Communication in Children and Youth with Cerebral Palsy

Abstract

Communication is a broad construct that subsumes a variety of purposes, modalities, and levels. Communication arises from an interplay among physical, sensory, cognitive, and linguistic domains, and disruptions in one or more can influence both the development and use of communication skills. Communication difficulties are present in a very large proportion of children and youth with cerebral palsy and manifest as speech, language, literacy, and interpersonal communication challenges. This chapter reviews communication development in children and youth with CP relative to speech, language, and literacy domains and discusses both assessment considerations and prevalent intervention approaches across all three domains.