PURPOSE: To investigate the contributions of speech therapy in voice, deglutition and quality of life of participants with unilateral vocal cords mobility alteration. METHODS: The subjects were 13 patients, both genders, with unilateral vocal cords mobility alteration. A research of clinical history, evaluation prior and post speech therapy and quality of life was carried out based on protocols, exam tapes and recordings from the participants' files. RESULTS: After speech therapy, it was possible to observe that: nine participants had better vocal quality at the end of the intervention process; all participants showed improvement of at least one parameter of the acoustic evaluation; ten participants were classified as within normality regarding the dysphagia severity scale and nine regarding the penetration/aspiration scale; six patients referred less vocal disadvantage; nine subjects referred less impact of dysphagia in quality of life. CONCLUSION: Results showed improvements in voice, deglutition, vocal handicap and quality of life related to the deglutition after speech therapy. It can be concluded that speech therapy seems to be effective for voice, deglutition, vocal handicap and quality of life improvement of patients with vocal cords mobility alteration.
Speech therapy; Deglutition; Voice; Quality of life; Vocal cords; Evaluation; Rehabilitation; Questionnaires
