Hi
I have just arrived home from two therpay sessions with my daughter today and becoming increasingly concerned about her speech. Annie is 4 years old and has hypernasality so can't say s/sh/z/f/t(sometimes/nch. She pushes all the air through her nose so at times cannot be understood. She does not have submucous palate and has taught hreself to talk this way when she had some periods of deafness through ear infections between 12-24 months old. I know she will probably catch on eventually but as she has to understand why she talks like this is may take sometime, whoch she does not have as she starts mainstream school in September. it also appears that the school system may notbe able to refer for speech (she has had it for two years) and I am worreid without the extra help her speech will become increasingly more difficult to understand. She alread cries at times when people cannot understand her and her brother (8 years old) is also becoming anxious when peolple do not understand her. Any ideas?
I would continue taking her for therapy and if you have insurance to cover it, I would probably increase the frequency to 2x per week. If she is that difficult to understand, she should qualify for services through the public school district. I would recommend supplementing that with private speech therapy. I'm sure her current therapist is working on air flow with her and because this has become such a habit to her, it will take some time to improve significantly. Be patient. Also, if you practice at home with her (a little every day) this will help tremendously.
I'm looking for ideas to help my almost 5 yr old daughter. Sometimes she seems to cut off the end of all her words in a sentence especially if she is excited. Also her preschool teachers say that her peers can't understand her. And only at school she speaks really softly and she is timid and shy (but not so anywhere else).
Also I'm looking for any storybooks that I could read to her about having a speech problem like Berenstein Bears have about different social issues.
First of all, have you tried to get physically down on her level so she can see your mouth and model for her the correct way to say a specific word and emphasize the ending? And if so, can she imitate it correctly? If she slows down, does she still cut off the ends of words?
As far as her not being understood by her peers at preschool, is it because she is just speaking so softly or is it also because she is cutting off the endings of words? It is not so uncommon for little ones to be shy and talk softly in school, especially if this is her first school experience.
Unfortunately, I don't know of any storybooks that address difficulty speaking. If she is aware that people are having difficulty understanding her and she is bothered by it or gets frustrated, I would strongly encourage you to take her for a speech evaluation. You can ask your local public elementary school for the district's Child Find program's contact information.
I have an 8 year old daugther that I have been concerned about her speech since she was a toddler. She has always been difficult to understand, lacking enunciation. Now that she is older, she speaks much better, but still has trouble enunciating and also speaks very fast with the occassional stutter. It has not affected her learning (she is actually a top student) and has also not affected her socially (she was voted for student council rep in her class by all her peers) although her friends do have trouble understanding her. I feel like her mind goes so much faster than her words so she tries to keep up. When I was a kid I had a similar problem but stuttered more. I adventually grew out of it as an adult. I would like to have seen her in speech therapy at an earlier age, but her dad (whom I am divorced from) disagrees and thinks she is "just a kid". She has good health insurance, but I have never checked if it covers speech. Is this something that would benefit from therapy? Or am I just overreacting like her dad thinks? How can her dad and I as parents help her without hurting her feelings (she is very sensitive)? Any advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Thanks so much for posting this question here. My first thought while I was reading this was - yes, absolutely take her in for at least an evaluation with a speech pathologist and consult with that person. After reading to the bottom of your email though and hearing from you that she is very sensitive, I immediately wondered if she was at all bothered by her speech. If she is aware and bothered that her friends don't always understand her than she would probably be open and receptive to seeing a therapist to have it checked out. And I would make very light of it because you don't want her to feel ashamed.
If she is not aware and not bothered at all by her speech, than you approach obviously needs to be a little different. I would still recommend that she be evaluated. Because this has not effected her academically or socially is a good thing, but she will not qualify for services through the schools (and this may be too much of a stigma for her anyways). You will need to find a clinic or private speech pathologist in your area. She is still young enough that therapy can make a difference. The older she gets, the more her habits will be ingrained and the harder it will be to make a change.
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Hi
I have just arrived home from two therpay sessions with my daughter today and becoming increasingly concerned about her speech. Annie is 4 years old and has hypernasality so can't say s/sh/z/f/t(sometimes/nch. She pushes all the air through her nose so at times cannot be understood. She does not have submucous palate and has taught hreself to talk this way when she had some periods of deafness through ear infections between 12-24 months old. I know she will probably catch on eventually but as she has to understand why she talks like this is may take sometime, whoch she does not have as she starts mainstream school in September. it also appears that the school system may notbe able to refer for speech (she has had it for two years) and I am worreid without the extra help her speech will become increasingly more difficult to understand. She alread cries at times when people cannot understand her and her brother (8 years old) is also becoming anxious when peolple do not understand her. Any ideas?
Hi Sarah
I would continue taking her for therapy and if you have insurance to cover it, I would probably increase the frequency to 2x per week. If she is that difficult to understand, she should qualify for services through the public school district. I would recommend supplementing that with private speech therapy. I'm sure her current therapist is working on air flow with her and because this has become such a habit to her, it will take some time to improve significantly. Be patient. Also, if you practice at home with her (a little every day) this will help tremendously.
I hope this has helped a little.
Tami
I'm looking for ideas to help my almost 5 yr old daughter. Sometimes she seems to cut off the end of all her words in a sentence especially if she is excited. Also her preschool teachers say that her peers can't understand her. And only at school she speaks really softly and she is timid and shy (but not so anywhere else).
Also I'm looking for any storybooks that I could read to her about having a speech problem like Berenstein Bears have about different social issues.
Thanks!!
Dee
Hi Dee,
First of all, have you tried to get physically down on her level so she can see your mouth and model for her the correct way to say a specific word and emphasize the ending? And if so, can she imitate it correctly? If she slows down, does she still cut off the ends of words?
As far as her not being understood by her peers at preschool, is it because she is just speaking so softly or is it also because she is cutting off the endings of words? It is not so uncommon for little ones to be shy and talk softly in school, especially if this is her first school experience.
Unfortunately, I don't know of any storybooks that address difficulty speaking. If she is aware that people are having difficulty understanding her and she is bothered by it or gets frustrated, I would strongly encourage you to take her for a speech evaluation. You can ask your local public elementary school for the district's Child Find program's contact information.
I hope this helps.
Tami
I have an 8 year old daugther that I have been concerned about her speech since she was a toddler. She has always been difficult to understand, lacking enunciation. Now that she is older, she speaks much better, but still has trouble enunciating and also speaks very fast with the occassional stutter. It has not affected her learning (she is actually a top student) and has also not affected her socially (she was voted for student council rep in her class by all her peers) although her friends do have trouble understanding her. I feel like her mind goes so much faster than her words so she tries to keep up. When I was a kid I had a similar problem but stuttered more. I adventually grew out of it as an adult. I would like to have seen her in speech therapy at an earlier age, but her dad (whom I am divorced from) disagrees and thinks she is "just a kid". She has good health insurance, but I have never checked if it covers speech. Is this something that would benefit from therapy? Or am I just overreacting like her dad thinks? How can her dad and I as parents help her without hurting her feelings (she is very sensitive)? Any advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Hi Lesley,
Thanks so much for posting this question here. My first thought while I was reading this was - yes, absolutely take her in for at least an evaluation with a speech pathologist and consult with that person. After reading to the bottom of your email though and hearing from you that she is very sensitive, I immediately wondered if she was at all bothered by her speech. If she is aware and bothered that her friends don't always understand her than she would probably be open and receptive to seeing a therapist to have it checked out. And I would make very light of it because you don't want her to feel ashamed.
If she is not aware and not bothered at all by her speech, than you approach obviously needs to be a little different. I would still recommend that she be evaluated. Because this has not effected her academically or socially is a good thing, but she will not qualify for services through the schools (and this may be too much of a stigma for her anyways). You will need to find a clinic or private speech pathologist in your area. She is still young enough that therapy can make a difference. The older she gets, the more her habits will be ingrained and the harder it will be to make a change.
I hope this helps.
Tami