About Avivit Ben-Aharon
Founder & Clinical Director at Great Speech Inc. | Providing Innovative Alternatives to Speech Pathology Services
Entries by Avivit Ben-Aharon
Can Essential Tremor Affect Speech?
/ in Voice Therapy / by Avivit Ben-Aharon
What is an Essential Tremor? Essential tremor is a neurological condition that results in involuntary movements such as shaking, or trembling and can affect various parts of the body. In most cases, the tremor is first noticed in the hands, when the individual affected is attempting to do something requiring fine motor skills such as [...]
How Do I Stop Losing My Accent?
/ in Accent Modification / by Avivit Ben-Aharon
Our accents can play a major role in our personal identity and how others perceive us. Every single person in the world has an accent, and within the English language, there is a wide variety of accents. Many people who have a regional accent or whose first language isn’t English wonder about how to [...]
In-School Speech Therapy vs. Virtual Speech Therapy
/ in School Success & Reading Comprehension / by Avivit Ben-Aharon
In School vs. Virtual Speech Therapy For many years, children of all ages have been participating in traditional “in-person” speech therapy in private clinics and school classrooms across the country. With the advancements in technology and video communication in recent years, speech therapy through an online platform is becoming more and more popular. As we [...]
What is a Specific Language Impairment?
/ in Language Disorders / by Avivit Ben-Aharon
Specific Language Impairment (also referred to as SLI) is a term for a developmental language disorder that occurs when language skills do not develop as they should, and these challenges cannot be attributed to other developmental conditions such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, traumatic brain injury, apraxia or speech or hearing loss. SLI is also sometimes [...]
What Are the Symptoms of Spasmodic Dysphonia
/ in Speech Disorders & Articulation / by Avivit Ben-Aharon
What is Spasmodic Dysphonia? Spasmodic dysphonia is a disorder of speech that alters the sound of one’s voice when speaking. In the case of spasmodic dysphonia, the muscles in the larynx (also known as the voicebox) constrict or spasm when we attempt to speak. This means that the vocal cords aren’t able to [...]
Why Does my Voice Vibrate when I Talk?
/ in Voice Therapy / by Avivit Ben-Aharon
The core of sound and voice production is vibrations, which is one reason why your voice may sound louder to yourself than it does to others. When we talk, we are producing sounds not only through the air but also through what is known as bone conduction, which is the vibration of your skull. Because [...]
September 21 is World Alzheimer’s Day: Speech Therapists Work to Help Slow Impact of the Disease
/ in Voice Therapy | Alzheimer | Language Disorders | Dementia & Alzheimer's Disease | Speech Disorders / by Avivit Ben-Aharon
September 21 marks World Alzheimer’s Day, an opportunity to educate and learn about the disease – and how providers such as speech therapists can aid and improve the quality of life for those affected by it. For the nearly 6 million people with the disease, some therapies can help manage and stall its symptoms. One [...]
What is a Receptive Language Disorder?
/ in Language Disorders / by Avivit Ben-Aharon
A speech disorder refers to the difficulty or inability to properly produce specific speech sounds, and a language disorder refers to challenges related to communicating with speech, written words, gestures, and expressions. There are two main types of language disorders: expressive and receptive. An expressive language disorder involves difficulty expressing one’s thoughts, ideas, and [...]
Great Speech Develops Artificial Intelligence Platform to Refine Matching Process Between Patients and Most Qualified Speech Therapist
/ in Press Releases / by Avivit Ben-Aharon
Great Speech, a pioneer and leader in virtual speech therapy, today announces patient matching Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to optimize pairing patients with the most qualified speech therapists in our network for a patient’s specific condition. The AI technology considers multiple data points to create the best-indicated therapy/patient care partnership to provide more [...]
What Causes Slurred Speech In Parkinsons Disease?
/ in Parkinson's Disease / by Avivit Ben-Aharon
What is Parkinson’s Disease? Parkinson’s disease (also often referred to as PD) arises when the brain cells that are responsible for creating dopamine no longer work, or die. Dopamine is the brain chemical that coordinates movement. Parkinson’s disease is often classified as a movement disorder because it can cause tremors, slowness, stiffness [...]
What Are The Symptoms Of Social Pragmatic Communication Disorder?
/ in Social Pragmatic Communication Disorder / by Avivit Ben-Aharon
What Are Social Pragmatics? When we communicate with others, we follow a variety of social rules and norms every day. Appropriate greetings to those we converse with, maintaining eye contact, taking turns when speaking and sticking to a particular topic during conversation are all examples of social pragmatics. Using these conventions appropriately when communicating in [...]
Is Cognitive-Communication Deficit an Intellectual Disability?
/ in Cognitive Speech Therapy / by Avivit Ben-Aharon
What is a Cognitive Deficit? The term ‘Cognitive Deficit’ refers to a general impairment of cognition. Cognition is defined as the mental process of understanding and acquiring language through thought, the senses, and experience. A cognitive deficit or deficiency is not limited to a specific condition or disease but it is often a symptom of [...]