Pediatric Rehabilitation Services

Pediatric Rehabilitation Services

Rehabilitation services for children and adolescents are unique. Our team is available to assess and treat children with a variety of medical conditions.

Speech or language delay or disorder - Speech and language normally develop within well established normal milestones. Speech or language delays or disorders can result from a variety of causes. At higher risk are those children who have chronic ear infections, genetic factors, autism, neurological disorders or developmental delays, are NICU graduates or have had drug or alcohol exposure. A speech delay or disorder involves difficulty in producing specific speech sounds. A language delay or disorder involves difficulty understanding or using words appropriately. Early diagnosis and intervention is important in order to facilitate development of communication skills and prevent the child from falling further behind. The foundations for speech and language development are laid well before a child says a "first word" and the most important time for speech and language development is up to the age of five years.
http://www.kidsource.com/NICHCY/speech.html

Articulation disorder - Articulation disorders are difficulties with the way sounds are formed and strung together, usually characterized by substituting one sound for another (wabbit for rabbit), omitting a sound (coo for school), or distorting a sound (ship for sip).

Cognitive delay or disorder - Cognitive delays or disorders are defined by lower than average intellectual functioning based on intelligence testing. There are multiple causes including problems encountered during pregnancy or delivery, genetic disorders, head trauma, autism or lack of appropriate nurturing. Cognitive delays or disorders may lead to problems in attention, memory, learning, judgment and problem solving. Speech therapy is helpful in addressing these problems by facilitating communication skill development.

Fluency (stuttering) - Many preschool children go through a developmental stage of not being fluent or stuttering. Most often this stage is brief and does not persist. In those cases when it persists or affects how much the child is able to communicate, we offer assessment and treatment. We also offer therapy to school aged children with stuttering or other fluency problems.

Swallowing difficulty (video swallow studies) - Swallowing difficulty is the inability to safely swallow foods that are appropriate to a child's age. Symptoms include difficulty breathing while bottling or nursing, coughing, choking, food refusal, or frequent lung infections. Swallowing problems in children are associated with neurological disorders, poor weight gain, genetic disorders, and anatomic abnormalities, among others. A video swallow study is a procedure that is completed in Radiology with a Speech Pathologist to evaluate under x-ray how food or liquid moves through the mouth and throat. It provides information for treatment planning and diet recommendations.

Feeding evaluations - A clinical feeding evaluation is recommended when babies or children are having problems eating and drinking a varied and nutritious diet. It includes a medical history, feeding diary, examination of the mouth structure and musculature, observation of feeding with the child's caregiver, and feeding by the speech pathologist. A feeding evaluation provides recommendations for changes in positioning, food types, utensils, environment and behavioral strategies to promote optimal food intake. Any child with strong food refusals or poor weight gain may benefit from a feeding evaluation.

Voice assessments (stroboscopy exams) - Voice evaluations are appropriate for children who have been identified by parents, pediatricians, ear nose and throat physicians (ENT), and teachers as having issues related to voice quality, resonance and/or breathing. Vocal hoarseness, breathiness, fatigue/weakness, noisy breathing, pitch abnormalities (too low/too high), and excessively muffled or nasal sounds are voice characteristics which may indicate that a voice disorder is present. Typically these children have completed an evaluation with an ENT prior to the scheduled speech pathology voice evaluation. Common conditions of the vocal folds include growths such as vocal fold nodules, polyps, cysts, and neurological deficits such as paresis (weakness) and paralysis (lack of movement). Structural abnormalities such as stenosis (narrowing of the trachea), laryngeal/glottal webs, cleft palate, and cleft lip are common causes of voice disorders, as well. Additionally, allergies, asthma, and reflux disease may contribute to reduced voice quality. Assessment and treatment generally focuses on education about the type and cause of the voice disorder, implementation of a home program for improvement of vocal hygiene, identification and reduction of vocally abusive behaviors, and treatment strategies for improving particular voice quality issues.

Social skills for children - The Social Skills Group is a group designed to provide a supervised environment to work on development of basic appropriate social interactions. North Memorial has a unique Social skills group for children with high functioning Autism and Asperger's syndrome. This group gives them opportunities to demonstrate/use learned skills in a natural environment.
For more information about our Social skills group please contact us at (763) 420-7002.

Auditory processing disorders - Auditory processing disorders (APD) is a term used to describe what happens when your brain recognizes and interprets the sounds around you. People with APD often do not recognize subtle differences between sounds in words, even though the sounds themselves are loud and clear.

Autism - Autism is a complex neurobiological disorder. It is part of a group of disorders known as Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Autism can impair a person's ability to communicate and relate to others. It is also associated with repetitive behaviors, such as obsessively arranging objects or following very specific routines. Symptoms can range from very mild to quite severe.

Oral myofunctional disorders - Oral myofunctional disorders (OMD) describe abnormal function of the oral and facial muscles. OMD may interfere with appropriate swallowing, speech, and/or abnormal lip and tongue resting positions

Childhood apraxia of speech - Children with apraxia of speech have difficulty saying sounds and putting sounds together to make words and sentences. This is not due to muscular paralysis or weakness but is rather a problem in motor planning where the brain is not able to tell the muscles how to say and sequence speech sounds efficiently. Children with apraxia of speech tend to be late talkers, have limited sound repertoires, and have more difficulty with longer words. These children generally benefit from a more intensive speech therapy program.

Cleft palate/cleft lip - Children born with a cleft palate or lip often have speech, language and feeding issues. Early intervention from a speech pathologist helps the child learn more appropriate ways of producing sounds, use his/her voice efficiently and adapt feeding methods for adequate nutritional intake.

Traumatic head injury - Children who sustain head injuries may have cognitive/communication problems after the injury. These may include difficulties with attention, memory, organization, language, speech production and slower processing times. These problems may affect the child's success in returning to school. A speech pathologist can help to identify and remediate problems and assist with the transition back into the school setting.

Free screenings are available for children; contact our main office for more information: (763) 520-5614.

Locations:

Rehabilitation Center
North Memorial Medical Center (plaza level)
3300 Oakdale Avenue North
Robbinsdale, MN 55422
(763) 520-5614

Arbor Lakes Medical Building, Suite 210
12000 Elm Creek Blvd.
Maple Grove, MN 55369
(763) 420-7002

North Memorial Health Plaza
800 Freeport Avenue North
Elk River, MN 55330
(763) 420-7002