The Connection Between Speech/Language Disorders and Mental Health Concerns
Written By: Amy Wolcott M.S., CCC-SLP
When One Challenge Leads to Another
Imagine having lots of thoughts, feelings, and opinions, but not having the words to communicate them with others. Imagine if no one could really understand you when you talk or if you always got stuck on words as they tried to come out. Imagine being a middle schooler struggling to complete assignments because you read slower than everyone else.
You might feel socially isolated or frustrated when things that seem easy for others are so hard for you. These are the challenges that kids with speech and language disorders face on a daily basis, and the frustration they feel in these situations may lead to larger mental health concerns. In fact, studies have shown that children with speech and language disorders have more than double the risk for anxiety and depressive disorders (Lee et al., 2020).
“I often see communication exacerbate mental health concerns,” said TPP speech-language pathologist Lauren O’Hare. “This can happen for patients with phonological disorders who have to work hard to be understood, expressive language delays where their thoughts are not able to be clearly communicated to family and peers, with patients who stutter and just want to feel that their words and thoughts are valuable, and for kids with receptive language delays who are constantly working to understand the words and world around them.”
Emily Stocking, licensed professional counselor, has seen similar patterns in her practice. “I have seen frustration increase significantly when children are not able to appropriately express their wants, needs, or feelings,” she said. “I have also seen it impact their social skills when they aren’t able to interact with their peers in typical ways. I have seen a lot of anxiety due to communication difficulties, especially with kids who aren’t able to read.”
How Parents Can Help Kids Navigate These Challenges
First and foremost, it’s important to recognize the challenges your child may be facing.
“Parents don’t want their kids to hurt, so we often will negate feelings or only focus on the positives,” Emily said. “We say things like ‘you are so strong,’ or ‘you are the bravest kid I know!’ While those things are true, it is also true that it is very hard to have a speech disorder, and sometimes our kids just need us to acknowledge the negative side of things too. Point out the elephant in the room, so to speak. And then work back up from there.”
Lauren adds that it can be beneficial to create positive communication experiences: activities where kids can enjoy low-stress, one-on-one time with their parent or caregiver. She recommends listening to them and taking what they have to say seriously.
Finally, when you have questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to seek help.
The Importance of Collaborative Intervention
At The Pediatric Place, we emphasize collaboration among professionals to achieve the best outcome possible for each child. One challenge may not be the only challenge, and our therapists benefit from the expertise of colleagues to identify and support needs that go beyond their individual scopes of practice.
“Having a team of professionals around me has been life changing,” Emily said. “Being an expert in my field means just that; and it means that there are a lot of things I don’t know. Having constant exposure to other professionals helps me be aware of just how many things might be impacting a child. The Pediatric Place is absolutely treating the whole child and supporting their development from all angles.”
“One thing I love about TPP is everyone’s love of learning,” Lauren added. “We love to learn from each other and we love our kids, which leads to a beautiful environment for collaboration because we are all in it to help our kids meet their goals.”
Are you a mental health professional who wants to make a difference in your community?
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“You will never regret your decision to work at The Pediatric Place,” Emily said. “You are provided with a fully equipped room, a team of professionals who want you and every child you see to succeed, and you get to work in the modality that best fits you and the children you see. There is always someone around to bounce ideas and thoughts off of. We celebrate all the wins, big and small!”
Visit our website to learn more about career opportunities.
Are you a parent concerned about your child’s speech or language development? We have immediate openings for speech therapy! Call us at Clinton (660-219-9176) or Knob Noster (660-219-9381) to schedule an evaluation today!
Lee, YC., Chen, V.CH., Yang, YH. et al. Association Between Emotional Disorders and Speech and Language Impairments: A National Population-Based Study. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 51, 355–365 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-019-00947-9
