Can Seizures Change a Toddler's Speech?

Speech difficulties may be a temporary condition that accompanies a seizure or a longer-term result of underlying conditions related to a seizure. Speech therapy may be required to help the child overcome or manage the challenge.

Epilepsy

• According to the Epilepsy Foundation, a child age 1 to 12 experiencing a partial seizure may have trouble speaking or speaking clearly. Depending on which part of the brain is affected, a partial epileptic seizure may also manifest itself through sweating, incontinence, anxiety, fear, abnormal muscle movements or sensory phenomena, such as seeing spots.

  Epilepsy.com reports that 15 percent of child epilepsy sufferers are afflicted with benign Rolandic epilepsy, which may begin as early as age 3 and last until age 15. A child may twitch and experience numbness or tingling in the face or tongue, affecting speech. The child remains conscious during such seizures.

  According to ChildrensHospital.org, changes in speech are a sign of the fifth phase of a generalized tonic-clonic, or grand mal, seizure often caused by epilepsy. The child's body, arms and legs flex, extend and shake, followed by a period of muscle contraction. Then, the postictal period begins, during which a child may feel sleepy, have speech or vision problems, and experience a headache, fatigue or body aches. A toddler who experiences such seizures and does not respond to medication may require surgery to split the corpus callosum, which connects the two hemispheres of the brain.

Febrile Seizures

• The University of Iowa Children's Hospital reports that febrile seizures lasting longer than 20 minutes have been linked to speech problems. A febrile seizure is caused by fever, usually over 102 degrees, in children up to age 5 can last for seconds or minutes. It is often brought on by an illness such as roseola or ear infection. The child's eyes may roll, and she may drool or vomit, twitch or jerk and have stiff limbs. Dark skin and loss of consciousness also are symptoms.

Landau-Kleffner Syndrome

• With Landau-Kleffner Syndrome, which is more common in boys than girls and usually occurs around 5 years of age, a child who previously spoke normally may lose language skills, leading to abnormal speech as an adult. Speech therapy may be needed for years.

Effects

• Seizures have varying effects on the body, depending on which part of the brain experiences electrical events. Although many people associate seizures with muscle spasms and jerking, sufferers also may experience hallucinations, an unpleasant taste in the mouth, numbness or an inability to speak.

How to Respond

• If you suspect that your child has a speech delay related to a seizure, you should see your child's doctor and ask if your child needs a speech evaluation. Locate a speech-language pathologist, whose services may be covered by your health insurance plan. The therapist will first conduct an evaluation to determine if your child is speaking at an age-appropriate level. If your child requires speech therapy, services may be provided in your home or in a clinic.