01 Jan 2012
By: Jacqueline Chia
Grandfather used to tell stories about his youth to his grandchildren before they went to bed. But after suffering a stroke, he couldn't continue with the nightly routine as the disease had impaired his ability to speak.
Thankfully, Grandpa made a fast recovery, after practising speech and swallowing exercises prescribed by his speech therapist. More importantly, he was able to do these activities correctly in the comfort of his home, following detailed instructions from a DVD produced by Singapore General Hospital's (SGH) Department of Speech Therapy.
"This exercise video came about because we found that our patients, especially the older ones, often could not remember the exercises that were taught or were doing them incorrectly. We had to review the exercises with the patients again and again during therapy sessions and this delayed rehabilitation," said Ms Melissa Chua, Head and Senior Principal Speech Therapist, SGH.
Patients are given instruction sheets to take home or rely on caregivers and family members to help them with the exercises. But exercises that are done wrongly can slow down their recovery, and it may be another two to four weeks to the next review when the mistakes are corrected, Ms Chua added.
To address this problem, and after two years of hard work, the Department of Speech Therapy produced a step-by-step DVD guide Say Ah that helps patients do their prescribed exercises easily - and correctly - at home.
"Exercises can range from those working on lip and tongue movements to specific swallowing exercises, such as those that teach the patient how to stimulate the back of the throat to facilitate faster swallowing," said Ms Chua.
Launched on Nov 1, Say Ah consists of two DVDs with 20 exercises. The video is offered to the department's patients as an additional resource to help them do their exercises correctly at home. Sold at $19.58 each and available in English, Malay and Mandarin, the DVD has drawn an enthusiastic response from patients, especially the elderly.
On the department's patients can buy the DVD as it must be used in conjunction with the instructions and exercises prescribed by therapists. "We don't want patients to rely only on the video because professional advice is required for this tool to be used effectively," Ms Chua said.
The video was produced by the department and SingHealth Academy - the education arm of SingHealth. "The talents you see in the video are members of the department," said Ms Chua. "We were involved in the whole process, coming up with the script and doing research to ensure that all the material was evidence based."
SGH has produced 1,000 copies of the video. With the use of the speech therapy aid, Ms Chua has noticed more consistent progress in patients - encouraging results for the department which may develop more resources for patients in the future.
SGH sees more than 19,000 patients seeking treatment for speech and swallowing problems each year. The numbers are increasing, but this is also due to a greater awareness among Singaporeans of the value of speech therapy services in treating communication disorders.
"Sixty per cent of our total patient load are inpatients with swallowing and communication disorders. Ten per cent of our outpatient cases are patients with communication disorders," said Ms Chua.
Patients who require speech therapy include those who have suffered a stroke, have Parkinson's disease or brain injury from road accidents or bad falls, as well as those who suffer from head and neck cancers.
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