screening for ASD, therapy services
• Central auditory processing disorders (CAPD) – Evaluates school-age children for conditions that affect the way the brain processes auditory information; includes information about school performance and recommendations for accommodations
• Literacy
• Receptive language (comprehension) and expressive language (production)
• Stuttering
• Voice disorders

As a parent, you can observe/participate in evaluation and therapy sessions to help you make the most of your child’s learning and treatment program. Your participation also contributes to ongoing research in the study of atypical communication development.

Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Program

An interdisciplinary service established in 1959, the OU Health Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Program specializes in evaluating people of all ages with cleft lip/palate and/or resonance disorders.

No matter where you live in Oklahoma or surrounding states, you may call us directly to request an appointment or ask your physician, dentist, psychologist, speech-language pathologist or other healthcare professional for a referral to the OU Health Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Program.

Initial evaluation involves reviews by specialists from many healthcare disciplines, including audiology, genetics, oral and maxillofacial surgery, orthodontia, pediatric dentistry, social work and speech-language pathology. Then, you work together with the OU Health cleft care team to develop an individualized treatment plan with a timetable based on personal goals for yourself or your family member. Your team follows your care throughout your treatment plan.

The program adheres to the “Parameters for Evaluation and Treatment of Patients with Cleft Lip/Palate and Other Craniofacial Anomalies” of the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association.

Learn how children with cleft can benefit from surgical reconstructive care at OU Health.

Related OU Health Services

Find out more about related OU Health services for people of all ages, such as:

• Ear, nose and throat (ENT) care for adults, including nasal and sinus surgery, and audiology and hearing care for adults
• Ear, nose and throat (ENT) care for children, including audiology for children
• Rehabilitation services

Your Expert Speech Language Pathology Team

Your expert OU Health speech language pathology (SLP) team includes licensed, certified and highly educated speech-language professionals with additional years of experience in public schools, private clinics, home health, skilled nursing facilities, university instruction and telehealth settings. Your team also may involve graduate-level speech-language pathology (SLP) interns who provide evaluation and treatment under direct supervision of clinical faculty.

Through special services located in the John W. Keys Speech and Hearing Center, part of the College of Allied Health on the campus of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC) in Oklahoma City, you and your loved ones benefit from decades of research-based care and treatment for people of all ages who live with congenital or acquired cognitive-linguistic impairment.