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Thursday, December 26, 2013

Changing Young Lives Through Pediatric Speech Therapy

By Cornelia White


It can be heartbreaking for parent or caregiver to discover that their child or ward is facing difficulties communicating in a manner that many take for granted. Talking is such a routine activity for many people that they often fail to fathom the challenges that children face in acquiring and using a language. Pediatric speech therapy is helpful in cases where children have a hard time mastering verbal communication processes.

The professional therapist who is selected to help the child should be one who has been trained and certified in helping children with speech-related challenges. One of the first things that the therapist will do is try to identify the underlying cause for the impediment. This may be something physical or psychological and it is very important that the specialist be able to factor these two variables into any evaluation of the patient.

Most linguists support the theory that language production is essentially the result of a collaboration between the brain and the language related body parts. They also recognize that it is an intricate process.Disruptions in this process are usually related to cognitive deficiencies. These deficiencies manifest themselves as psychological barriers to speech.

Psychological triggers that lead to impaired language in children may come in a variety of forms. The patient could be reacting to a traumatic situation that has triggered a shutdown of their oral communication behaviors. Some examples of events that can cause this type of trauma are; a violent accident, witnessing a violent crime or physical or verbal abuse.

For some children, a learning or mental disability is the cause of the language barrier being experienced. Some of these conditions include, Autism and Verbal Apraxia. Experts agree that therapeutic care can work wonders for such children by helping them to bridge the gap between their thoughts and their utterances.

For many children who face this condition, there is a physical reason for the problem. This is sometimes remedied through surgical procedures that range from minor to severe depending on the severity of the physical condition. Impediments such as abnormally shaped lips, teeth and oral cavity can all hinder a child's ability to use spoken language. Sometimes these conditions emerge during the fetal development. In other cases they are the result of violent force sustained during abuse or accidents.

For physical problems that lead to speaking barriers one solution may be surgical. Whenever therapists realize this, they refer their patients to professionals who specialize in surgical remedies. After the surgery is completed therapeutic sessions will still be needed to help the child. It is clear to see therefore, why there needs to be close relationship between the therapists and the surgical medical practitioners.

All stakeholders in the development, nurturing and care of children must pay attention to one critical fact of childhood language acquisition challenges. That fact is essentially that pediatric speech therapy may be the solution you need if you are caring for a child with language use problems. It can make a world of a difference in terms of the social development of an individual.




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