Clinical Services for Speech, Language, and Pathology

• The NAVE Language Center

  The Nave Language Center provides specialized evaluation and treatment for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and related communication and social pragmatic disorders. The premise of the Nave Language Center ASD clinic is to provide direct services using naturalistic interactions and environments, evidence-based interventions, visual supports, augmentative and alternative communication modalities, and environmental arrangement to best support learning and sensory needs of the clients. The clinic highly values family support and training to generalize skills outside of the intervention setting. This clinic is its own free-standing building in Elizabethon, approximately 12 minutes from the ETSU Clinic.

• The Positive Eating Program (PEP)

  The Positive Eating Program is designed for children with behavioral and sensory based feeding challenges including children with and without specific medical diagnosis. The goals of the program are to increase food awareness, decrease anxiety to new food textures and types, provide consistent and appropriate mealtime behaviors and for comprehensive parent training and collaboration to facilitate generalization of new feeding behaviors across context. Additionally, participation in cultivating a vegetable garden exposes children to different sensory experiences and foods. The program is appropriate for infants to elementary school. The program is housed at the NAVE Language Center in Elizabethon.

• Adult Speech & Language Clinic

  Housed in the ETSU Speech-Language Hearing Clinic, this clinic focuses on the evaluation and treatment of the young adult, adult and geriatric populations with speech, language and/or cognitive disorders. Clinicians use standardized and non-standardized assessments and a variety of evidence based techniques to help their clients maximize functional communication and daily living independence. Select clinicians are also certified in Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT).

   

• School Age Speech & Language Clinic

  The ETSU School-Age Speech and Language Clinic provides specialized evaluation and treatment for preschool-school-aged children with communication disorders. The premise of the School-Age Speech and Language clinic is to provide direct services using naturalistic interactions and evidence-based interventions to best support client and family needs.  Furthermore, the clinic highly values family support and training to facilitate generalization of skills. The School-Age Speech and Language Clinic addresses the needs of children in the following areas, including but not limited to: speech sound disorders, language based disorders, literacy based language disorders, social communication challenges, and use of augmentative-alternative communication.

• Voice Clinic

  A voice disorder, also called dysphonia, is an impairment of the speaking or singing voice in that it arises from an abnormality of the structures and/or functions of the voice production system resulting in voice functioning that is unacceptable to the user in social, professional, or other contexts (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2005).

  Common symptoms of voice problems include: 

  • Hoarse, weak, and/or rough voice
  • Loss of voice
  • Decreased pitch range
  • Globus sensation 
  • Vocal fatigue/tiredness of voice
  • Shortness of breath while speaking
  • Constant throat clearing
  • Strain/effort to produce voice
  • Pain or discomfort in neck while speaking

  Common voice disorders are:

  • Structural pathology, specifically, vocal fold lesions (nodules, cysts, polyps)
  • Inflammatory conditions (voice changes secondary to acid reflux, laryngitis)
  • Muscle tension dysphonia
  • Maturational and age related changes (Presbylarngis, Puberphonia)
  • Neurologic conditions affecting voice (vocal fold immobility- paralysis, Parkinson’s Disease, Spasmodic Dysphonia)
  • Upper Airway conditons (Exercise induced laryngeal obstruction- AKA Paradoxical vocal fold movement- PVFM

  The voice clinic offers the following evaluations and treatment:

  Evaluations:

  • Complete behavioral evaluation of voice including:
  • Auditory Perceptual Evaluation
  • Laryngeal Function Evaluation, including acoustic and physiological measures

  Treatment:

  • Behavioral management (systematic & eclectic approaches)
  • Vocal Hygiene
  • Resonant Voice Therapy
  • Vocal Function Exercises
  • Flow Phonation
  • Respiratory Retraining
  • Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT®) for patients with Parkinson's Disease
  • Voice management for the transgender population

• Speech and Swallowing Clinic

  The Speech and Swallowing Clinic at ETSU is focused on addressing the speech and swallowing needs of adults in the Tri-Cities area. The clinical faculty director, Dr. Kimberly R. Wilson-Lewis, PhD/CCC-SLP is certified in:

  • Vital Stim Therapy
  • Lee Silverman Voice Therapy (LSVT)
  • Pronouncing English as a Second Language (PESL) Accent Modification
  • Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES)

  Treatment techniques that may be used to assess, diagnose, and treat include but are not limited to:

  • FEES
  • LSVT
  • Vital Stim
  • Biofeedback via Electropalatography
  • Auscultation

  The Speech and Swallowing Clinic addresses the needs of adults diagnosed with:
  Motor Speech Disorder or Swallowing Difficulty due to:

  • Stroke
  • Cancer
  • Multiple Sclerosis
  • Parkinson’s
  • ALS

  The Speech and Swallowing Clinic is located at:

  ENT Associates of Johnson City

  2340 Knob Creek Rd

  Johnson City, TN 37604

  If you have questions or would like to schedule an appointment, contact the clinical faculty director, Dr. Wilson-Lewis.
  Phone: 423-439-4355
  Email: wilsonlewis@etsu.edu

• Crumley House Clinic

  The primary purpose of the Crumley House, an adult day treatment center, is community re-entry and integration of individuals who have experienced traumatic brain injury (TBI). Rehabilitation at Crumley House includes behavior management and recreation and vocational programs. This off-campus center provides an opportunity for evaluation and treatment of adults who have cognitive and communicative disorders resulting from TBI and/or other neurological impairments. These disorders include deficits in perception and discrimination and memory, orientation, organization, reasoning and speech and language.

• The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit High-Risk Follow-Up Clinic

  • The NICU High-Risk Follow-up Clinic is an interprofessional clinic focused on holistic assessment of infants and toddlers discharged from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Niswonger Children’s Hospital. The purpose of the clinic is early identification of developmental and health concerns and appropriate referral to medical specialists and intervention services in families’ local communities.
  • The interprofessional assessment team includes: SLP, Audiology, PT, Nutrition, Nursing, Neonatology
  • The team conducts a holistic evaluation through medical chart review, interview, observation, and use of standardized assessment tools. For example, the speech-language pathologist examines the domains of receptive and expressive communication, cognition, social-emotional, and adaptive behavior skills using the Developmental Assessment of Young Children-2.
  • This clinic addresses infants and toddlers, aged 0-24 months, with a wide-range of developmental profiles and health challenges, including, for example:
    • Typical development, with catch-up growth associated with prematurity
    • Swallowing and feeding disorders
    • Developmental delays and disorders
    • Genetic syndromes
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Neonatal abstinence syndrome
  • The clinic is held at...
    • ETSU Pediatrics: 325 N. State of Franklin Rd., Johnson City, TN 37604
  • Referrals and the initial appointment is made as a part of discharge planning from the NICU at Niswonger Children’s Hospital or through primary pediatrician referral.
    • Phone: 423-439-7320
    • Fax: 423-439-7343
    • ETSU Health - Pediatrics

• Social Group Clinic

   ETSU’s Speech and Language Clinic provides evaluation and treatment for children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder to enhance social pragmatic skills. Treatment for social communication capitalizes strengths of each individual while addressing weaknesses related to social interaction. Treatment strategies in a social group clinic focus on increasing active engagement amongst peers, building independence in natural communication environments, and generalization of these skills outside of a therapy setting. Social group clinic recognizes the importance of involving the individual and the family to enhance functional outcomes. Social group clinics at ETSU typically consist of 2-4 individuals of a similar age with social communication deficits. ETSU’s Speech and Language Clinic provides social group clinics for children between the ages of 3 and 16. Some of our treatment methods include social stories, social scripts, and video modeling.

• Concussion Management Clinic

  The Concussion Management Clinic provides baseline and post-concussion testing for all student athletes at ETSU. Additionally, we provide education on concussion symptoms, the importance of honestly reporting concussions and concussion symptoms and information regarding post-concussion cognitive rest and return-to-learn.  We provide reports and recommendations regarding follow-up and academic accommodations.

• Gary Shealy ALS Memorial Clinic

  The Gary Shealy Memorial ALS Clinic is an interprofessional clinic that aims to address the complex needs of adults with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). This once-monthly clinic serves as a place where people with ALS can see a variety of medical and rehabilitation professionals.  Recommendations and referrals are made regarding strategies to help patients maintain safety and independence as well as for necessary equipment and/or procedures. 

• Telehealth Clinic

  The Telehealth Clinic within the ETSU Speech Language and Hearing Clinic focuses on the evaluation and treatment speech, language and/or cognitive disorders in the adult population. This clinic was design to serve those who do not have access to a qualified Speech-Language Pathologist due to geographic, physical or social reasons. Clinicians are housed within the ETSU Speech Language and Hearing Clinic while clients are at a remote site (e.g., their homes, rural health office).  Clinical services are provided in real time via a secure video chat platform.

• Auditory-Verbal Therapy Clinic

  The Auditory-Verbal Therapy (AVT) clinic is supervised by Marie Johnson, CCC-SLP, a speech-language pathologist and a Listening and Spoken Language Specialist, Certified Auditory Verbal Therapist (LSLS, Cert. AVT), conferred through the Academy of the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing (AG Bell; https://www.agbell.org/). Auditory-verbal intervention is evidence-based and appropriate for children who are deaf or hard of hearing seeking to develop and improve listening, spoken language, and literacy skills through use of hearing technology. Family members are included as part of the process, as they are trained and coached in sessions to help their child generalize skills outside of the therapeutic setting into daily living activities. The LSL professional also collaborates with the child’s audiologist and school professionals to ensure best possible outcomes.

  Aural Rehabilitation Services

  Aural rehabilitation services are provided in addition to the AVT clinic for individuals across the lifespan who are deaf or hard of hearing. These services are appropriate for individuals seeking intervention to “relearn” listening and language skills, following a hearing loss that occurred after development of language skills, with the assistance of hearing technology. A variety of modalities and evidence-based strategies may be used to improve communication skills through these intervention services.