Meet One of Our Speech Pathologists, Arlene
During Better Hearing & Speech Month, we want you to meet one of our Speech Pathologists, Arlene Orozco who came to serve our community at Sierra View from Texas. She may have left Texas, but she is still a true Cowboys fan at heart!
As a Speech Pathologist, also known as speech therapist, Arlene helps in rehabilitation of speech and language, however in speaking with Arlene she explained that swallowing disorders that affect a person’s ability to eat are a key aspect within her scope of practice as well.
Arlene works with patients in the inpatient, outpatient and DPSNF settings. In the outpatient adult setting, Arlene mostly works with stroke patients with aphasia. Aphasia is an acquired language disorder that may affect a person’s ability to understand or express language in any form including speaking, reading and writing.
“Speech therapy is geared toward maximizing a person’s ability to communicate and is a team effort among the speech therapist, the patient and their families,” Arlene explains. The outpatient setting is ideal for this collaboration, as she also works with young children with developmental language delays. Arlene says that early intervention is key for best outcomes and she loves working with young children and their parents/caregivers where she emphasizes fun, functional language.
This year’s Better Hearing & Speech Month theme, “Building Connections” speaks to Arlene’s role as a speech pathologist because communication is all about building connections with those around us, including family, friends and caregivers. “As a speech pathologist, I help patients regain their abilities to communicate for both the purposes of maintaining safety; in other words, being able to communicate their needs and wants, in addition to the purpose of social and emotional connection,” Arlene says. “My role in treating dysphagia even relates to building connections because providing a patient with safe and enjoyable access to eating helps them to be included in family mealtimes and in other social settings.”
We are happy to highlight one of our newer team members who can help bring awareness to Better Hearing & Speech Month and even stroke awareness by learning how she helps patients recover and heal! #betterhearingandspeech #svmc #strokeawarenessmonth
