Speech-language pathology covers more than most people realize. It’s not just about speaking clearly. Our speech pathologists treat patients who can’t find the right words after a stroke. Patients who choke or cough when they eat because their swallow reflex has been damaged. Patients who struggle to follow multi-step instructions or hold a conversation because a brain injury disrupted their cognitive processing. At Dolphin Pointe, our SLP team evaluates the specific breakdown — is it muscle weakness in the mouth and throat, a neurological signal problem, a cognitive processing deficit, or a combination — and builds a treatment plan that targets the root cause. Because we’re inside a full rehabilitation center, your speech therapist coordinates directly with our physical therapy, occupational therapy, and nursing teams. For stroke and brain injury patients especially, that cross-discipline coordination is what separates good outcomes from great ones.

Speech and swallowing problems don’t always show up suddenly. Sometimes they develop gradually after a medical event, and families don’t realize how much has changed until daily life becomes difficult. If any of these describe you or a family member, a speech-language evaluation can identify the problem and start treatment.

Our speech therapy program treats the full range of communication and swallowing disorders that follow stroke, brain injury, head and neck surgery, Parkinson’s disease, and other neurological conditions. For patients with aphasia — the inability to find, form, or understand words — our therapists use intensive language exercises, picture-based communication strategies, and real-world conversation practice to rebuild language skills. For patients with dysarthria — slurred or unclear speech caused by muscle weakness — we use oral motor exercises, breathing coordination drills, and pacing techniques to improve clarity. Every session is one-on-one with a licensed speech-language pathologist.

Our swallowing disorder therapy program is one of the most clinically significant services we offer. Swallowing problems — called dysphagia — affect up to 50 percent of stroke survivors and a large portion of patients recovering from head and neck surgeries. When the muscles that control swallowing weaken or lose coordination, food and liquid can enter the airway instead of the stomach. This is called aspiration, and it leads to aspiration pneumonia — one of the most common causes of hospital readmission for stroke patients. Our speech pathologists evaluate swallow function, determine which textures and consistencies are safe, and build an exercise program to strengthen the swallow reflex. Patients from Arlington, Fairways Forest, and across the Southside are referred to us by neurologists, ENT specialists, and hospital discharge teams across northeast Florida.

We also treat cognitive-linguistic deficits — the thinking and processing skills that language depends on. Attention, memory, sequencing, problem-solving, and reasoning can all be affected by stroke and brain injury. Our speech therapists use structured cognitive exercises and real-world task practice to rebuild these skills. For patients in University Park, Colony Cove, and Woodmere recovering from neurological events, this cognitive rehabilitation is often the key to returning to independent daily life. We serve both inpatient residents inside our facility and outpatient clients from across Jacksonville and Duval County.

Our speech therapy program covers aphasia, dysarthria, voice disorders, cognitive-linguistic deficits, and communication difficulties caused by stroke, brain injury, Parkinson’s disease, and head and neck surgery. Each patient works one-on-one with a licensed speech-language pathologist who evaluates the specific breakdown and builds a treatment plan around real-world communication goals — being understood on the phone, participating in family conversations, and expressing needs clearly to caregivers. We serve both inpatient residents and outpatient clients from Springfield, San Marco, Riverside, and across Jacksonville.

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Dysphagia — difficulty swallowing — is one of the most dangerous complications of stroke, brain injury, and head and neck surgery. When the swallow reflex weakens, food and liquid can enter the airway and cause aspiration pneumonia. Our speech pathologists evaluate swallow function, determine safe food and liquid textures, and build a targeted exercise program to strengthen the muscles involved in swallowing. We work with patients from Mandarin, Regency, Orange Park, and across Duval County who have been referred by neurologists, ENT specialists, and hospital discharge planners. Safe eating is not optional — it’s the foundation of recovery.

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Finding a speech-language pathologist in Jacksonville who specializes in adult neurological rehabilitation is harder than it should be. Most speech therapy practices in Duval County focus on pediatric populations — childhood articulation, developmental language delays, and school-based services. Adult speech therapy for stroke, brain injury, and swallowing disorders requires a different skill set and a different clinical environment. At Dolphin Pointe, our speech-language pathologists work exclusively with adult patients in a rehabilitation setting. Every session is one-on-one. Every treatment plan is coordinated with our physical therapy, occupational therapy, and nursing teams.

Our facility in the Arlington neighborhood gives speech therapy patients access to a private treatment environment — not a shared therapy room with three other patients and a pediatric waiting area. For inpatient residents, our speech therapists see patients daily and coordinate with nursing staff on safe eating protocols between sessions. That level of daily contact is what drives meaningful progress for stroke and brain injury patients in the critical first weeks and months of recovery.

We serve patients from Arlington, University Park, Fairways Forest, Colony Cove, Woodmere, Gilmore, Lake Lucina, Springfield, San Marco, Riverside, Avondale, Mandarin, Regency, Orange Park, Southside, Downtown Jacksonville, Jacksonville Beach, Neptune Beach, and Atlantic Beach. We accept most major insurance plans, including Medicare. Call 904-914-8801 to schedule a speech-language evaluation.

We make the process clear from your first call. Here’s how it works.

1. Referral and scheduling. Your physician, neurologist, or hospital discharge planner sends a referral. Our admissions team verifies insurance and schedules your evaluation — typically within a few days for outpatient, same-day for inpatient transfers.

2. Speech-language evaluation. Your speech pathologist assesses your speech clarity, language comprehension, word-finding ability, voice quality, cognitive processing, and swallow function. This evaluation takes about an hour and gives us a complete picture of where the breakdowns are.

3. Treatment plan with specific goals. Based on your evaluation, your therapist sets measurable goals — “able to be understood in conversation 80 percent of the time,” “able to swallow thin liquids safely,” “able to follow three-step instructions.” You’ll know exactly what you’re working toward.

4. One-on-one treatment sessions. Every session is with your assigned speech-language pathologist. Frequency depends on your condition — daily for inpatient residents, two to three times per week for outpatient clients. Your therapist adjusts the program as you make progress.

5. Discharge and home carryover. When you’ve met your goals, your therapist provides a home practice program and communication strategies for your family. If swallowing was part of your treatment, you’ll receive clear guidelines on safe food textures and eating techniques to follow at home.

Dolphin Pointe Health Care is a Florida licensed skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility that has been serving Jacksonville for since 2020. Our patients and their families consistently rate us 5 stars on Google. We accept most major insurance plans including Medicare. Every patient gets a private suite, one-on-one therapy sessions, and a care team that coordinates across physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and 24-hour nursing. See what our families say — then come see the facility for yourself. Visit our homepage to learn more about everything we offer.

Every week without treatment is a week of lost progress. If you or a family member is struggling with speech, swallowing, or cognitive-linguistic skills after a stroke, brain injury, or surgery, our speech-language pathologists can help. Call 904-914-8801 or contact us online to schedule an evaluation. We serve patients from Arlington, University Park, Springfield, San Marco, Riverside, Mandarin, Orange Park, Regency, Downtown Jacksonville, and the Beaches communities.

Dolphin Pointe Health Care
5355 Dolphin Point Blvd, Jacksonville, FL 32211
Phone: 904-914-8801
Open 24 Hours