Speech Therapy

The Speech Therapy Section in the NUH Department of Rehabilitation strives to provide excellent care for individuals with feeding, swallowing or communication disorders and their caregivers/families. These disorders may stem from various developmental and acquired health conditions like cerebral palsy, stroke, or even head and neck cancers. Our dedicated and experienced speech therapists provide comprehensive assessment, diagnosis, and therapy across the life stages of our patients.

At NUH, our services encompass specialised procedures for swallowing difficulties (dysphagia) such as Videofluroscopy (VFS) and Fibreoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES). We also incorporate evidence-based swallowing therapy approaches such as the McNeill Dysphagia Therapy Program (MDTP), Surface Electromyography (sEMG) Biofeedback, and Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) Approach to Feeding in our treatment. Our paediatric speech therapists regularly run workshops on helping children move from milk to solids, which provide parents with knowledge and hands-on experience. 

Specialised treatment programmes for various communication difficulties (which include disorders in language, speech, fluency, cognitive-communication, and/or voice) are also offered by our therapists. These include, but are not limited to:

• Lee Silverman Voice Treatment LOUD (LSVT LOUD): a speech/voice treatment programme for people with Parkinson’s disease and other neurological conditions.
• SPEAK OUT!: a treatment programme aimed to help people with Parkinson’s disease and related neurological disorders with their speech and swallowing.
• Lidcombe Programme: a treatment programme for children who stutter.
• Smooth Speech: a treatment technique for people who stutter.
  

Working in tandem with other medical and allied health professionals (e.g., neurologists, dietitians, and occupational therapists), our speech therapists are also actively involved in a number of multidisciplinary clinics such as the Neuromuscular Disorders Clinic, the Paediatric Feeding Clinic, and the Paediatric Aerodigestive Feeding Clinic.

Beyond providing clinical services, our therapists also help to run support groups, for example, the NUHS Parkinson’s Disease Support Group. Our efforts help to create a space where patients and their families can meet and support each other.

As part of Singapore’s leading university hospital, our Speech Therapy Section is committed to developing our profession and nurturing the next generation of therapists. Our team members are involved in teaching and clinical education of students from both the National University of Singapore and Singapore Institute of Technology. We also undertake a range of research projects, such as exploring the use of artificial intelligence in assessment and therapy.