United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

My son, Joseph (age 2), started hypotherapy (riding horses) a few weeks ago for speach. I didn't really notice a problem with his speach but his developmental specialist did. When he speaks it looks like he's smiling an doesn't move his lips. He can say a lot if words without moving his lips. The hypotherapist said it's from trunk weakness. Has anybody else seenyhis in their child? I knew he had some trunk weakness but I didn't know it was this bad. The hypotherapy is doing wonders for him. They've also started doing of with him while he's on the horse. His lips loosen up and he says his words much clearer and is easier to understand. He can't say his "k" sounds or "g" sounds because of the trunk weakness.
Bre

Bre:
Juliana did hippotherapy for many years. She had trunk weakness, but also did not weight bear on her left leg (she is lobpi), and so she walked with a very odd gait. She also fell down ALOT. We put her on the horse at about 2 years old and she rode until she was 6. She even went to horseback riding day camp for a summer. She enjoyed it, but thankfully decided not to pursue riding for the fun of it. (It is sooooo expensive)

I loved what it did for her. I loved that she didn't even realize that she was doing therapy.

I recommend it all the time, but it isn't easy to find.

claudia

isn't this just amazing.... who would have thought that trunk weakness would lead to this problem.

As a labor support person (doula) I was taught that if the mouth is relaxed then it is also relaxed down there...and if the mouth is tight then the same down there....so it was our job to keep on watching the mouth to make sure it was open and relaxed. The body is SO AMAZING!

I hope I can help you with this. My daughter has a ROPBI, so I understand some of the unique challenges our kids face.
I'm also a speech pathologist, so let me address that part of your question. Core strength is very important to speech and language, so it would benefit to do any strengthening exercises your therapists recommend. Also, try blowing bubbles and whistles to strengthen his muscles for puckering. I would suggest a speech evaluation if you are concerned about the /k/ and /g/ sound.

Good luck!
Emily

I might have forgot to mention that the reason Joseph goes to hippothrapy is for speach. They recently added the ot onto hippotherapy. I didn't realize that he had so much trunk weakness I knew of some but not this much. Feels kinda like a set back. He's been improving with everything else and now it's just another thing to add onto the long list of problems.