At what age should I worry.....

[monkaha]

That DD(now 3.5) sounds a little like Elmer Fudd? 'R's sound like W, beginning 's' sounds are non-existant. "I want to ride my scooter." comes out like "I wanna wide my kootah."

Is this normal little kid speech? Or a problem? She's still understandable, mostly.

[TiredX2]

Totally normal, IMO.

In fact, IMO it often signifies that a child's pronounciation is getting much, much better when you are noticing things like that a lot--- they rest of their speach is clear enough that their personal oddities really stand out, kwim?

[A&A]

Speech issues are easier to work out earlier rather than later. I'm taking my almost-3 year old to speech therapy because he's not saying consonants as well as he should be. Why not take your dd for a speech evaluation and see if she perhaps needs a little therapy? That's what I'd do, anyway.

[trimomma]

It sounds like my ds had the same speech patterns your does when he was 3.5. He was evaluated by a private speech therapist and she suggested therapy. After speaking with our pediatrician and the Early Intervention speech therapist, we decided to give it some time and see how things worked out. Within a matter of months after his fourth b-day, his speech improved to near-perfection. We have video of him singing when he was not quite 4 and can't believe the change he had in just a few short months after that (he's 5 now).

The ped and EI speech therapist told us if we continue to see improvements, no matter how small, in his speech and if we didn't have any trouble understanding him - that therapy could wait, if it would even be needed at all.

I'd say give it some time and he'll figure it out ~ then you'll be missing all those sweet, unique ways he says his words now!!

Mary-Jo

[1xmom]

My dd is 5 and has been going to speech therapy since the beginning of the school year. She had an evaluation last summer and it was decided that she just needed speech for articulation only. I have usually always been able to understand her, and I have noticed improvement since she's started.
People used to ask me why I decided she needed therapy, but to me we had nothing to lose - it was free, the time is convenient, the school that I take her to is right beside my job and she will be attending this school next year for kindergarten, if nothing else, going to kindergarten won't be such a strange environment b/c she will be familiar w/the surroundings already.

[AmyAngel]

My young cousin always had trouble with her "r"s (my dad's name came out as Chawles!) and when she was in first grade she had speech at school. She seemed to enjoy it (they taught her to roll her "r"s, which was funny), and when I saw her last weekend I didn't notice if it has gone away or not - so it probably has! She's in second grade now.

[MyTwoAs]

My 3.5 year-old does the same thing with his Rs. I actually did the same thing as a child. I went to speech therapy in first or second grade and can still remember the first time I said mirror properly. I haven't taken my son to a speech-therapist for it, to me its normal and other aspects of his speech are improving. One of these days perhaps his R will come out like an R instead of a W. He will be starting pre-K in the Fall, if the speech therapist at his school decides that attention needs to be paid to that issue then we'll go forward with therapy at that point.

[mama2four]

This same issue has been bothering me for some time as well. My ds is 5 and still says his R as W. His speech otherwise is clear and well understood, but this R issue is really bugging me...maybe I should have him checked, is there a chance it would improve without any kind of therapy?

[monkaha]

Should I be correcting her, emphasizing the correct way to say things? Or just let it work itself out?

[Linda KS]

My oldest started speech therapy at 3 and we have no regrets. It helped her a great deal and she really enjoyed it. If it is just a minnor problem, it may work out on its own. At the same time, the longer a child makes the sound incorrectly the harder it is for them to break the habit. My advice would be to get an evaluation, see what they say, and then decide what to do.

Whatever you decide about therapy, help your child learn to talk properly. Encourage her to look at your mouth when you make the problem sounds, and then look in a mirror and try to make her mouth the same way when she makes the sound. Practice the sounds using short words that have the sound at the beginning. When she says a word incorrectly say it back VERY clearly to her, but don't necessarily make her repeat it the "right" way, as that could just get stressful for her. Keep it light and fun, but do work on it with her.

[TiredX2]

Originally Posted by mama2four

This same issue has been bothering me for some time as well. My ds is 5 and still says his R as W. His speech otherwise is clear and well understood, but this R issue is really bugging me...maybe I should have him checked, is there a chance it would improve without any kind of therapy?

Is DS going to public school in the fall? If so he will probably be "caught" then. Otherwise you can call your school district about getting it tested/identified now.

[bobica]

the "r" sound can take a long time to resolve and is considered developmentally within *normal* limits up to ages 6-8! it is one of the latest developing sounds.

monkaha, if those are the only sounds she's having "trouble" with, then it's totally normal kid speech stuff & should resolve on its own!

[ZachZ]

oddly enough, my speech lisp ("s" sounding like "th", and vice versa) wasn't corrected by a speech therapy. I went to speech therapy for a year and made no progress. maybe that's the therapist's problem. 2-3 years later, I somehow naturally corrected my lisp (?) and haven't since had the problem. Of course, I was in theatre, so that may have a part in my abilities and speaking "normal". I'm just a weird one I guess.

[plantmommy]

Older dd had speech therapy and one of the things they had us do was to have her use a straw with progressively thicker things... first juice, smoothies, applesauce, up to smooth peanut butter, so strengthen those mouth muscles.

Ds lisped until about 5, then it just went away on it's own. By 4-5 the kid should be easily understood by strangers, is the rule of thumb that I've heard.

[mama2four]

plantmommy, what about if he is very well understood by strangers except for that one r which is pronounced "w"? Strangers cant even tell he says it wrong at first.