FINDING THEIR VOICE AGAIN: HELPING CHILDREN SPEAK AFTER CANCER TREATMENT
Cancer treatments can affect more than just the body—they can challenge how a child communicates. Here’s how to help them rebuild their voice.
Helping Children Speak After Cancer Treatment
Few things can be as heartbreaking as cancer in children. And yet, the WHO reports that 400,000 children develop cancer every year. Only around 10% of these kids have a genetic predisposition; others fall ill due to mysterious, tragic reasons.
Fortunately, advancing medical treatment helps many kids recover fully from cancer. However, the aftermath of the treatment can be considerable. Besides the emotional trauma that treatments like chemotherapy and radiation can cause, some children also experience speech and language problems.
The side effects could be difficulties articulating certain sounds or finding swallowing uncomfortable. Some children experience changes in the pitch or tone of their voice, which can cause dissonance. Let’s understand more about the situation and explore practical ways to help children.
The Rise in Pediatric Cancer Cases
The awareness of pediatric cancer has grown globally. Sadly, so has the incidence. Since 1975, the childhood cancer rates in the United States have increased by around 33%.
Some researchers suggest that environmental exposures—such as pesticides, pollution, or prenatal contact with harmful chemicals—may contribute to the rise in pediatric cancer cases. While genetic factors account for a small percentage of childhood cancers, many cases remain unexplained.
The ongoing lawsuit for Depo Provera, a birth control solution made by Pfizer, highlights the product’s connection to brain tumors. The Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation notes that childhood leukemia may have a connection to prenatal exposure to toxic chemicals like PFAs.
According to TruLaw, manufacturers of questionable products may fail to warn consumers about possible side effects. They may also neglect to communicate the risks of long-term use. It is a worrying scenario.
How Does Cancer Treatment Affect Speech in Children?
With so many cases of pediatric cancer now being reported, child development professionals are studying its impact on young patients’ lives. The connection between a throat or mouth tumor and speech problems seems apparent. However, issues might arise even because of cancer treatment like chemotherapy or radiation.
LiveStrong, a nonprofit support resource for cancer survivors, explains that these procedures may affect some healthy cells alongside the malignant growth. Treatments like chemotherapy and radiation can affect healthy brain cells, sometimes leading to temporary or long-term changes in memory, attention, and language processing.
Further, some kids may face trouble in understanding others’ speech. The National Cancer Institute finds that radiation to the brain can raise the risk of hearing loss in pediatric cancer survivors. Hearing difficulties can further complicate speech issues and social adjustment.
Helping Children With Cancer-Related Speech Issues
Healthcare experts advise caregivers to monitor children closely after the treatment. Be cautious of the signs of speech difficulties, like trouble making specific sounds or a lack of understanding.
Consult a Speech-Language Pathologist
In more severe cases, your child can benefit from a speech-language pathologist (SLP). These professionals usually assess a child’s language skills before the treatment to get a baseline. After the treatment, they examine the impact on these skills and suggest corrective approaches.
The Canadian Cancer Society notes that these experts can work with individuals or groups, monitoring a child’s long-term progress. They can also give you and other caregivers helpful suggestions to support the child’s language development after cancer treatment.
Find Ways to Address Problems in Swallowing
After surgery to remove cancer from the head or neck, patients may find it difficult to swallow. It can be agonizing to use a feeding tube every day. Kids may wonder if they can relish their favorite food items again.
An expert can work with children through strengthening exercises to improve these problems. These exercises will also clarify sounds and make speech more intelligible to others.
Radiotherapy can also cause swallowing and speech problems because of stiff related tissues and muscles. Jaws and palate exercises can slowly improve the outcomes.
It’s important to note that dysphagia, the medical term for swallowing difficulties, is a common issue after cancer treatment. SLPs are trained to treat dysphagia using targeted therapy and rehabilitation techniques.
Develop Learning Strategies to Cope With School
As your child returns to school after treatment, they may feel distressed upon facing learning difficulties. They must understand this is normal and will get better as time passes.
Parents can help children with coping strategies like asking for extra help with spelling and reading. Children can benefit from sitting in front of the class and having the support of a classroom aide. Their teachers should be able to develop alternate testing requirements, such as having a written exam instead of an oral one if the child prefers this arrangement.
The American Cancer Society notes the impact of “chemo brain” on learning. It can cause difficulties like struggling to focus and follow lessons in class. Children may also have trouble remembering things or meeting project deadlines.
To support these challenges, parents can explore 504 plans or Individualized Education Programs (IEPs)—formal supports provided under U.S. special education law. Additionally, speech-to-text software and other accommodations can help children who are verbal but struggle with articulation.
These problems may resolve themselves with time. Meanwhile, if your child is distressed about school, you can consider homebound instruction or individualized education plans.
Helping children recover from cancer is grueling enough, but supporting them as they adjust to life after treatment is also essential. This time can be mentally draining for kids, and feeling a deficit in life skills they took for granted adds to the distress.
Speech therapy offers children the chance to reclaim their confidence and voice—both in how they speak and how they show up in the world.
Craig Selinger
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