How Can Cerebral Palsy Affect Speech?

Cerebral palsy is a neurological disorder that affects your muscle control and coordination.

If you are the parent of a child with cerebral palsy, you may be familiar with how this can impact speech.

After all, muscle coordination and speech are closely linked.

There are a number of different muscles involved in speaking.

This includes muscles that are associated with your jaw, lips, cheeks, tongue, larynx, pharynx and others.

If your child has cerebral palsy, they may have differences in their ability to control and coordinate these muscles to produce speech.

Cerebral palsy is linked to a few different speech disorders.

Here at Forte Speech & Language Therapy, our experienced team of speech therapists can help.

Our Los Angeles speech therapy clinic provides in-home and online speech therapy for children with cerebral palsy.

In this week’s article, we take a closer look at how cerebral palsy can impact speech and how speech-language therapy can help.

Do All Kids With Cerebral Palsy Have A Speech Or Language Disorder?

If your child has cerebral palsy, you might be wondering how likely it is that they will have a speech or language disorder.

It’s not necessarily true that every child with cerebral palsy has a speech or language disorder.

But many do.

A 2020 study by Mei Et. Al. looked at a group of kids with cerebral palsy, and found 82% of them presented with some sort of delayed or disordered speech.

So, if your child has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy and you have concerns about their speech, it’s a good idea to get them evaluated by a speech therapist.

A pediatric speech therapist will be able to determine how cerebral palsy affects your child’s speech, and if speech therapy is indicated.

What Speech Disorders Are Most Common In Kids With Cerebral Palsy?

There are a few different speech and language delays and disorders that are common with cerebral palsy.

Let’s take a closer look at them.

1. Developmental Delays

Many kids who have cerebral palsy will also have developmental delays.

Developmental delays can affect someone physically, cognitively, and emotionally.

Developmental delays can also affect speech and language.

If your child has cerebral palsy, you might notice that they process and understand speech differently.

This is because cerebral palsy can affect your child’s ability to process language.

For example, differences in memory and executive function can make it challenging for children to remember what is being said to them and respond appropriately.

Physical developmental delays can also impact your child’s speech.

Your child might find speech more challenging if they don’t have the strength or control to coordinate the muscles necessary for speech production.

RELATED: Speech Therapy for Developmental Delays

2. Childhood Apraxia of Speech

Childhood apraxia of speech is considered a motor speech disorder.

That means it affects the muscles your child uses in order to produce speech sounds.

This includes muscles associated with their tongue, jaw, and lips.

When it comes to childhood apraxia of speech, it’s not that your child’s muscles are weak, it’s that their brain has trouble coordinating them.

Your child might be experiencing apraxia of speech if you notice the following:

• Distorting vowel or consonant sounds
• Inconsistent speech errors
• Trouble transitioning between sounds or words when speaking
• Emphasizing the wrong syllables in a word
• Slow speech rate
• Groping lips or tongue to produce speech sounds

3. Dysarthria

Dysarthria is also considered a motor speech disorder, just like apraxia of speech.

But unlike apraxia of speech, dysarthria is caused by weak speech muscles or poor coordination.

There are multiple types of dysarthria, including:

• Ataxic: caused by coordination problems and can make it challenging to control volume and pitch
• Spastic: caused by muscle spasms that make it difficult to produce clear speech sounds
• Flaccid: caused by weak muscles that can make speech sound mumbled or slurred
• Mixed: a combination of ataxic, spastic, and/or flaccid dysarthria
• Hyperkinetic: irregular and rapid speech caused by too much muscle movement
• Hypokinetic: slow and monotonous speech due to lack of muscle movement

If your child has dysarthria, you might notice some of the following signs:

• A voice that sounds monotone
• Speaking too fast or too slow
• Unclear or poorly pronounced speech
• Hoarse or rough voice
• Difficulty controlling vocal volume
• Difficulty moving lips, tongue, or jaw
• Speech sounding “choppy”

RELATED: Speech Therapy for Dysarthria

4. Aphasia

Aphasia is a speech disorder caused by damage to the language areas in your brain.

It can affect your ability to understand language and affect your ability to speak and write.

If your child experiences aphasia, you might notice that they:

• Have difficulty finding the words they want to say
• Have difficulty understanding what others say
• Substitute words or sounds for other words or sounds
• Speak or write sentences that don’t make sense
• Speak in short sentences
• Speak in incomplete sentences

Aphasia is most common after a stroke, but it can be a result of cerebral palsy as well.

RELATED: What To Do If Someone Is Having A Stroke

5. Dysphonia

Dysphonia is a speech disorder that is caused by weakness in the muscles you use for breathing.

Breath is an important part of speech production.

If your child experiences dysphonia, their voice may sound hoarse or breathy when they speak.

They may also have difficulty with the pitch of their voice.

However, these are not the only symptoms.

Your child may also experience difficulty breathing.

You might also notice that their voice changes.

Your child’s voice might be more or less raspy depending on the day.

It may also sound strained or fatigued.

If your child has dysphonia, our speech therapy clinic can refer you to a speech-language pathologist (SLP) who specializes in voice disorders.

 

How Can A Speech Therapist Help Kids With Cerebral Palsy?

When you bring your child to see a speech therapist, the speech therapist will first assess your child’s speech and language skills.

This helps them understand your child’s strengths and the areas they need the most support.

It can also help them diagnose your child’s specific speech and language difficulties.

After this, your child’s speech therapist will be able to develop a plan to help support your child.

This plan might include things like:

• Practicing speech sounds and strategies to improve speech clarity
• Augmentative and alternative communication
• Exercises to improve breath support and volume control
• Increasing language expression and comprehension

Your child’s speech therapist will also help you learn how best to support your child.

Often, this includes learning how to support your child’s speech therapy goals in your day to day life.

Book Your Appointment With Forte Speech & Language Therapy Today

At Forte Speech & Language, we offer speech and language therapy tailored to your child’s strengths and needs.

While cerebral palsy can present unique speech and language challenges, there is support available.

If your child has cerebral palsy and you are concerned about their speech or language skills, we can help.

Book your appointment with Forte Speech & Language Therapy today.