What is the reason a 4 yr. old can only speak 2-3 word sentences ?

Question

Recently turned 4. Speaks some difficult words very well but others are inaudible. Mental age is 6-9 months above peers. Tries to cut with scissors. Can draw stick figure w/face since Oct.06. Has played independently since about 14 months. Has super imagination. Can understand a lot of adult conversation. Uses a Leapster and a V-smile. Knows all colors, shapes, some letters, numbers, sits through the reading of a short chapter book. Excellent at predicting outcomes and sequencing. Knows shorter-longer/bigger-smaller. Very gentle with animals. Will carry around a worm or bug all day without harming it. Refuses to pottytrain also.

Answer 1

Hi I'm a Nursery Nurse with eight years experience and fully qualified it's difficult to get the full picture without observing over a period of time. Every child develops at different rates and may develop quicker in some areas than in others. Talk to your health visitor or doctor if you feel something is underlying but it could be nothing wrong at all. Does this child mix with other children verbally and non verbally? Does the child speak and interact mainly with adults? It is important that children are encrouraged to play and interact with their peers and adults. Does the child go to nursery or preschool where they can interact with other children? Nursery staff can help guide and support you and are responsible for observing and communicating with carers. Do you ask plenty of opened ended questions to promote speech eg What do you think will happen next? Why do you think that happened?  email me for potty training tips pull ups are often not effective sticker charts can work well. Make using a potty as non threatening as possible. Use plenty of praise for adtempts eg your such a good boy/girl for sitting on that potty etc

Answer 2

If the sentence is "I want Milk!!" that is fine. sentences like "WANT MILK. " is not.

Answer 3

Before these traits begin to fade. you should really put him/her

into advance classes or schools...academy's anything to keep this going.

Answer 4

every child has her/his own development stage.  My eldest son speaks fluently at age of three and started school at that age but my only girl went to school at the age of four but does not speak any word.  Learned to speak only in preschool. Now she's eight years old but very talkative and an achiever in her class.

Answer 5

As a parent of a 4 year old my self, I wonder a few things.  First - how well foes the child socialize with other children?  Do they play at all?  I see you have leapster and v-smile.  Is this a constant for them?  Are they in preschool?  Who diagnosed the child about 6-9 months above others?  My son is mistaken for 6 a lot - he reads, writes, draw, etc.  But his maturity level is still around 4.  He is completely potty trained since around 3, though we still use a pull-up for night times. He has been in preschool for a while.  

Have you checked with the pediatrician?  Sometimes, they will try to throw autism out there from the start.  If so, get a 2nd opinion.  Kids develop at their own rate.  Get them socialized, trained and take away some of the self-involved play toys.

Answer 6

because he parents probably talked for him when he younger, throughout all infant and baby years, I did that with my first child, I talked for him, And he could not even speak a sentence until he was 6, he was 5 when he said words finally, My family and doctor all told me that i talked for him thats why, When he ewanted a cookie, he pointed, I ran and gave him a cookie, soo your answer is the parents, But wait till this child gets to be 20, He will not shut up and he will turn out to be a very smart intellegent person,

Answer 7

Sounds like he has a speech delay. Have his doctor set up an evaluation with a speech and language pathologist. Just because he has a speech delay does not mean he is not inelegant. Even Albert Einstein had a speech delay.

Answer 8

because of their tongues which is till young, gentle and need more exercise....

Answer 9

There could be an infinite amount of reasons for the child's behavior.His environment could be a definite influence on his performance.On the other hand ,there could be a physiological reason. No matter what  you choose or decide ,your conclusion  could be either well directed or counter productive for the child.Thus, I strongly suggest you have the child examined by a neurologist.

Answer 10

Some reasons a child may not speak more than two or three word sentences, and clearly:

1. Child has a lot of older siblings doing the talking for him.

2. Child's ability to put thoughts into words is slow; he thinks faster than he verbalizes.

3. Child may have a hearing problem.

4. Child may not be interested in talking.

5. Child's parents may not provide experiences that encourage a child to develop vocabulary.

6.Child may have autism.

7. Child could be "tongue-tied".

The above situations; 2,3,4,and 6 can he diagnosed by a doctor or speech therapist. 7 can be tended to by a dentist.

How do you know the child has a good imagination if he doesn't speak well? How do you know his mental age is 6-9 months above his pears if he doesn't speak clearly?

Perhaps the child should visit a doctor?

Answer 11

Because it simply takes time to develop complex thought patterns that lead to lengthier and so more complex speech.

Answer 12

Unless you've seen a developmental pediatrician and he's been diagnosed to have a special need, your child seems normal. Every child who doesn't have any special learning disabilities goes thru developmental milestones in his early years. Speaking is natural occurrence that is brought about by stimulation from people and the environment. Kids who were early "talkers" became so because they were talked to, and therefore heard a lot of words from adults, books being read, or even music and TV - this is called the "receptive language" stage, where a young child who doesn't speak yet takes in everything that he hears, not necessarily being able to copy saying them right away. When this happens, it's called the "expressive language" stage - it's just different with every other child, depending highly on the kind of stimulation that he gets at home. I suggest, read him age-appropriate books out loud as often as time allows you to, and engage in meaningful conversations with him. Verbalize things that you do to him or he does ("I can see you're playing with my makeup, etc;" or "I'm going to tie your shoes, it goes like this...") Point out stuff that you see outside during walks or in the car like "I Spy" games; this will all help enrich his vocabulary and eventually fastrack language development.

Answer 13

When you speak (or write) words, you are using a part of your brain known as Broca's area. This is the area where sentence formation occurs. Althought the braing of a human child is still beyond thos of other animals, it's brain is still considered undeveloped. For this reason, their sentences are shorter and simpler in structure.

Answer 14

Some kids who understand language well have a hard time expressing themselves verbally?   Trying to find out why that is would be like trying to find out why people have different IQs.   Kids develop at their own pace but that doesn't mean that early intervention can't help.   Have you contacted your local public school district's special education department (sometimes called exceptional children's services) to ask for an evaluation?  He'll likely qualify for Speech Therapy from what you've already mentioned.   He may even qualify for preschool and they will help with potty training also.    It's free and I think you should take advantage of that service.

Answer 15

They can only speak in short sentences because their minds are not fully developed.

Answer 16

Have you spoke with his pediatrician about this? You child needs to be seen to find out what is going on.

Answer 17

children are naturally into shapes,colors and textures. your child should be able to count to 20,and may want to try to print numbers.He should have a 4,000-6,000 word vocabulary. He should be speaking in 5-6 word sentences. If you as a parent feel as if something is wrong,take him to a therapist that specializes in speech. I really do not think that anything is wrong. Be patient.