• What is Trauma?
• The Hospital Environment
• Diagnosis and Treatment
• Symptoms and Difficulties After Trauma
• Life After Trauma
• Survivor Stories
• Injured Children
  • Paediatric Trauma Care
  • The Anaesthetist
  • Diet and Nutrition
  • Speech and Language Therapy
  • Occupational Therapy
  • Paediatric Surgeon
  • Physiotherapy
  • Play Therapy
• Useful Organisations

Speech and Language Therapy

ADVICE FOR PARENTS

Following a brain injury or facial trauma your child may develop communication or swallowing difficulties and need to see a Speech and Language Therapist.

WHAT DO WE DO?

Speech and Language Therapists (SLT) are specialists in the assessment, differential diagnosis and, management of children who develop communication and/or eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties after a traumatic event.

A SLT works with you and your child to assess their strengths and needs for all their communication and eating and drinking skills at different stages of their recovery through play, observation and assessment.

WHERE DO WE SEE YOU?

A SLT may see your child at bedside on a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit and/or a Paediatric Ward. When you leave the hospital your child may be referred to Local Community Services close to home/school or they may need further inpatient rehabilitation at a specialist unit.

SPEECH, LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION - WHAT TO EXPECT

A brain or facial injury can cause a variety of communication impairments, including difficulties talking, understanding what people say, reading, writing and using numbers. Children can also develop cognitive-communication difficulties which impacts on social interaction and learning abilities.

In the early stages a SLT may work with your family to help understanding the nature of your child’s communication difficulties, they will need you to help them learn all about your child’s personality and interests.

Later on as your child’s communication needs change they will work closely with you to find the best way for your child to communicate. This may require your child to start using different strategies to remember and put words together, use clear speech or involve you and those caring for your child (including staff) to adapt the way they communicate to facilitate effective interactions.

EATING, DRINKING AND SWALLOWING – WHAT TO EXPECT

After a brain or facial injury, it may be difficult for your child to eat and drink. This can happen if the muscles for sucking, chewing or swallowing have been weakened or damaged. Food and/or drink may ‘go down the wrong way’ into their lungs. This can cause chest infections.

In the early stages a SLT works with you and your child to make sure it is safe for your child to eat and drink again by directly assessing their ability to eat, drink and swallow. Your child may need to start on smaller amounts slowly, use different utensils/cups or need a different consistency of the food or drink to find the safest, easiest and most enjoyable way to eat and drink again.

The SLT works closely with Dietitians to make sure your child is getting enough nutrition whilst their swallowing recovers. We may recommend short term tube feeding via a tube passed down the nose into the stomach (naso-gastric tube). A SLT may need to teach you and your child to do exercises to re-learn the skills to swallow again.

Sometimes a child’s ability to swallow comes back quickly, other times it takes longer to recover.  A longer term tube feed directly into the stomach (percutaneous-endoscopic gastrostomy) may be required. Both these types of tubes can be removed when your child’s swallowing improves.

WHAT ABOUT THE FUTURE?

It is very difficult to predict the outcome of speech, language and swallowing difficulties after a traumatic event as every child and their recovery time is different. What we do know is that early and on-going support from a SLT, including regular reviews to assess the suitability and specificity of timely intervention, does make a difference.

HOW CAN I HELP AS A PARENT?

All therapy goals will be jointly made with you, your child and other professionals who are caring for your child. The aim is to help provide each child and family with therapy which facilitates optimum recovery of skills. You will be encouraged to attend therapy sessions in hospital and supported to continue therapy with your child.

SPEECH AND LANGUAGE THERAPY INFORMATION FOR CHILDREN

After you have hurt your head or face you may need to see a Speech and Language Therapist.

We can help you with talking, reading books, playing with your friends and eating and drinking.

We come to play games with you and talk with you and your family.

We may look at pictures, read stories or play on the computer with you.

We may need to watch you eating and drinking to make sure you can chew and swallow ok.

SPEECH AND LANGUAGE THERAPY INFORMATION FOR TEENAGERS

A Speech and Language Therapist can help you after a Brain or Facial Injury.

Brain injury can damage parts of the brain that help with talking, reading, understanding others and eating, drinking and swallowing.

Injuries to your face, mouth and head can also result in difficulties with talking or eating, drinking and swallowing.

The main goal is to work with you to find out what things are tricky for you and then start working on these skills together to get them as good as we can.

Sometimes you need to see us lots and other times we can give you stuff to do e.g. practicing texting, using the computer or chewing a difficult food in small amounts.

Our main aim is to get you eating and drinking as safely and efficiently as possible and support you to communicate with your friends and family.

Images courtesy of Boardmarker