We provide speech therapy online for children, adolescents and adults with velopharyngeal insufficiency.
We are a registered NDIS provider and use an inclusive approach to therapy, where the person can be in the comfort and familiarity of their own home.
How can speech therapy benefit people with velopharyngeal insufficiency?
Speech therapy can provide several benefits for individuals with velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI), a condition where the vault of the soft palate does not close properly against the back of the throat during speech, leading to resonance disorders such as hypernasality. Here are some key ways in which speech therapy can help:
1. **Improved Speech Clarity**: Speech therapists can teach individuals techniques to produce sounds more clearly despite the challenges posed by VPI. This can include strategies for better articulation and speech patterns to reduce hypernasality.
2. **Nasal Emission Management**: Therapists can work with clients to manage nasal airflow during speech, helping them to minimize the unintended escape of air through the nose, which can improve the quality of their spoken language.
3. **Compensatory Strategies**: Speech therapists often provide patients with compensatory strategies and techniques, such as using different speech sounds or altering resonance strategies, to help improve communication effectiveness.
4. **Vocal Exercises**: They may introduce specific vocal exercises designed to strengthen the muscles involved in speech production and improve overall oral-motor function. This can enhance the individual’s ability to control airflow and create sounds more effectively.
5. **Feedback and Monitoring**: Using tools like auditory feedback, therapists can help individuals become more aware of their speech patterns and make adjustments as needed, encouraging self-monitoring and improvement.
6. **Collaboration with Other Professionals**: Therapy may also involve collaboration with otolaryngologists or surgeons, especially if surgical interventions are being considered. Speech therapists can prepare patients for such procedures and provide postoperative therapy to optimize results.
7. **Education and Support**: Therapy provides education about the nature of VPI, how it affects speech, and strategies for effective communication. This can empower individuals and their families to better understand and address the challenges of VPI.
8. **Confidence and Social Interaction**: By improving speech intelligibility, therapy can enhance an individual’s confidence in their communication skills, which can lead to more social interactions and improved quality of life.
Overall, speech therapy is an important resource for individuals with velopharyngeal insufficiency, addressing both the physical and functional aspects of speech production and fostering effective communication.
Services for children, adolescents and adults
We have speech therapists who work with children, adolescents and adults, and we have therapists who have experience with velopharyngeal insufficiency. Read more about our therapists here.
NDIS registered provider
We are a registered NDIS provider and work with self-managed, plan-managed and agency-managed clients.
If your are an NDIS provider or support coordinator we can provide reliable speech therapy for clients with velopharyngeal insufficiency in any location. Refer a client and we’ll connect you to the right clinician.
Is online speech therapy effective?
Yes! A growing body of evidence shows that online delivery of therapy can be as effective as face to face. Online therapy has many other benefits too, including being convenient and accessible for people in regional and rural areas.
How does online speech therapy work?
At Umbo online therapy is not just zoom plus business-as-usual. It’s much more diverse than simply videoconferencing. Umbo therapists provide an individualised approach to each person, using the latest evidence, and a variety of technologies and engagement techniques.
Umbo champions person-centred therapy. It means the person and their family/support people leads the conversation. We believe that the most effective therapy occurs when support is given in the environment where the person lives, learns, works or plays. Therefore we work with the family, and teach skills to you or to other supporters. This means you’re achieving real-life goals, rather than just achieving goals in a clinic.
We are a certified social enterprise helping Australian families access allied health services.