Iowa Speech Solutions, PLLC

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Johnston, IA
Iowa Speech Solutions, PLLC

Adult medical/neuro speech, language, swallow and cognitive services. Based in Des Moines, Iowa. Our visits are by appointment only.

Please give us a call and we will be as flexible as possible. We can offer in home options, depending on the case and location. We are currently accepting Medicare, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Midlands Choice. Pending enrollment with Medicaid and Humana. We are adult focused, personalized, specialized and flexible. Our clinicians have additional training in adult dysphagia (swallowing), Parkinson's Vo

ice (SPEAK OUT! and LSVT LOUD), short program for ARK J Trismus, McNeill Dysphagia (swallowing) Program and Intensive Dysphagia treatment, AAC, and Dementia Practitioner.

06/03/2026

Chronic fatigue is a major symptom for many people with a neurological diagnosis, whether acquired (such as a brain injury) or progressive (such as MS). In my experience, these clients are often hard on themselves, because we live in a society that rewards a “don’t stop until you drop” mentality.

I always have to remind people (and even myself) that rest is not a treat. Especially with medical conditions, rest needs to be a scheduled part of our routine, one that is genuinely beneficial for our body and brain. And it doesn’t have to be a nap! It can look like time outside, coloring, or spending time with a beloved fur baby.

Pacing and regular breaks are crucial for our health. If we don’t build them in, our brain and body will eventually “take a break for us.” This can look like a crash lasting days, a migraine, or difficulty finding words and thinking clearly.

Shout out to my friend, Louie, a cute doggie I got to visit with during my vacation.
Photo credit:
Alt text: [Kelsey the SLP is holding a small dog named Louie]

05/13/2026

Okay I need your help.

I have this photo and now I can’t decide on a caption.

Current contenders:
• “Press 1 for scheduling. Press 2 for billing. Press 3 for your actual SLP. (It’s all me.)”
• “Asked my boss for a day off. She said no.”
• “Director of First Impressions, Last Impressions, and Everything In Between.”
• “When the owner, the scheduler, and the therapist all have the same commute.”
• “The staff meeting was very productive today. (It was just me.)”

Drop your suggestion below. Best caption wins…absolutely nothing but my sincere appreciation.

Alt text: “Kelsey, a Speech-language pathologist and practice owner, waving from the doorway of Iowa Speech Solutions office inside of Breathe Physical Therapy North Liberty.”

05/04/2026

🌱 Spring is here, and your garden might be doing more for your brain than you think!

At Iowa Speech Solutions, we work on skills that matter to YOU and your daily life. One area we love to target? Sequencing.

Sequencing is the ability to organize steps in a logical, correct order. It sounds simple, but it is actually a powerful cognitive AND language skill that works together at the same time.
When a client walks us through how to plant a garden, step by step, they are not just chatting about a hobby.

They are exercising:
🧠 Cognitive skills like planning, organization, working memory, attention and logical reasoning
🗣️ Language skills like word retrieval, sentence formulation, and structured discourse

This is the heart of what we call cognitive communication (sometimes called cognitive linguistics) in speech pathology. The brain and language system do not work in separate silos. They are deeply connected, and when one is affected by stroke, brain injury, or another condition, we see it show up in tasks exactly like this one.

Asking a client to describe how to plant tomatoes from start to finish is a functional, and meaningful therapy task. It gives us a real window into how someone is organizing their thoughts AND expressing them clearly.

We love meeting people where their interests are. Gardening, cooking, building, baking. Your passions become our therapy tools.

Alt description: [An outdoor garden scene featuring a decorative owl statue perched beside a raised garden bed, next to a terracotta pot with a small, freshly budding herb plant.]

04/25/2026

Our therapy isn’t only about practicing speech sounds.

Most times, it’s about someone who hasn’t felt heard in months, maybe years, and watching them finding confidence in their communication again.

After a stroke, a neurological diagnosis, or a surgery, so much can feel taken from you.

My role isn’t just to help you speak more clearly. It’s to help you enter a conversation, a doctor’s appointment, or a meeting at work, and feel that confidence again.

04/18/2026

Just had my biannual dentist appointment! It’s a good reminder of something I always come back to as a medical SLP: oral care is health care.

Oral hygiene plays a direct role in swallowing health and dysphagia management. For all folks, but especially patients with dysphagia; bacteria in the mouth can travel to the lungs during aspiration, increasing the possibility of aspiration pneumonia.

Good oral care also supports saliva production, essential for patients with chronic dry mouth.

Oral hygiene matters more than we often give it credit for. This post is just one example as it relates to swallowing care.

Alt Text: A speech-language pathologist’s hand holding a toothbrush, floss, and travel-size toothpaste received at a dentist visit.

04/09/2026

A small peek at Iowa Speech Solutions. This space is dedicated to specialized, neuro-focused speech therapy for adults.

As the SLP and owner of Iowa Speech Solutions, I get to spend my days helping adults find their voice again after stroke, brain injury, Parkinson’s and more.

Our office is located inside of Breathe Physical Therapy in North Liberty.

IowaSLP SmallBusinessOwner

04/02/2026

Friendly reminder: recovery is not linear. 💙

There will be good weeks and really hard weeks. Sometimes you’ll feel like you’re back at square one when you’re actually not. Progress is happening even when you can’t see it.

Keep showing up. That’s what matters the most.
Alt text: [A drawing of a up and down line that trends upwards. Text box that says “recovery is not linear”]

03/27/2026

Did you know a concussion or brain injury can alter your sensory perception — including your sense of smell and taste?

After a head injury, the olfactory nerve or brain pathways can become disrupted, leading to a reduced, distorted, or complete loss of smell (anosmia). Since smell and taste are closely linked, this often affects how food tastes as well. While not everyone experiences this, it is a valid and recognized symptom of brain injury that is more common than many people realize.

If you’ve noticed these changes after a head injury — you’re not imagining it. Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) can identify these sensory changes and connect you with ENT specialists and neurologists for further evaluation and care.
💙

Alt Text: [baked pie in a tin on a plate, gray caption reads “Brain injury changes more than we think”]

03/18/2026

Maybe you ask yourself “Did I feed the cat?!”
Or
“Wait, did I actually lock the door?”

You walked to your car 30 seconds ago and suddenly you can’t remember.

This isn’t solely a memory problem — it’s what happens when we move through tasks on autopilot.

One of my favorite strategies: slow down and narrate your actions out loud as you do them.

“I am locking the door.”
“I am turning off the stove.”
“I am feeding the cat.”
“I am turning off the flat iron.”
“I am closing the garage door.”

It feels unnecessary or even silly at first; but speaking a task aloud forces you to slow down and be present in the moment — engaging language and motor centers of the brain together for stronger encoding and recall.

What tasks do you always second-guess?

Comment below. 👇

Alt Text: [black and white cat laying on floor, text box stating “Did we feed the cat?!”]

03/12/2026

As a speech-language pathologist (SLP) working in cognitive communication, one of the most effective strategies I teach clients is task breakdown — and most people don’t break tasks down nearly small enough.

When executive function is compromised, whether from concussion, TBI, stroke, MS, or other conditions, even “simple” tasks can feel paralyzing. The solution isn’t motivation. It’s granularity.

We’re not talking about breaking a task into three or four steps. We’re talking about making each step so small that it requires almost no decision-making to begin.
Take checking email. Most people think of it as one task.

Try this instead:
Sit down at the device. Pick up the device or open the laptop. Press the power button. Wait for the screen. Open the email app. Look at only the first email. Decide one thing: does it need a response today? If no, leave it. If yes, type one sentence. Press send. Close the app.

That’s it for now. You’re done.

Now laundry. Not “do the laundry.” Instead:
Walk to the bedroom. Look at the floor. Pick up one item. Carry it to the hamper. Put it in. Walk away.
Later: Carry the hamper to the machine. Open the lid. Put clothes in. Add detergent. Close the lid. Press start. Walk away.

The goal is to eliminate the gap between intention and action. Each micro-step is its own completion. Each one signals the brain: you did something, which is motivating.

When clients tell me a task feels impossible, my first question is always: how small did you make the steps? Usually, we can go smaller.

Address

6165 NW 86th Street Suite 238
Johnston, IA
50131

Telephone

+15152197254

Website

http://www.iowaspeechsolutions.com/

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