Children's Speech...
Moms View Message Board: Parenting Discussion: Archive January-June 2004:
Children's Speech...
I am just wondering how to determine if my DD is "normal" in her speech?
We went in for her 3 yr check up and she talked to the Dr., but she lowered her voice way down low so you couldn't hardly hear her. (She got shy and quiet) The Dr. asked the normal question if other people could understand her. I said I thought they usually could. He said "Would you say 80% of the time?" I said yes. It just seemed like he wasn't quite sure.
So, I see and hear other kids her age and they all sound about the same to me, so I have never questioned my DD's abilities. But, now I am wondering, how do you know?
There are still lots of words that she does not pronounce clearly or correctly, but I thought that was normal. I usually just repeat back what she says to me. Like she will say "batpat" and I repeat back in some way "backpack."
Anyway, just wondering if I wait until Preschool? How does this usually work? Thanks.
Sounds like a question for Pamt! I can't remember that far back as Jen and Jeff are 19 and 20 now.
I know with Madison, who is Syd's age, she speaks very clearly, actually quite surprisingly so, and has quite a command of the English language, but I attributed all that to Jules' field of study, which happens to be the same field Pamt is in!
But recently when we spent the day with Pam and Amy and the kids, Madison kept calling Pam *Miss PaN* instead of PaM. I really don't know what's *normal* and appropriate for this age anymore.
Is it a particular letter she is not pronouncing clearly??
Eve, I've heard her talk and understood her perfectly. She sounds just like Peyton and all the other three year olds we play with. I really doubt you have anything to worry about.
Thanks, Karen. Oh yes, there are a few letters she does not pronounce in words. Usually, it's like your example, it will be the last letter is wrong.
Thanks,Melanie. I thought she sounded pretty normal too, but then I wondered if it was just because I was her Mom. LOL!
I would swear on a stack of Bibles that my 8 yr old dd has a Cindy Brady lisp, but I am the only one who seems to hear it. I've asked the school speech therapist time and again to evaluate her, and the report always comes back normal. I guess my point is...oh, I don't think I have a point. Just to let you know I understand your concern!
I have personal experience in this department with B. Regardless of what other people tell you, listen to your mommy instincts. (I know, I say that a lot, but it's true!) The last time Syd was here I understood a lot of what she said but there were times when I wasn't sure. This of course, isn't unusual for a newly 3 yr. old, but I'd keep a close eye on her. Once she starts preschool you'll get a better idea. Ask the teachers what they think. We had B tested at 3. In fact, she was already scheduled for an evaluation when her preschool teacher approached me about speech concerns. Despite the fact lots of people told me B was "OK" I *knew* something wasn't right. We chose to have her tested at CCMC. (Expensive but worth it. I'll explain if you want. ) Although the Speech Pathologist stated she did indeed have a large vocabulary for her age, she did have severe articulation delays. She started speech therapy through the public school system at 3 and has made GREAT strides. Her next evaluation is next fall, and at that point we'll see if she needs to continue. I have a feeling she won't, but we'll see.
Helpful web site:
Speech and Language Development
I agree, PamT is SUPER! She even reviewed B's evaluation and gave me her personal and professional opinions and advice. 
I agree with Trina. Trust your mommy instincts. I thought Randy had a speech problem every since he was about 18 months. I even brought it up at his well baby that month. The doc said not to worry, and Randy did start speaking more around 22 months (up until then he only said about 10 words--at 22 months he started speaking complete sentances). HOWEVER, there was still a lot that we couldn't understand. Everyone kept telling me not to worry and he had a cute little "Forrest Gump Accent". Last year in 2nd grade I finally got them to evaluate him and he has a slight frontal lisp with the letters /r,s,th,z/ and the blends of those letters. He's been in speech therapy 30 minutes a week at school since and we just had his one year review meeting a couple weeks ago. He's doing really well! He's getting the /s,th,z/ sounds with just one prompt now and his speech teacher says he really tries hard. He's still having problems with that /r/ though. The only way it effects anything else at school is his spelling. That boy can't spell to save his life! lol (neither can my mom, but that's another story ) He's excelling in math (they're amazed at his mental math ability) and right on track for everything else. Sometimes he is hard to understand and he will get frustrated if we ask him to repeat himself. He also does the typical youngest child baby talk at times, and we just have to remind him to use his "8yo" voice. So anyway (long winded today!), like was said. Trust your instinct. She's your child and you know her best. Good luck. I'm sure PamT will see this soon. She's a wealth of info!
Cat, isn't it amazing how "cute" things like that are at three and how "not-cute" they are at 20?! This has actually made me re-think things. Maybe I'll look into it again.
Each child is definitely different. By 2 years old my oldest DD could carry on an adult conversation with you. My 2nd DD was a little slower in the speech department, but by about age 3 she was doing really well.
My DD has a friend that she plays with that is 4 now and still talks the same way she has since she was about 2.5. I have to listen really closely to make out what she is saying. She is hard to understand.
Like Trina said, (and always says!) Trust your mommy instinct. She can be tested to see is she is in "normal" range. I know that you are working on giving up the sippy cup which IMO is a great thing.
She just barely turned 3, and it sounds like she is doing pretty good to me!
Janet, she may not qualify for speech services in the school system unless it is affecting her school performance. Has her teacher mentioned anything to you, like she does not want to participate in oral presentations? You could go see a speech/language pathologist (check your phone book or local hospital), but you would probably have to pay out of pocket.
Eve, if people have mentioned to you that they have a hard time understanding your daughter or you spend a lot of time translating what she says to your friends and family then I would be concerned. It is very normal for people who don't see your child every day to have difficulty understanding them sometimes at age 3. You are doing the right thing by modeling the correct way of saying words (without asking her to repeat them back to you). I'm sure Pamt will be able to give you a lot of info on milestones for that age range. I haven't worked with kids under the age of 8 in a very long time, so I don't have the info right off the top of my head.
Thanks, ladies.
I don't have any big concerns. I think she really is fine and in the "normal" range for her speech. I am looking for ways to determine where she is in that "normal" range. Preschool will be here soon, and I'm sure it will be addressed then, if there is an issue. (She's been 3 for 2 weeks now.)
She says lots of things very clearly. Like "Actually, it's quite delicious!" Not a syllable wrong or out of place. She does do the getting certain letters mixed up. Like she says "Milt" for "milk," and the "backpack" example I gave. I have noticed her doing better at pronouncing certain words. Like "Aunt Trina." She now says the "r" in her name. Little things like that. So, I think she's doing ok.
I will take all of your advice though and keep an eye on her. Thanks.
My oldest daughter couldn't pronounce a hard c sound for the longest time. She was maybe 2-3. She was slow to start talking as it was.
Cookie - tookie
Car - tar
She eventually got over it and talked fine by the time she got to school. She had lots of ear infections and we wondered if that slowed her speech development down.
Her younger sister was talking a blue streak at 2 already! I couldn't believe how many things she could say, at a time when the older one would have still been struggling.
Eve, this is a kind of "iffy" one. I got your email and will email you back later tonight when I have time to organize my thoughts.
P.S. Thanks for the kinds words Trina . I was thinking about B the other day and thinking that she should be nearing the end of therapy most likely.
Thanks,Pam. I would love your input. Like I said in my email, no rush, whenever it's convenient for you would be great.
I can tell you this, when Syd starts preschool you will be amazed at how much her language will develop. I taught the 3-4 year old class and to hear the differance in the children in just a few short months is amazing. I really wouldn't worry about it. If she's talking and other people can understand her atleast 80% of the time I would wait until Preschool and then talk to the teacher and see what she/he says.
Dylan started talking before he was walking and I swear I can't shut the kid up . We are lucky that we have not had to deal with this issue yet but I agree that you should listen to your inner voice and do what you feel is best.
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