David's Alzheimer's Fight
Hosted by David Uhlfelder, who is facing early-stage Alzheimer’s with resilience and humor, alongside co-host Dr. Karen Gilbert, this podcast shines a light on living well with the disease. Together, they share personal stories, expert insights, and practical tips to help others navigate the journey with strength, knowledge, and hope.
David's Alzheimer's Fight
Beyond Words: How Speech Therapy Builds Memory, Focus, and Confidence
Speech therapy is about much more than clearer words. Speech-language pathologist Amber Singleton reveals how SLPs help with memory, word finding, planning, swallowing, and the voice changes common in Parkinson’s. From cueing systems and recall drills to night-before planning and LOUD-focused exercises, she shares practical tools that make daily life easier for those living with Alzheimer’s, dementia, or MCI. This episode is packed with real strategies that turn frustration into progress one small win at a time.
This podcast shares insights, not medical advice. Please consult a professional for your care. Hi, everybody. This is Dave from David's Alzheimer's Fight. And today we're joined by Amber Singleton, a speech language pathologist who works with people living with dementia and Alzheimer's.
SPEAKER_00:Hi, my name is Amber Singleton. I'm a speech language pathologist. I work with Alzheimer's, dementia, mild cognitive impairment, and stroke. I have a specialist in traumatic brain injury as well as loud certification, which works with Parkinson's patients to help them improve their speech and communication. I own my own company, My Voice, and then I also work with Gate Mechanics, which is who I met you through.
SPEAKER_02:What does being loud certified mean?
SPEAKER_00:So loud certified is a program that works with Parkinson's patients on vocal strength and clarity to help them become better communicators.
SPEAKER_02:Tell us a little bit about your company, My Voice. That sounds interesting.
SPEAKER_00:So My Voice, like I said, I work with people suffering from cognitive impairments. So we work on things like memory, word-finding difficulties, processing concerns, really anything related to cognition. So that could be related to a traumatic brain injury. It could be an exacerbation of Alzheimer's or dementia, uh stroke. So anything that affects language skills.
SPEAKER_02:Can you support patients remotely or do you have to be in front of them physically? Or how does that work?
SPEAKER_00:Yes, absolutely. So I do see people in person and I also support them remotely using different platforms such as Zoom. Really, as long as somebody has an iPad or a computer, I can do the same exercises and work on those exact same strategies as I would do in person.
SPEAKER_02:Which is actually what we did together, and it worked very effectively, and it was very easy to do, and I think it worked very good. What are the goals and lessons you aimed to deliver during our sessions?
SPEAKER_00:So for our goals, I really focused on where your concerns were. And a lot of the concerns you mentioned focused on challenges you were having with simple tasks, moments of forgetfulness, word-finding difficulties, or sometimes difficulty recalling names. So our goals really focused on those specific skills. So we worked on memory goals, focusing on strategies to incorporate to help see improvement there, as well as goals around executive functioning skills. And that's related to that could be planning, organization, time management, any of those just daily life skills that have become a little more difficult to do since a diagnosis or whatever change occurred.
SPEAKER_02:I think that I've made progress, but from your perspective, uh, how have I done since the beginning?
SPEAKER_00:Yes, absolutely. You made amazing progress. And I think the reason for that is all that you did every day. I mean, we talked about strategies and you immediately incorporated them. We did exercises every week that just backed up those concerns that you were having. And every week you would work on those exercises and we talk about it and get feedback and then continue to edit the scenarios where you were still having trouble. I mean, you did fantastic because you just constantly worked on your skills in order to see the improvement that you were really looking for.
SPEAKER_02:And everybody does something different, everybody progresses differently, everybody has different outcomes. But in general, I think uh if I if you agree that I think it did work out well for for me, and it was a great help.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, absolutely. I mean, we met we met all our goals that we established, focusing on the memory, the executive functioning skills, and using those techniques. And you're right, everybody starts at a different level and has different concerns. You made great improvement there, and everybody does vary on the progress, but it really just depends on what you put into it. What you put into it is what you'll get out of it. So the more you're using the strategies every day and finding ways to incorporate it is how you get stronger. I mean, I can teach strategies all day long, but if you don't use them, where are you really going to see the improvement? Right. So it really relies so much on what you take out of it and how you apply it to everyday life.
SPEAKER_02:Right. It's like taking a class, you know, you have a class for six weeks or eight weeks or 10 weeks or the year, whatever it is. It's how you take those things you learn and put it into your practical knowledge and practical actions during your daily activities. And I think that's what one of the things I got out of it was that I was able to do those things and realize that thinking about the different issues and problem solving, that there's certain things that I learned that it certainly helped in those situations. Uh, is there anything else that you wanted to add about what you can do or how you can help?
SPEAKER_00:Or yeah, I guess I I would really just say that many times with situations like this, it's you want to avoid those scenarios that are happening. If you're having trouble word finding, you don't want to go out and talk to people. If you're having trouble with memory, maybe you don't want to really challenge yourself in any way to where you would see a weakness. But with something like this, it really involves directly targeting those skills. And you really can see improvement. It's just the challenges, you have to go directly through it and be able to say, okay, well, this is an area of concern. What can I do to adjust it? And maybe the first go round with the strategy, it might not be perfect, but you see some improvement. And then you just keep editing that until you see that what's happening, if you're having word-finding issues 10 times a day, that turns into five, which turns into three, which turns into minimal, if any, right? But the awareness is key. If you can see where you're having errors, that's how you can adjust it. And being able to be up for that challenge and work on that skill. Not everybody is. Sometimes it takes time to really process a diagnosis or whatever it is. So when that time comes, being able to really look at the concerns you have and really work on those is what gets you where you want to get.
SPEAKER_02:I felt that it's always it was a great pleasure to work with you. And it was always something that we learned from each other. It wasn't just a one-way street. And I think that's with any type of education. And another thing I want to say is that sometimes when somebody says it's speech therapist, they they don't realize it's also includes cognitive therapy. So that's one of the things I want to make sure that people understand because something that I didn't really realize.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, you're right. It's a whole umbrella of issues and concerns that people can have. We actually target things like swallowing. Someone has difficulty with that after a stroke, to language. It can really go across the board. But yeah, a lot, a lot of times when I say speech therapist, somebody says, I don't have any issues talking. And it goes, yeah, and it goes so much deeper than that because majority of the clients I work with, it's those day-to-day life issues like memory, processing, difficulty following directions, just anything that's just become challenging that used to be easier to do.
SPEAKER_02:What's the best way for listeners to get in touch with you?
SPEAKER_00:So um my company is my voice, and you can reach me at desire at myvoicemylife.org. That's D-E-S-I-R-E-E at myvoicemylife.org. Or you can reach me through my company that I work with you, and that's Gate Mechanics. Uh, the owner of that is Dana Serrano, and her contact information is Dana.sorano at gate-mechanics.com. That's d-a-n-a.s-e-r-r-a-n-o.
SPEAKER_02:Another thing that I wanted to make sure that people understand is this is covered by Medicare. And that's a very important thing that because you say, well, how much does this cost? Well, is that true? Basic Medicare will cover this.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, absolutely. So typically, and I know Dana can certainly get into that. There's so many sessions covered a year. But for example, we worked together for a period of time, and I said, if you notice any changes or want to start back, we can always pick back up. So every year you start over and you're allotted so many sessions. So it is something that you can take full advantage of each year and really work on the skills.
SPEAKER_02:I thank you very much for being with us. And it was a pleasure dealing with you and having this podcast together. And I'm sure we'll be talking again soon. So please stay tuned and make sure to watch our podcasts and be able to like us on Facebook and Instagram and all the other social media sites, David's Alzheimer'sfight.org, where you'll be able to find useful information as well as links to all the podcasts and other types of podcasts that I've been showing.
SPEAKER_01:Thank you so much. You can reach David by email, uh David at DavidAlzheimersfight.org. You can reach me very simply, education at allskare.org. That's A-L-Z-C-A-R-E.org. Uh you can reach me by phone at 561-683-2700.
SPEAKER_02:Thank you again, Amber, for being with us today and hope to talk to you again soon. We are here on this earth as humans to help others. That's what I believe. Please note this podcast provides information only. Podcasts should not be considered professional advice or a substitute for professional advice. Viewers of the speakers do not necessarily reflect those of Alzheimer's Community Care or David Ufelder. Listeners and viewers are encouraged to consult with appropriate professionals and are responsible for how the information provided is used.
