Witnessing your child struggle with speech delay, like so many other developmental challenges in kids, can be such a frustrating experience. Needs and emotions become difficult to communicate as social and emotional challenges begin to arise.
Whether a diagnosis or you suspect your child has a speech delay, this blog’s goal is to open the door to the science behind speech delays. Adding in speech therapy is incredible, but it is not able to truly address the root cause of the delay. Inside this blog we will break down the neurology behind speech delays in kids and provide actionable steps to address the root cause.
Understanding Speech Delay
Very few things in life can compare to first hearing your little one say “Mommy,” “Daddy,” and “I love you.” As time continues to grow with expected milestones being missed, disappointment and confusion sets in. So many parents with kiddos battling a speech delay have felt the same way.
Stress or interference within children’s brains and nervous system can actually be indicated by speech delays, which is when a child’s language and communication skills develop more slowly than expected. Children with speech delay may have individual words but struggle to string them together and form clear sentences.
“Bad luck” is what traditional pediatricians say to this common struggle, without providing a comprehensive explanation. Once other neurological disorders or hearing challenges are ruled out speech delays are most commonly categorized as an issue with the “physical” formation and execution of speech.
The Role of Birth Interventions (Trauma) and Speech Delay
Watching people come in and out of our office, we’ve seen the majority of speech delays is correlated with one of the most overlooked, but massively important connections. Birth interventions and trauma. Birth interventions such as forceps, c-sections, vacuum extraction, and induction can contribute to speech delays, especially in severe cases like apraxia of speech, Chronic ear infections, torticollis, and plagiocephaly, often linked to birth interventions, play a crucial role in understanding the root cause.
These babies are subject to tremendous pressure and physical tension on their cranial nerves, brainstem, upper neck, and vagus nerve when these types of delivery methods are used. This results in a neuromuscular dysfunction known as subluxation. Subluxation is a neurological dysfunction that creates interference or disrupted communication between the brain and body, specifically affecting the nerves and muscles that control speech perception, formation, and execution.
The Role of Pediatric Chiropractic Care in Speech Delay
At Experience Life Chiropractic, our chiropractic approach doesn’t aim to treat or cure your child’s speech delay. Instead, our focus is on addressing the root cause – neuromuscular dysfunction and interference. We collaborate with you and other providers to create personalized care plans rather than recommending and doing the same thing for each child simply based on their delay or diagnosis. We know that each child is unique.
While witnessing your child struggle with speech delay can be disheartening, addressing the root cause with Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic Care can be so rewarding. To learn more and ensure your child gets back on track, schedule a consultation with our PX Docs at Experience Life Chiropractic. If you are not local to us, be sure to check out the PX Docs directory to find an office near you. We are ready to help you unlock your child’s full potential by getting to the root cause of their speech delay.