Laura-Jayne is a Speech Pathologist who wants to bust the myth that her field is solely responsible for improving the speech of those who stutter.

Speech pathologists also work with people who may be experiencing difficulty communicating and/or swallowing food and drink. The usual day for a ‘speechie’ involves assessing and treating a range of both things.

Many of her patients experience difficulty swallowing (dysphagia), often caused by another health condition such as a stroke, head injury, progressive brain diseases (multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, motor neuron disease) or dementia.

‘With dysphagia, we want to check that food and fluid isn't going the wrong way, that is, into the lungs. That's our main concern as this can make a person very unwell with a lung infection (referred to as aspiration pneumonia). Our goal is to work with the patient and their family to make sure that they eat and drink safely and stay well in hospital and at home.’

Laura-Jayne and her team at University of Canberra Hospital (UCH) have access to a state-of-the-art swallowing assessment machine to perform the Dysphagia Modified Barium Swallow (MBS). This assessment is a moving x-ray that allows them to see the person’s ability to swallow.

‘The MBS is the “gold standard” of care for the way that we look at a patient’s swallow ability. On x-ray we try different food and fluid textures and can directly see if any is going into the lungs. We also try different strategies to maximise the person’s swallow ability and safety.’

There are several ground-breaking projects being undertaken to improve the patient-centred communication care offered by the team. One example of this was the recent joint partnership with a Music Therapy student to begin Melodic Intonation Therapy, which uses music to improve the speech of patients suffering from the effects of a stroke.

UCH also has a Primary Progressive Aphasia Group, established alongside Neuropsychology, to support patients diagnosed with the condition and their families. This is a rare syndrome that affects the person’s ability to communicate. People who have it can have trouble expressing their thoughts and understanding or finding words.

‘Although it is a dementia, we can rehabilitate Primary Progressive Aphasia at UCH. Patients no longer have to travel to Sydney to access services and support.’

‘Julianne Moore’s character suffered from the condition in the movie “Still Alice”.’

The movie is a honest portrayal of how Primary Progressive Aphasia affects a person’s communication abilities.

This year Bruce Willis was, unfortunately, diagnosed with the condition.

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