Implications for the Speech-Language Pathologist
The role of the speech language pathologist is to continually seek new methods of prevention, differential diagnosis, and intervention with older adults (Boone, et al., 2013).
In many cases, the underlying cause of a voice disorder in an older adult is not due to advancing age. Voice disorders in older adults typically are from an underlying physiological conditions For example: Vocal fold paralysis Functional voice disorders Intubation Neoplasms Inflammatory and autoimmune diseases Infection Management and therapy should focus on disease processes that accompany aging rather than just the aging voice. |