Dead Tongue- Speech Therapy?

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dbaker331
dbaker331 Member Posts: 5
in Head and Neck Cancer #1

Has anyone had success with speech therapy for a "dead tongue"... (neck dissection/radiation)... This has progressed over the past few years where speech is greatly impacted.. any success? ideas?  

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  • hwt
    hwt Member Posts: 2,328 Member
    #2
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    Therapy

    I have seen a couple of speech therapists but my experience has been that they seem more concerned with dietary needs more so than my actual speech. Maybe I just haven't seen and stuck with one long enough to get the right help. I was given some exercises but didn't follow through as well as I should have. I have the most difficulty on the telephone. It gets frustrating. Hoping you find the necessary help.

    Candi

  • CivilMatt
    CivilMatt Member Posts: 4,722 Member
    #3
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    speech therapy

    dbaker331,

    I was stage IVa, scc, bot, with surgery, rads & erbitux.  I do not have a “dead tongue”, but I have been in speech therapy since the start of September with very good results.  In a nut shell, the program is similar to LSVT Loud, which you can find on YouTube.  Of course they customize it to address your issues.  I am pleased with what I have learned and the results.

    Good luck,

    Matt

  • traceyd1
    traceyd1 Member Posts: 79 Member
    #4
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    Speech Therapy

    I am a speech therapist, although I primarily work with pediatric patients.  There are many things that a speech therapist can do to help you, depending on the impairment as far as damage from surgery, or just "re-awakening" some movement.  If the damage is severe enough that therapy can't help get you to your level of previous function, your therapist should be able to give you some compensatory strategies to make your speech clearer.  

  • thennies61
    thennies61 Member Posts: 285
    #5
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    traceyd1 said:

    Speech Therapy

    I am a speech therapist, although I primarily work with pediatric patients.  There are many things that a speech therapist can do to help you, depending on the impairment as far as damage from surgery, or just "re-awakening" some movement.  If the damage is severe enough that therapy can't help get you to your level of previous function, your therapist should be able to give you some compensatory strategies to make your speech clearer.  

    I have had part of tounge

    I have had part of tounge removed and then replaced with thigh muscle.Not sure if it's called a dead tounge but it is what my doctor calls a tounge flap.I have been to a speach/swallow specialist and she did work more on being able to swallow again which luckily I have been.My speach isn't the greatest but most people tell me they can understand what I'm saying.I just need to speak slower.I refer my speach as trying to talk while holding your tounge.Talking with my sergen he said that when he made the thounge flap he made it bigger to give my tounge more movement as the swelling goes down.But with raiation and everything he said could take a year or longer.He is now sending me to a denist to make up a set of customized teeth.He wants the palte of the uppers thicker to beable to meet the tounge as much as possible.He said this way will help swallowing as the food will beable to move over tounge and down throat better and will help in speach also as the tounge hits the top of tounge when normal.In the mean time I talk to my dog alot for practice lol but true.Does get fustrating sometimes but as my doctor says if they can't understand what we are the aren't listening anyway.

  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    #6
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    Hi Baker

     

    Yes I did a lot of different therapy trying to get my tongue moving again, you can read it by clicking on my name

     

    Tim

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