Cerebral Palsy: Interferes with motor skills and movement so children may have trouble with speech, sign language, and swallowing

Therapy for Children with CP:

• Work closely with motor specialists to determine the motor skills of the child
• Each child will have varying degrees of ability to speak, sign, and swallow.  A full evaluation will be needed to determine the child’s abilities in each area
• If motor skills prevent the child from using speech functionally (or to the extent that the child can’t say everything he wants to communicate), AAC may be necessary.  Consider motor limitations when selecting AAC systems.  Identifying a good AAC system will be the top priority for a child who cannot use speech to communicate.
• Swallowing must be evaluated to determine if the child is safe to take various foods and drinks by mouth.  Full swallow studies should be completed if the child shows signs of aspiration or has frequent pneumonia.
• Feeding therapy or articulation therapy can be introduced as needed (see the articles on those therapies within my website)