Daughter's speech becoming indistinct

[Heavenly]

My older daughter turned 4 in November. She spoke very early, was speaking in sentences by 15 months. She has always been a very clear speaker. Over the last 6 months or so her voice has gotten really nasal and her speech is very unclear. We are all (5 adults live in our house) having a hard time understanding her. I don't know if she is doing it on purpose, trying to sound babyish or whether there is some problem. I can't figure out what problem would make someone's speech lose its clarity. There are no developmental issues otherwise. She is very smart and has no learning problems. The only problem is the speech. Any idea why this might be?

[Rigama]

Take this with a grain of salt, since i'm no speech therapist, but these two thoughts popped into my head right away.

1)DS also started talking very early, and was very easy to understand. He also went through a lazy speech phase when he hit 4. I Don't Know became "Inuno" things like that. I told him that I couldn't understand him and please try again. eventually it disappeared. I believe it was just vocal experimentation, much like when a baby first learns to coo and gurggle.

2)I notice you have a babe. Could it be that she's hearing other adults talk baby talk to your little one and she's picking up on it and using it for herself? Perhaps she identifies that kind of talk with positive feelings? I really don't know, and that's a shot in the dark. Mostly I think it's more along the lines of #1.

Good luck!

[sbgrace]

My initial thought is she is imitating a baby. I had my nephew for several days last week and he is a bit past one. One of my sons has been grunting, pointing, mumbling and talking baby talk since he left.

[maryeliz]

Have you had her ears checked? The daughter of a friend of mine had fluid in her ears that was not quite at the stage of being an infection (sorry don't know the technical terms). The girl had been struggling with her speech, but had a really quick turn around after her ears were treated.

[Village Mama]

I dont know why but "adnoids" flashed in my mind when reading your post.

[AppleCrisp]

Absolutely have her ears checked - she could have hearing loss, or as someone else said, adenoid or tonsil problem. Choose an ear nose & throat doc who has an audiologist on staff to do the testing on site. Sorry to say, IME, don't trust your family doc or ped to know what's going on by looking in there. I've never in my professional experience found one who could.

Good luck! Hope it all turns out OK.

[db1au]

I would have her hearing tested. My daughter was the same way, talked early, then around age 4 speech got hard to understand. We found out recently that she has hearing loss in one ear. She's getting speech therapy and also being evaluated by an ENT. Hopefully its nothing serious.

[nextcommercial]

Originally Posted by Village Mama

I dont know why but "adnoids" flashed in my mind when reading your post.

Mine too.

That and tonsils. It is VERY hard to talk when those things are swolen. Your tongue just doesn't move the right way, and it is uncomfortable. They can be large, and not be causing her any problems other than her speech.

[Flor]

Dss went through a weird talking phase when he was around 5-- his best friend, not him, had speech issues and he was just talking like his friend. Took a while to figure that out though!

[RoadBuddy]

Definitely have the physical/ear-nose-throat stuff checked out. However, maybe she's just starting to process more and think really fast. Her vocals can't quite keep up. My husband has this sometimes, because he had jaw surgery that makes talking a little harder. When he's on a roll and thinking really fast, you can't understand him I imagine a kid, who is still gaining control, could have this problem for awhile then grow out of it.

[Ann-Marita]

Maybe her mind is moving faster than her mouth and lips can keep up with.

I started slurring my speech when I was a young child (3 to 4 yrs). They checked for physical things, checked my hearing, etc.

The speech therapist finally determined that my mind was going fast, and my mouth just couldn't keep up, so I took shortcuts. A couple of sessions of practicing speaking clearly, and it all cleared up.

[Brigianna]

If her speech has been clear before now, it's probably not a hearing issue, although it's a good idea to check for hearing problems and auditory processing disabilities. She's probably imitating someone.

[because]

My DD (also 4 and also with a new sibling) does some silly baby talk that isn't always obviously on purpose. It's not constant, though, so I'm not sure it's the same thing.

CAN your DD speak normally - does she ever do it? If not, I'd definitely look into physical issues.