The Role of Speech-Language Pathologists in Children’s Healthcare

Speech-Language Pathologists, known as SLPs, are communication experts who collaborate with infants to adults. They assist patients with issues in communication, language, hearing, and swallowing. When it comes to children’s health and wellness, their work can be life-changing for patients and families alike.

Helping Children

According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), pediatric speech-language pathologists evaluate and treat patients from birth to 18 years of age. Working with children requires specialized skills for various age groups from infants, toddlers, and preschoolers to school-aged children and teens.

Speech-language pathologists assist with issues such as autism, stuttering, language disorders, and central auditory processing disorders. They also work with children with apraxia, phonology and articulation disorders, and dysphagia.

Autism

Speech-language pathologists play a key role for children with autism as they help build communication and social skills. These skills assist in various settings from home to school and the workplace.

In addition to speech, ASHA reports SPLs assist autistic children in using augmentative and alternative communication (ACC) including sign language, gestures, pictures, tablets, and other electronics devices to communicate. Therapy by SLPs for those on the spectrum can be in a small group or individual setting.

Stuttering

Stuttering is another speech disorder SLPs provide therapy for. Stuttering is characterized by the repetition of sounds, syllables, or words as well as the interruption of speech known as blocks, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD). Research shows stuttering is caused by neurophysiological differences in the brain.

According to WeStutter.org, research suggests early intervention may influence whether stuttering persists into adulthood. An SLP helps children and caregivers to self-advocate as well as offer communication strategies through individualized treatment. Therapy helps children slow their speech, alter word choice, overcome negative feelings, and reduce stress.

Language Disorders

A language disorder is an impairment to a child’s use or understanding of verbal, written, or other language systems, according to Northeastern University. Language disorders differ from speech disorders. A child with a language disorder experiences trouble using or understanding language, or a combination of both.

Language disorders result from the form, content, or function of language rather than with speech or hearing. Most language disorders are developmental or result from illness or brain injury.

Speech-language pathologists diagnose language disorders, create treatment plans, and recommend strategies tailored to the individual, delivering therapy and ongoing support.

Central Auditory Processing Disorders

A central auditory processing disorder (CAPD) is a hearing problem affecting three to five percent of school-aged children, according to Kids Health. These children do not hear the way other children do because their ears and brain fail to coordinate. In children with CAPD there’s interference with the brain’s ability to recognize and interpret sounds such as speech.

Children with a CAPD may have more serious issues where there is background noise such as classrooms, cafeterias, and playgrounds. This often leads to mishearing sounds and words, feeling overwhelmed, and trouble following verbal directions.

Though the cause of CAPDs is not fully understood, there is evidence they result from chronic ear infections, lead poisoning, head trauma, or a seizure disorder. There is no cure for CAPD, but SLPs provide treatment plans and therapy to improve the growth of auditory pathways so patients hear better. An SLP can recommend other tools to improve hearing function such as a frequency modulation (FM) system. Reducing background noise and improving classroom acoustics can also improve a child’s ability to hear.

Apraxia, Articulation, and Phonology Disorders

Apraxia of speech (AOS) is a speech sound disorder. A child diagnosed with AOS experiences trouble saying what they want to say correctly and consistently.

Apraxia “is a neurological disorder that affects the brain pathways involved in planning the sequence of movements involved in producing speech,” according to the NIDCD. “The brain knows what it wants to say but cannot properly plan and sequence the required speech sound movements.”

There are two types of apraxia; childhood AOS, which is present from birth, and acquired AOS, which can affect people of any age. Children with AOS typically understand language but may not be able to use it. They may also have other speech problems including motor-skill deficits and expressive language issues. An SLP uses frequent, intensive, one-on-one speech-language therapy which can take months or years. Speech-language pathologists also instruct children with severe AOS to use sign language and electronic communication devices to communicate.

Another disorder SLPs address is dysarthria. This is when speech muscles of the jaw, tongue, or lips experience weakness or paralysis. Speech-language therapy assists children in adjusting their speech rate, strengthening muscles, increasing breath support, and improving articulation, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Additionally, SLPs help children with phonological disorders by teaching children to make sounds clearly and correctly. This is accomplished through practicing sounds in different words and in longer sentence, and learning to make sounds, according to ASHA.

Dysphagia

According to the Mayo Clinic, dysphagia is difficulty swallowing. Children with dysphagia experience pain while swallowing and the condition can make it impossible. This can lead to issues from malnutrition, weight loss, and dehydration to aspiration pneumonia and choking.

When it comes to dysphagia, SLPs provide services from evaluation and diagnosis to rehabilitation, according to “The role of speech language pathologists in the management of dysphagia” published by the National Library of Medicine. An SLP can determine if the disorder is neurological, structural, or cognitive to provide proper treatment. An SLP may make “feeding recommendations including appropriate diet level, amount of intake per swallow, positioning, and other facilitating techniques and swallowing exercises.”

Speech-language pathologists provide dysphagia therapy which can include thermal stimulation, exercises to improve oromotor control, laryngeal adduction training, and compensatory swallowing techniques. These therapies can provide significant improvement in swallowing to reduce health issues associated with dysphagia.

Speech-language pathologists play a key role in children’s healthcare by addressing disorders that would otherwise leave them without the ability to communicate or even swallow. If you need of a speech-language pathologist for your child, contact Jiguar at info@jiguar.com or visit us at jiguar.com.