Communication Sciences and Disorders

Prevention, assessment, and intervention for:

• Phonological disorders
• Articulation disorders
• Childhood apraxia of speech
• Speech errors related to other disorders

Check it out!  Minot State's Communication Disorders Clinic has special articulation camps for children needing assistance with residual speech sound errors including frontal and lateral lisps and /r/ sound production — for information on these camps please contact us at 858-3030.

Hearing difficulties are a major cause of speech sound disorders. Hearing screenings are also available at the clinic.

• Clear speech is important and enables people to reach their their full potential.
• Accent modification is an elective service for those interested in modifying or changing their speech with the goal of increasing intelligibility, not to eliminate the accent.

Accent management services can be provided both individually and with groups of people.  

Prevention, assessment, and intervention for:

• Stuttering
• Cluttering

Most children go through a period of normal non-fluency as a preschooler. If these disfluencies seem like a struggle for your child or last longer than a few months, it is important to request a consultation.

For information on these groups please call 858-3030.

Prevention, assessment, and intervention for voice disorders associated with:

• Parkinson’s disease
• ALS
• Vocal trauma
• Craniofacial anomalies
• Syndromes

The clinic provides rigid/flexible video-laryngeal stroboscopy for vocal fold analysis. Call 858-3030 for more information.

PARKINSON’S DISEASE SPEAK OUT!^® 

What is SPEAK OUT!^®?

The Minot State University Communication Disorders Clinic (MSU CDC) is pleased to offer SPEAK OUT! a speech therapy program to help individuals with Parkinson’s regain and maintain effective communication. 

SPEAK OUT! places emphasis on speaking with intent and converting speech from an automatic function to an intentional act. Together, patients and their speech-language pathologist work through a series of speech, voice, and cognitive exercises outlined in a SPEAK OUT!^® Workbook.  

After completing individual SPEAK OUT! therapy, patients transition to weekly groups for ongoing speech and voice exercises that focus on the maintenance of speaking skills learned in the SPEAK OUT! program. The therapy exercises are performed, and group members provide support, encouragement, and accountability to one another. Minot State University Communication Disorders Clinic offers participation in both programs for no cost (free will donations accepted) and sessions are led under the direct supervision of a licensed speech-language pathologist.

The SPEAK OUT!  therapy regimen was developed at Parkinson Voice Project in Richardson, TX. Visit their website at  Parkinson Voice Project to learn more.

Participation in the SPEAK OUT! individual and group therapy, along with daily home practice and six-month re-evaluations, has been shown to help patients maintain their communication skills throughout the progression of Parkinson’s. 

When and where can I receive services?

SPEAK OUT! is offered Monday-Friday depending on your and the clinician’s schedules. All services occur at Minot State University Communication Disorders Clinic in Memorial Hall. Teletherapy services are available for those who prefer virtual therapy.

I have Parkinson’s Disease. When should I begin seeing a speech therapist?

According to studies, up to 89% of people with Parkinson’s disease struggle to communicate and approximately 95% develop swallowing difficulties. Starting speech therapy as soon as possible can delay or prevent this decline. Muscles become weak because they are not used to their full capacity, not because Parkinson’s disease is making them weak. This program can change the impact Parkinson’s disease has on your voice by requiring you to use muscles for speaking and swallowing to their full potential to prevent decline.

What will it cost to receive these services?

Minot State University Communication Disorders Clinic offers participation in both programs for no cost. Free will donations are accepted to help offset costs. Sessions are led under the direct supervision of a licensed speech-language pathologist.

How do I get started?

For more information about SPEAK OUT! therapy or to schedule a speech evaluation at MSU CDC, please call 701.858.3030/800-777-0750.

Prevention, assessment, and intervention for:

• Late talkers
• Autism
• Intellectual disability
• Syndromes
• Executive functioning issues
• Language based learning difficulties

As many as 50% of students with behavioral difficulties, reading problems, or academic challenges in schools have an undiagnosed language disorder. For more information on how language affects academics, please call 858-3030.

Assessment and intervention for communication issues surrounding:

• Hearing impairment
• Deafness
• Cochlear implants

Individuals experience feeding and swallowing difficulties throughout the lifespan for a variety of medical conditions. The clinic offers prevention, screening, assessment, intervention, and referral for people experiencing these conditions.

Prevention, assessment, and intervention for communication disorders related to:

• Stroke
• Acquired brain injury
• Concussion (including return to learn and return to work)
• Brain tumor
• Progressive neurological diseases (Parkinson’s, ALS)

Assessment and intervention for:

• Selective mutism
• Autism
• Behavioral disorders
• Pragmatic language disorders

The Minot State Communication Disorders Clinic offers social communication groups for a variety of people. For more information call 858-3030.

You may have seen someone write in a notebook to answer a question. Maybe you have seen people using sign language or other gestures. You may have seen someone push buttons on a computer that speaks for them. These are all form of augmentative and alternative communication, or AAC.

AAC is used by people with a wide range of congenital and acquired conditions.

People with severe speech and/or language problems may need AAC to help them communicate. Some may use it all the time. Others may say some words but use AAC for longer sentences or with people they don't know well. AAC can help in school, at work, and when talking with friends and family.

The clinic does not currently offer comprehensive assessment services for augmentative communication.