Healthy living, “healthy aging,” words that refer to a lifestyle, encompassing a series of good habits that ward off isolation, neglect, and dependence. Their goal: to live with autonomy, health, and, if possible, for many years.
Some people age this way, actively relating to their environment and the society they cohabit with. Others, on the contrary, either due to their daily routine, genetics, not feeling alone, illness(es), or some misfortune that befell them, become part of those who feel limited and dependent on others to do certain things. In this case, families, social services, and the individual themselves begin to look for solutions on what would be the best place to live.
On many occasions, when advanced age is coupled with dependence, the most chosen option is a place in a senior residence. Once this alternative arises, a process of adaptation and reinvention begins for both the family and the new resident.
Just as life expectancy has increased, the number of what were formerly called “geriatric homes” (geriatric residences) has also grown, and with them, the possibility of accommodating more citizens. People will arrive with a very heterogeneous profile, not only due to their life experiences but also their physical, sensory, and/or cognitive limitations. This obliges these types of institutions (geriatric residences) to have a multidisciplinary team that can provide a good standard of care, because… how would we like to be cared for?
Currently, the professional therapy staff found in these elder care centers (requested by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare) is varied, and the basic requirements largely depend on the autonomous community we are in, ranging from minimum requirements (nursing and occupational therapist) to those bordering on excellence in patient care (medical service for more than 45 users, nursing, psychology-neuropsychology, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and physiotherapy).
Among them, the most recently included professional in the team has been the speech therapist or neurologopedist. They are trained and responsible for PREVENTING and DETECTING presbyphonia, so common in old age, for keeping the musculature of the organs involved in both speech and swallowing active, and for preventing language problems derived from brain aging. But on the other hand, they are responsible for EVALUATING and TREATING individuals who, due to a specific or neurodegenerative problem, present dysphagia, voice alterations, a speech disorder such as dysarthria or apraxia of speech, an oral language disorder (aphasia) and/or written language disorder, and for creating tools and strategies for a person to communicate after neurological damage (after a stroke, trauma, tumor, etc.).
Nowadays, the golden touch in care quality is attention to detail, and more and more residences are opting for this therapist profile. Clinical Speech Therapy or Neurologopedics training (such as ISEP’s Master in Clinical Speech Therapy) offers new career opportunities as a result of population aging, less known but booming job prospects.