Delayed speech.?

Question

My son is 3 and has started nursery school for 3 hours a day. He is very bright but has difficulty in pronouncing letters. He can say some, such as B and K but cannot say others.

As his mother I can understand everything that he says but no one else can.

His knowledge is good and he can count, knows colours, all body parts etc. I know there is nothing wrong with his hearing.

I was the same as a child but started speaking properly at about 4. I do not really want to push him into speech therapy as I keep hoping that it will all come with time.

Has anyone else had this problem, and if so, any tips on how to help him along?

Answer 1

My son was the same, he eventually spoke better, but when he started kindergarten this year they put him in speech therapy.  Now i know that i should put the kids into therapy long before they start school, at least get them accessed.

Answer 2

I wouldnt fret as long as he seems to understand everything. Often bright kids have trouble  with speech. my brother is just turned 4 he calls are 1 sister dinny instaeda danny and are sister amber ber. It just a lil trouble speaking only people whom know kids well can understand them. If he gets to 6 and still haven speech issues then send him to speech therpay. When my 3rd grade teacher couldnt understand certian letters i said she insteaded to my parent i go to speech therapy and i still gotta bit of a lisp its just way it is. in mean time dont fret.

Answer 3

This is very normal with a three-year-old!   My two youngest children would often substitute "dery" for "very" (as in, "Mommy, I am dery dery DERY hungwy!").   They also made several other very common mispronunciations when they were three or four.  

There's no need to actually correct him, other than saying the words correctly yourself.  It's hard for children to form their mouths into certain positions in order to say certain letters properly.  He will acquire this skill as he gets older.  By first grade, he will probably have outgrown all his cute little mispronunciations, and you'll actually miss them!

Answer 4

Don't worry he is only 3. Wait a few years and if he still has a speech problem send him to a speech therapist.

Answer 5

Aww, don't worry. My nephew is three and he is also having trouble speak. Sometimes we thnk its because he simply just doesn't want to. He understands everything, yet won't talk much.

The doctor said it's normal.. usually for boys!

We were advised just to speak a little bit slower infront of him.. and to pronounce words completely. Also to ask him questions often.

Dont worry!

Answer 6

I think you're wise to wait on speech therapy. Continue to encourage him to verbalize with a minimum of criticism. I suspect that it might be a developmental problem. Have you had his hearing checked? My daughter had a number of bouts with otitis (fluid in the middle ear) which at times affected her speech. Your pediatrician could do a screening and  pehaps recommend a visit to an Otolarynologist (ear-nose and throat doctor)

I hope this was helpful. Good luck.

Answer 7

My oldest daughter, Faith, didn't talk well until she was almost four. Her doctor sent her to have her ears checked, but she has better than average hearing. (Which makes for easy eavesdropping now that she's nine!) Anyway, she was fine, she just took a little longer than some kids. Like she would say tack for snack, duce for juice, ect. But she outgrew it, and is now a wonderfully intelligent third grader!

Answer 8

It probably will come with time.  My son is 2 1/2 and is just now starting to talk AT ALL (aside from some babbling).  He is in speech therapy but it's really just a lot of fun for him.  We just continue to read to him, talk to him, point out objects and that kind of thing.  When he makes any kind of attempt at all we reinforce it by telling him good job.  When he mispronounces a word or comes close, we follow it up with praise and the correct version.  

As an example, he has decided his dad is no longer daddy and is instead GAGA.  So when you say, "who is that?" and he replies with GAGA we tell him, "Good job - yes that is daddy."

My only thought is that speech therapy isn't going to do any harm to your son and it could be comforting to you as a place to get ideas.  Plus, at this age, it's nothing but fun activities.  He won't even realize why he's going.