Cleveland Aphasia Recovery and Education (CARE) program at CSU

CARE program overview

The Cleveland Aphasia Recovery and Education (CARE) program in the Speech and Hearing Center at Cleveland State University is an opportunity for adults to receive therapy for new or persistent neurogenic communication and/or cognitive impairments due to injuries to the brain from stroke, trauma, concussion, brain tumors, or adult onset degenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s.

Therapy is provided by supervised student-clinicians in speech language pathology and include time-honored evidence-based practice (EBP) treatments as well as innovative treatment techniques and computer applications. All therapy is goal directed and aimed to meet the immediate functional needs of each adult client. As a member of the CARE program, you will also be welcome to join our periodic group therapy sessions each semester to work on transferring your recovered skills and new compensatory strategies within broader social situations.

The CARE program at CSU was designed to serve the city of Cleveland and its surrounding suburbs with state-of-the-art recovery methods and compensatory strategy training for a variety of acquired communication and cognitive disorders (whether new or several years post-onset) and to provide supportive education to you and your family/caregivers. To enroll in the CARE program or get more information, please contact Terry at 216-687-3804.

Measuring success in our adult clients

We take pride in using the latest and greatest in outcomes measurement within our field. Each outcomes tool selection depends on the client and his/her recovery aspirations as well as what we recommend as a next logical step in your neuro-rehab therapy. Client success is typically measured by skill improvements (when possible), using recommended compensatory strategies or devices in a variety of contexts, and returning to or making new communication relationships within one’s social network and the larger Northeast Ohio community.

Because client success can sometimes depend on caregiver support success, we may also provide and measure family/caregiver training goals to ensure appropriate and timely caregiver support to clients so clients use their skills and tools to maximize their independence in a variety of situations.

Our student-clinicians

All therapy and education in the CARE program will be provided by supervised student-clinicians.  Our students have a reputation of working to be the best clinicians they can be and are often meeting with supervisors for extended periods to ensure that they are providing (and learning) the state-of-the-art in SLP service to adults. While we are focused on our therapy goals for clients, we welcome clients who also wish to be apart of our mission in educating student-clinicians about a variety of adult communication and cognitive conditions. It is not uncommon that our adult clients share with students their experience with a communication or cognitive disruption and provide feedback to them about how the field of SLP helped so far or could help more.

Open enrollment

The Speech and Hearing Clinic is located in the new Center for Innovation in Health Professions on CSU’s main campus in Cleveland, and our CARE program is expanding in this beautiful new building. Adults suffering from communication and/or cognitive impairments from a new or persistent brain injury (acquired in adulthood) are encouraged to contact us about their eligibility to sign up for the CARE program here at Cleveland State University.