An independent Speech and Language Therapy Service run by Specialist Speech & Language Therapist, Louise Lim. I offer private Speech Therapy online and in person to adults who have had changes to their communication caused by Stroke, Parkinson’s or MND.
Contact me to discuss your needs or book an appointment:email
hello@recommunicatespeech.co.ukphone or text
07841522601I am based in Norwich - appointments can be at your home (depending on location), at a private central Norwich clinic or online...so I can work with you wherever you are in the world!
About Our Services
I specialise in SPEAK OUT! an effective approach to Speech Therapy for Parkinson's, helping patients to speak with clarity and a strong voice. This method helps both improve and maintain speech and voice in Parkinson's. Sessions can be done easily online using Zoom, Skype or FaceTime which I can help you with.
For more information about SPEAK OUT! click here.
Therapy costs:
Initial Informal Meeting (30 mins) £30
SPEAK OUT! Suitability Assessment (typically 45 – 60 mins) £60
SPEAK OUT! Teletherapy (up to 60 minutes – typically 45) £50
SPEAK OUT! Therapy Session in Person (up to 60 minutes) £55
SPEAK OUT! Teletherapy Refresher Session (typically 45 – 60 mins) £55
Other Full Assessment (90 mins) £95
Other Therapy Session (60 mins) £60
Testimonials:
"Louise instantly makes you feel at ease and as a result more confident" - anonymous"As a person with Parkinson's, I have been working with Louise Lim using the acclaimed SPEAK OUT! programme, and both the results and the process have been extremely positive. Louise is kind, highly skilled, professional, and adept at putting you at ease. She goes above and beyond the SPEAK OUT! exercises to develop a one-to-one approach that is truly tailored to the client. In short I would recommend Louise to anybody who has Parkinson's-related speech challenges." - John M"Brilliant - she was trained in London where they strive for excellence" - anonymous"Always positive, always cheerful and leading with a smile...we did many useful exercises. Louise filled us with confidence and she is much appreciated" - anonymous"I've worked with Louise Lim for the past few months on the SPEAK OUT programme and found her to be very understanding, kind and most of all patient" - anonymous
I am a member of the Health Care Professions Council and the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.
About Louise:I qualified as a Speech and Language Therapist almost 20 years ago. In that time I have worked in a variety of NHS settings including Health Centres , Hospitals and patient's homes. I have also worked in research at University College London and the Institute of Neurology. This greatly advanced my knowledge, skills and experience in working with patients with neurological conditions which became my speciality.I am honoured to play a role in helping people regain their vocal independence, sound like their 'old selves' and achieve personal goals such as feeling confident to order food in a restaurant, make phone calls or give work presentations.
About therapy with Louise:Speech therapy with me is all about you and helping you re-develop your communication in the way that you want, to help overcome your current difficulty with speech and or language.I like to work together with patients and their families to help them with the things that are important to them.
I try to make sure therapy is creative, interesting and relaxed and I will involve you (and your family if you choose) in deciding what you would like to focus on in therapy.Together we will set goals to help you participate in communication activities that are important to you such as speaking with friends and family, using the telephone and asking for help in shops and cafes.
Depending on your needs and preferences, sessions can include:
repeated practise e.g. saying targeted words or phrases to help you say them more clearly;
conversation level practise with the therapist and sometimes a family member;
supportive counselling-type discussions;
practical approaches to provide pictures, documents and strategies to support everyday communication.
The number and timing of sessions are up to you and options and recommendations around this will be discussed with you.
Parkinson's and SpeechPeople with Parkinson's often find that their speech and voice change. Typically this presents as a quieter voice and unclear or indistinct speech. This is because the speech system is 'automatic' and is therefore disrupted by lower dopamine levels in the brain.By learning to use a very conscious and deliberate approach to speaking and making use of the brain's intentional system, many people's speech can be significantly improved. Regular practise is required to achieve this.
SPEAK OUT! therapy for Parkinson'sOne of the services I am able to offer is a popular, effective and well-researched intensive speech therapy programme for Parkinson's called SPEAK OUT! This involves approximately 3-4 weeks of 3 sessions per week followed by weekly sessions.Sessions can be face to face or via Skype, Zoom or Facetime.An initial evaluation session is required to assess whether this would be the right approach for you.
SPEAK OUT! sessions are not normally available as home visits but this may be possible by special arrangement.To watch an information video by the developers of SPEAK OUT! about how it works please click here
Aphasia Therapy and RecoveryAbout Aphasia:
Aphasia is when the areas of the brain that were used for language tasks - understanding,
speaking, reading and writing - have been disrupted by injury such as a stroke or trauma to
the head.People with aphasia may have difficulty with any tasks that involve language e.g.
• Thinking of and saying names of objects, people and places
• Understanding what other people are saying to them
• Constructing spoken or written sentences
• Understanding written words and sentencesThe severity of difficulty varies hugely depending on the level of disruption caused by the
damage to the brain.
About aphasia therapy:Therapy for people with aphasia may involve:• helping the person to use strategies to trigger certain words or phrases• using worksheets, flashcards, computer programmes or apps to present pictures and or sounds to help them practise saying or understanding certain words or sentences• providing pictures, written support and technology devices to use in place of or alongside spoken
communication• helping the person to feel more confident about communicating• helping the friends/family/colleagues of the person to communicate with them in the most effective way• supporting the person and their loved ones with the emotional and practical aspects of living with aphasia
How much speech therapy do I need?
This is also really up to you and something we will discuss.Some research suggests that there is a ‘dose effect’ i.e. it is likely more effective to have more speech therapy sessions however this does depend on many factors.It is a good idea to set goals about what you would like to achieve in therapy and this is something you can do with your therapist.
You may want to have lots of sessions with a speech therapist or you may choose to have
one or two and continue doing the exercises or practising strategies at home on your own/with family.You do not have to agree to a set number of sessions when you
begin therapy but can decide as you go along.In some cases I am able to offer a mini ‘intensive’ run of aphasia therapy e.g. 3 times per week and sessions of a longer duration e.g. 90 minutes or 2 hours. There is some evidence that intensive therapy can be more effective.
About aphasia recovery:
We are still learning more about how language works in the brain and how we recover skills
like speaking and understanding after the brain has been damaged.Research suggests that a number of different parts of the brain can be used for language
skills and there is a theory that when one area is damaged, e.g. by stroke, another
undamaged area can be used instead. It takes some time for the undamaged area to 'learn'
to take over and this is why recovery is a gradual process. In future we will hopefully better
understand how this happens and how speech therapy can speed up this process.
Aphasia recovery researchResearch projects such as ‘PLORAS’ at University College London are investigating
recovery using MRI scanners and speech therapy assessments to test the language skills of
people who have had a stroke at different time points in their recovery.
Some research indicates that recovery of aphasia continues to happen for many years after
a stroke and does not necessarily plateau after a short window which was often thought to
be the case in the past. It is therefore reasonable to expect that people can continue to benefit from therapy even some years after their stroke.It is likely that the extent of recovery that is possible, and the speed of recovery relates to the area of the brain that has been damaged i.e. some people will make a more ‘complete’ recovery than others and some people will see improvements more quickly than others.
Motor Neurone DiseaseMotor Neurone Disease can affect the muscles used for speech and make it difficult to speak clearly.We are working towards offering a Voice Banking and Message Banking Service for people with Motor Neurone Disease. This involves recording the person's voice so that it can be used in a digital communication device which can support speaking with others when their speech becomes difficult to understand.The value of voice banking and message banking is that the person's own voice can be used in the communication device rather than a generic, less personalised voice.If you are interested in this service please contact us.For more information about voice banking in general please see the MNDA website
