Cerebral Palsy
At Shriners Children's, our team of specialists provides individualized care for your child with cerebral palsy.
Speech Therapy
The speech therapy services available to patients at Shriners Children’s benefit children from birth through adolescence who have difficulties with communication and swallowing.
Our trusted team of therapists know that children have their own set of unique needs when it comes to their individual medical journey. Using a wraparound approach in the therapy setting provides our patients with the best opportunity to adapt, grow and thrive.
Every speech therapy treatment plan offered at Shriners Children’s starts the same way: with a comprehensive evaluation with a certified speech pathologist. The information they gather during their initial assessment with your child will help them understand their speech and language abilities. Can they clearly articulate themselves? Are they speaking clearly and fluently, without a stutter? The answers to these questions, and others, set the foundation for therapy recommendations and goals. Observations made during this evaluation can also assist in identifying other underlying health conditions that may have caused, or contributed to, a patient’s speech or language disorder.
Speech and Language Disorders: What We Treat
Talking takes time to develop and each child learns at his/her own pace. Children with speech or language disorders may have trouble understanding conversations and expressing ideas, which makes them great candidates for our speech therapy services. Our dedicated team of speech pathologists will tailor your child’s therapy activities to their age, developmental level, interests and specific needs.
- Speech: Whether your child is having difficulty producing sounds or stuttering, we are here to help. Challenges like these can be the result of neurological impairments or structural differences, such as cleft lip or cleft palate.
- Language: If your child struggles with using and understanding words or knowing how to appropriately interact in social situations, they may have a language impairment. Traumatic injuries or certain medical conditions, such as autism, place children at a higher risk for language difficulties.
- Feeding and swallowing: Getting adequate nourishment can be hard for kids with feeding and swallowing issues, and the ability to consume nutritious meals is directly tied to your child’s proper development. Because of this, our team implements feeding therapies to ensure your child grows up to be as healthy and strong as possible.
Compassionate care coupled with our collaborative approach to treatment is what makes Shriners Children’s stand apart as a trusted provider for any child with a speech or language disorder. If you are concerned your child is not meeting developmental milestones and think they may benefit from speech therapy, we are here for you – to get you the answers you need and the care you can count on, all regardless of the families’ ability to pay or insurance status.
Specific treatments and services may vary by location. Please contact a specific location for more information.
What Conditions Benefit Most from Speech Therapy Services?
Children who have difficulty producing sounds, words and phrases will benefit greatly from the speech therapy services at Shriners Children’s.
Conditions that increase risk for speech disorders include:
- Autism
- Brain tumors
- Cerebral palsy
- Cleft lip
- Cleft palate
- Developmental delays
- Genetic syndromes
- Head injuries
- Hearing impairments
- Learning disabilities
- Intellectual disabilities
- Prematurity
- Tracheostomy
Helping our patients understand the fundamentals of swallowing plays a major role in the feeding therapy process, and gets them one step closer to eating independently.
Locations that offer Speech Therapy
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Shriners Children's provides specialty health care to children around the world. We offer a comprehensive range of treatments, services and support to improve the quality of our patients’ lives and help them reach their full potential.
Craniofacial Care
Shriners Children’s teams of specialists treat the physical, social, emotional and developmental challenges of craniofacial conditions like cleft palate to help children live full, healthy lives.
Conditions We Support
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Cleft Lip
When a baby is born with a cleft lip, Shriners Children's team approach provides leading cleft lip surgery and addresses the entire range of concerns for parents related to cleft lip and alveolar cleft.
Cleft Palate
A cleft palate occurs when tissues that form the roof of the mouth don’t join together before birth. Shriners Children’s team care repairs and restores each child physically and psychologically.
Muscular Dystrophy
At Shriners Children's, our unique team of specialists provides the highest quality neuromuscular care for your child with muscular dystrophy.
Next Steps
Request an Appointment
Families and caregivers seeking treatment should start by contacting us for an appointment.
Log in to the Patient Portal
Parents and guardians of existing patients can email, request records, schedule appointments and more.
Refer a Patient
Physicians and healthcare providers can request appointments, start transfers or contact us with questions.