Oral Myofunctional Disorder And How Enrolling In Speech Language Therapy Can Help

Orofacial myofunctional disorders occur when the tongue, lips, or jaw procure abnormal or exaggerated movement – impairing a person’s ability to speak or even swallow.  A common example of this disorder is ”tongue thrust”, where the tongue rests against or between the teeth during swallowing instead of lifting up into the roof of the mouth.

While many orofacial myofunctional disorders (OMDs) are learned, or develop out of habit – they can cause a lot of stress; diminishing the quality of a person’s interactions with the world as well as impeding on their overall health. These irregular activities of the mouth can contribute to more serious dental problems such as an incorrectly positioned jaw, or teeth.

Though oral quirks such as tongue thrust or thumb sucking are common in infants, they tend to disappear by early childhood. However, 81% of children who suffer from speech-language difficulties do so from an underlying OMD. If the issues remain unaddressed, they can follow a person into adulthood and become that much harder to correct. When an OMD is caused by upper airway constrictions, obstructions, or infections, a doctor may be the first to notice. It may also be caused by low body tone, imbalance in dental growth (often caught by a dentist or oral hygienist), or inadequate development of facial bones or muscles in the head and neck.

While a dentist or doctor may notice the physical repercussions, it’s always better to catch an OMD before it starts causing more serious disruptions. If you suspect that your child may be suffering from an OMD, a Speech-Language Pathologist can help asses what’s causing it, then work with the client to become cognisant of certain tendencies so they can overcome them.

If you are looking for a speech therapist in Toronto, there are a number of solid options. One such choice is Simone Friedman SLS located conveniently in the west end and offering personalized treatment for people suffering from OMDs occurring habitually, due to physical abnormalities, or as a result of a developmental disability.

A trained Speech-Language Pathologist works with clients on their pronunciation, articulation and tongue movements when speaking, as well as to subdue the core issue which may include incorrect mouth posture, speech sound errors or a swallowing disorder. Techniques for therapy may include increasing awareness of the mouth, facial muscles, and postures of the tongue. As well, they will work with the client to improve muscle strength and coordination, speech production, and correct swallowing patterns. If speech malfunctions are the cause of habits such as lip-biting or thumb sucking – a therapist will focus treatment to eliminate these behaviors first.

Regardless of its initial cause, the development of an OMD can interfere with a person’s ability to communicate, their comfort, as well as their health and well being. The earlier a client can seek out treatment, the sooner they can identify the core issues obstructing speech and other functions. Contact a Speech-Language pathologist today to provide your loved one with the attention they need to re-establish their normal.

This is a guest blog entry.

Living an Independent Life Throughout Retirement

Creating an independent life after retirement is a significant concern of people as they begin planning their future. There are several components to ensuring one can live the life they wish well into their retirement years. Physical safety and home security are one of the first items that should be addressed.

Then the focus should move to staying connected to friends and family in distant locations as well as a plan to remain active within the community.

Home Security

Living in a secure environment becomes something that becomes more complex as one ages. In addition to the real need to protect the home from intruders, there is an added requirement of protecting one’s self from the home. Many homes are designed in such a way as to be perilous for those with decreased mobility, agility, and eyesight.

Creating a more secure home environment can be accomplished with a series of small changes. Changing the handles for doors, cabinetry, and plumbing fixtures to levers increases accessibility throughout the home. Floors should be made slip-resistant through the application of no-slip pads under area rugs or the installation of low-pile carpeting. Bathrooms can be made safer by installing hand rails for shower areas and near toilets.

A popular option for ensuring one’s ability to reach help should an emergency occur are medical alert systems. These types of systems connect a wearable device wirelessly to a central hub that can alert a call center that has a protocol in place for each customer. The customization helps ensure the right people are contacted for each situation.

Staying Connected

Technology has evolved significantly over the past several decades. What once required a room of computer servers can now be accomplished more quickly and with a better user experience on a smart phone. It is expected that in the coming decades, technology will further evolve and become more integrated within our daily lives.

A popular gaming console is already being used to help seniors stay connected with friends and be more physically active. Most consoles have the ability to link players in different locations to engage in activity based games. The breakthroughs in virtual technology could make the experience even more interactive and immersive.

Staying connected to friends and family members spread out across the country is also easier with technology. Video phone calls are now possible on phones and computers with perfect clarity. The face-to-face connection allows all those involved in the conversation the ability to read body language and facial expressions which increases the level of enjoyment and understanding experienced.

Social Interaction

Social connections are extremely important for seniors. Staying connected to friend and family members is critical for happiness levels but having a connection to the community is far more important than many people realize.

As one nears retirement, they should begin examining the communities in which they are considering retiring. Public transit, community events, and access to preferred hobbies are all important aspects of cultivating a thriving social life post retirement. If those social activities that one enjoys are located far from home, they will become increasingly difficult to participate in as one gets older.

Technological advancements have made it easier than ever to remain active and independent well into retirement. A little advanced research and preparation can create a smooth transition between working and retirement and ensure individuals are living a life they love.

This is a blog post by Nancy Evans.

Why Social Work is a Valuable Career to Get Into

Social workers provide a range of valuable services, which can often improve the quality of life experienced by their clients. By helping others with a range of issues such as adjustment issues, social workers are dedicated professionals whose work enables them to make a real, positive difference in the world.

As a career, social work offers a range of unique challenges, experiences and opportunities to those who pursue it. Here are just some of the main reasons why social work is a highly valuable choice of career.

High Demand

Social work is a profession that is currently in high demand, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which reported that over the next seven years, demand for social workers will be growing at a rate faster than the average. Higher demand for skilled professionals can often result in better wages for online MSW graduates, and with social work jobs expected to grow by 27% by 2022, there’s no better time than the present to start your journey down this exciting and rewarding career path.

Various Opportunities

One of the interesting things about being a social worker is that there is a variety of job titles to choose from. Social workers will often specialize in one or more areas of the profession, for example working with families and young people, working with past offenders, or even working with the elderly. With a masters degree in social work online, you can choose from job categories such as working in Children’s Services with families, children, working and in schools, working as a mental health or substance abuse counselor, or working as a social worker in the healthcare industry.

Rewarding Work

Although social work is a great choice of career that can provide you with a good salary and an assortment of opportunities for the future, the main thing is that it can be a very rewarding and satisfying career. As a social worker, you will be working closely with individuals who are in need of support, for example children going through tough times or elderly people who are finding it difficult to adjust to new circumstances. Being there for these people and offering them your support is what makes social work such a rewarding profession.

Independent Work

If you are an independent worker and enjoy doing things autonomously, such as studying for your MSW online, social work is a great choice of career for you. Most social workers will be allowed a large degree of independence when dealing with their clients and providing services, and clinical social workers are able to run their own practices, enabling them to have full control over their office hours, working environment, clients, and more. Typically, social workers in all positions enjoy a great deal of flexibility at work, so if you need a flexible work schedule and prefer to be trusted to get things done on your own, this career is well suited to you.

Social workers are vital professionals who help people in need to achieve success. These are just some of the reasons why social work is such a valuable choice of career.

This is a guest blog entry.

The harsh truth about blue light – why you need to be careful?

We all are very much aware of the fact the harmful UV rays of the sun can cause severe damage to your eyes and that your eyes need to be protected from them. But have you ever contemplated about how harmful blue light rays can be for your eyes? Let’s talk about this and find out today.

In almost 99% cases, most of our work hours are spent in front of a computer screen on a day to day basis. According to recent studies and researches, as much as 60 out of 100 people have a habit of spending close to 6 hours or more every day staring at a digital screen at the office or at home.

So what exactly is blue light? Blue light is nothing but a certain color in the VISIBLE LIGHT SPECTRUM, which is easily visible to the eyes of humans. The main constituent of light is electromagnetic particles that can travel in certain waves to reach our eyes. The range of these waves is in strength and length and they usually emit a lot of energy. In all actuality, the highest amount of energy will be emitted when the wavelength will be at its shortest. The wavelength is usually measured in NM or nanometers, which is equal to one-billionth of a standard meter in the standard metric system. Each and every wavelength comes in different colors and is classified into x-rays, gamma rays, visible light, radio waves, infrared light, and UV rays or ultraviolet rays. The entire electromagnetic spectrum is made of these categories.

But, among all these categories, the visible light category is the only one visible to the naked eye, and also the category that our eyes are sensitive to. The visible light category of the electromagnetic spectrum is usually further categorized into seven specific colors, namely, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Among these, blue light has the highest energy level and intensity owing to its short wavelength, and hence over exposure can be harmful to human eyes.

So where is blue light emitted from? In all actuality, blue light is present all around us, wherever we are, and wherever we go. The biggest source of blue light is the light that travels from the sun through our atmospheric layers. But other common sources of harmful blue light are TV screens, computer screens, laptop screens, tablet screens and smartphone screens, LED and fluorescent lighting, and various other electronic devices.

When you think about it, blue light can actually be found any and every where you go. Usually the rays of the sun with short wavelengths and high energy frequency usually collide with air molecule to create blue light dispersion. Hence, our sky looks blue from the land. Blue light is usually used by the human body to regulate the natural wake and sleep cycles that allow humans to function properly. This phenomenon is known as the circadian rhythm, regulated by blue light. But blue light has some ill-effects as well.

Owing to the high energy frequency of blue light, the flicker rate is much higher than any other color in the spectrum, which causes diffused clarity, affects sharpness, and creates contrast related problems that might damage one’s vision in the long run.

This is a guest blog entry.

Five Medical Solutions For Snoring

Blame it on the ever increasing pollution levels or the drastic lifestyle changes, but snoring has become a common problem among people today. However, if waking up to your spouse’s loud snores has now become an everyday occurrence, it is high time you did something about it.

Snoring happens when your body is unable to draw air through the nose. As a result, you start breathing in through the mouth and can inhale harmful germs, dust, and other impurities.

From common cold to dust allergies and obesity, there are many reasons behind this sleeping disorder. Let us look into some practical medical solutions to curb snoring and sleep better at night:

1. Anti-Snoring Devices 

Snoring happens when you cannot breathe properly when asleep. This usually occurs when your nasal passage is blocked,or the throat muscles have closed down upon the air passage. Either way, the bottom line is that it restricts the air flow in your body thereby causing deep vibrations and uneasiness. There are many anti-snoring devices in the market that you can try, right from nasal sprays and dilators containing medicated liquid that can be directly sprayed into the nose, also chin straps and breathing aids that uphold your jaws and keep the tongue from falling back. You can even try nasal strips that have to be worn over the nose while sleeping. It opens up the nasal passage allowing more air to pass through them freely.

2. Natural Remedies And Exercises 

Other than the anti-snoring aids available in medical stores there are a few natural homemade remedies as well that can treat your loud snores. For starters, try simple exercises and yoga asanas that open up the air passage and help you reduce weight. You can also use some herbs and natural ingredients to curb your loud snores. Peppermint, Tulsi, and ginger are some common remedies for a blocked nose. Even simple yoga asanas such as the Yoga Nidra and pranayama help to flush out the harmful toxins from the body and straighten the diaphragm. Regular workout and meditation keep your blood pressure and stress levels in check thereby helping you sleep better at night.

Anti-Snoring Treatment Can Lead to Restful Sleep

3. Medication For Curing Sleep Apnea 

If all natural remedies fail, your doctor might recommend anti-snoring pills and other medication that would help you sleep well at night. Medicines and drugs are usually offered to patients who do not respond to conventional oral appliances. Anti-snoring pills such as antihistamine, breathing masks and palatal implants are other medical solutions to snoring that you can adopt. Wearing breathing masks over the nose serves the dual purpose of clearing the nasal passage and holding your chin up to prevent the jaw muscles from sagging in. Palatal implants, on the other hand, involve inserting of braided strands of polyester filament that harden over time up your palate and reduce your snoring.

4. Surgery

In case all your self-applied homemade remedies fail, the only option that you can turn to is surgery. Remember, surgery is the last resort that offers a permanent solution to all your breathing problems. Don’t worry though; no one is going to rip off your throat.

The recent advancements in the medical field have simplified complicated surgeries. In the traditional surgery, uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP), you are given general anaesthetics as the doctor tightens the tissues around your jaw and throat. However, because the process is extremely painful and risky, surgeons prefer the quick and efficient laser therapy for treating sleep apnea.

In this treatment, a small beam of the laser is used to burn the extra fat and sagging tissues in and around your jaw and chin. Radio frequency tissue ablation or somnoplasty is another pain-free surgical treatment where doctors use small amounts of low-frequency active signals to reduce the fat accumulation in the chin.

5. Lifestyle changes you can apply

Making a few simple lifestyle changes goes a long way in ensuring a trouble-free uninterrupted sleep at night. Easy and effective measures such as avoiding alcohol, cigarettes, and other addictions, following a healthy diet, exercising daily helps you sleep better at night. Consult a nutritionist or your general physician to know more about the workout regime and diet plans you can adopt.  


Danielle Ward

How to Determine Whether You May be a Victim of Medical Malpractice

People trust their doctors to not only give them sound medical advice, but also to inform them of the best treatment options currently available. In fact, patients rarely even refer to other doctors for a second opinion, even if they have been diagnosed with a serious illness.

It can be very difficult to know when a doctor has made an honest mistake that could not be avoided versus when a case of medical malpractice or gross neglect has taken place, unless you’ve enrolled on online FNP programs or obtained a law degree.

Not only do most patients want to avoid insulting their doctors by asking too many questions, they also do not want to risk damaging their relationships with their physicians. The best way to tell if you have experienced medical negligence is to have your case looked at by an attorney, but here are some of the primary clues you can look for when you want to try to figure out what your next move should be.

When an Illness Goes Undiagnosed

If you are serious about your health, you should be scheduling appointments with your primary physician for routine checkups at least once a year. People who have chronic or lifelong medical disorders may find more regular medical screening may be necessary. During each annual medical appointment, you should be discussing all concerns you have with your doctor, and you should also be receiving expert medical advice and suggestions on any treatments or changes needed. If you have discussed ongoing medical issues with your doctor or the family nurse practitioner at your doctor’s office and not received any sort of helpful suggestions, you may be being medically neglected.

Insufficient Medical Treatment

Even if a doctor provides helpful suggestions and orders a course of treatment aimed at alleviating your medical issues, your feedback and recovery always need to be taken into account. Not all treatments are going to work on patients in the same manner, in which case physicians need to try other methods out or send their patients to medical specialists for further evaluation. Additionally, if a medical treatment is not working to your satisfaction, it could be a sign that a more serious issue is going on. There aren’t specific guidelines on how long a doctor should wait to see if a specific treatment is working, but it should become evidently clear to your physician when the route being taken isn’t going as planned.

Serious and Avoidable Medical Complications

Remember that doctors are not always able to anticipate every type of health complication that may arise during your lifetime. This is why you should discuss any and all symptoms you are experience with either the FNP or your doctor as soon as they occur, and always schedule a doctor’s visit if you feel that your health is at imminent risk. Otherwise, medical complications that occur as a result of misdiagnosis or medical neglect are both serious and unethical.

The fact of the matter is that the majority of people would much rather be able to talk to their doctors about their concerns rather than to need to consult with an attorney about suspected cases of medical malpractice. If there are things that are bothering you about the way your doctor has been treating your illness, speak up and wait to hear his or her reasoning. After that, you can decide if you need to talk to an attorney.

This is a guest blog entry.

Laser Hair Removal Treatment

Many have had difficulty trying to choose the best option for hair removal. One important option for people to consider is laser removal treatment such as the services offered by Colaz Advanced Beauty Specialists.

Laser hair removal treatment can quickly, safely, and effectively eliminate unwanted growth and hair follicles from various parts of the body. Here are some other benefits of laser hair removal treatment.

It removes your hair permanently

Laser hair removal treatment is effective at permanent unwanted hair removal. After only a couple of treatments, you can flaunt your new and improved smooth skin that is free unwanted hair.

It requires little time

Laser hair removal treatment is quicker, allowing you to get on with your busy day. The quickness of the procedure is largely due to the power and precision of laser technology at efficiently removing unwanted hair. Of course, larger areas of unwanted hair will take longer to remove for any procedure, but laser hair removal treatment will accomplish this more effectively than some quicker procedures.

Less ingrown hair

Ingrown hair can develop after waxing or shaving your body due to uneven breakage of hair tips when removed. Ingrown hairs can be painful and cause infections. Fortunately, laser hair removal treatment can destroy ingrown hairs at the source.

Less invasive

Laser hair removal is another non-invasive cosmetic method. Although the treatment can be painful, the degree of discomfort depends on how much hair needs to be removed, the area of the body where the hair is located, the skill of the laser operator, and the person’s pain tolerance level. Some individuals chose to use topical anesthesia to decrease the level of discomfort.

Ease of access:

Laser hair removal treatments are performed at therapeutic spas in most parts of the world.

Side effects

Side effects of laser hair removal treatment are usually brief. Side effects typically include itching, redness, and swelling, although these generally do not last for more than a few days. In some cases, patients may experience hyper-pigmentation.

An example of effective laser hair removal treatment

Lumenis LightSheer is the most progressive treatment available for the viable removal of unwanted hair. The technique uses advanced technology for rapid hair removal that does not require use of a topical anesthetic. You can continue general activities immediately treatments are over. There are other laser hair removal treatments available.

How does the area respond to treatment?

The response of any area of unwanted hair to treatment will differ from patient to patient depending on various factors such as the amount of hair involved and the patient's skin type. After an initial consultation, the patient is typically be informed of treatment expectations.

Before treatment

It is typically recommend for people undergoing laser hair removal treatment to avoid removing hair via tweezing, waxing, creams or lotions, or electrolysis (electric hair removal) six weeks before treatment. It is also typically advised not to tan the treatment regions for four weeks before treatment. Abstaining from self-tanning products two weeks before treatment is also usually suggested. The treatment team at a laser hair removal center will provide a detailed list of do’s and don’ts before the procedure takes place.

After treatment
Some redness and swelling in the area of hair removal is typical and may feel like sunburn. This sensation ought to resolve after a few hours to a few days following treatment. Applying 30 SPF sunscreen every day over the treated territory is typically recommended. The treatment team will provide you with a list of topical solutions after the procedure(s) to help your skin heal. If the underarms are treated, it is typically recommended to avoid applying antiperspirant until told otherwise. Obviously, try not to pick, scratch, or tweeze the treated zone is a good idea. Applying 1% hydrocortisone, aloe vera, and/or ice to the affected area until redness vanishes is another useful treatment technique after laser hair removal treatment.

This is a guest blog entry.