Can Speech Therapy Help Children with Cerebral Palsy?

 Posted on September 21, 2022 in Cerebral Palsy

One of the most common symptoms of cerebral palsy is difficulty controlling muscles throughout the body. This can result in muscle spasticity, difficulty with mobility, and challenges with speaking, eating, and facial expressions. Many different professionals help children with cerebral palsy overcome their physical challenges and one of the most helpful of these professionals can be a speech therapist. 

How Does Cerebral Palsy Impact Speech and Facial Movement? 

Verbal communication delays are common in children with cerebral palsy - up to 75 percent, by some estimates. Limited control over face, tongue, and neck muscles can make it difficult for children with cerebral palsy to clearly express their feelings verbally. Fortunately, speech therapy proves effective for many, if not most, of these children and allows them to enjoy a higher quality of life. 

Speech therapy can treat a variety of communication issues, including: 

• Rapid speech
• Slow speech 
• Slurring and mumbling
• Stuttering or repeating 
• Difficulty with pronunciation 
• Difficulty modulating the pitch, volume, or tone of speech 

Speech therapists help children by teaching them to control important muscles, as well as helping them hear themselves speak and refining the sounds they make. It may also involve using hearing aids, technology to increase a child’s speech volume, and training in sign language to allow for a variety of means of expression. 

How Can We Pay for Speech Therapy? 

Speech therapy can begin as early as two years old, when many children first present speech delays. Children often attend multiple sessions a week for years. Insurance companies may cover some children’s speech therapy, but this is often not enough to cover the full expense. Other resources, such as grants or public funding, are sometimes available to children with cerebral palsy. 

If a child’s cerebral palsy was caused by negligent care from a doctor, nurse, or midwife during or after childbirth, a personal injury lawsuit may help parents recover compensation to cover their child’s treatment expenses. Many different birth injuries can contribute to cerebral palsy, and it is important to speak with an attorney who has experience investigating cases of birth injury to determine whether you have a case. 

Meet with a Chicago, IL Birth Injuries Lawyer

Managing speech therapy, occupational therapy, and other support systems for your child with cerebral palsy can take a toll on parents. If your child suffers from cerebral palsy as a result of a birth injury, you may be able to take action and recover compensation for the cost of your child’s treatment. Call the offices of Birth Injury Law Alliance, Ltd. today to schedule a free, no-pressure consultation with one of our Illinois birth injuries lawyers. 

Source: 

https://www.cerebralpalsyguidance.com/cerebral-palsy/associated-disorders/cerebral-palsy-developmental-delay/