Speech Problems

some kids develop slower than others. I think she's fine. keep working with her. when she's about 5 or 6, then i would start to be a little concerned, but not too much

My son is almost nine and he still has trouble with some sounds. The teachers aren't concerned at all so I don't think you have to worry. Just keep showing her and telling her the right way. I won't worry until later in her developement. Good luck!!!

I have had 2 children in speech therapy and I know that the l sound is one of the last to come... it is common for them to be 4 or 5 before this comes about. Since she is talking in complete sentences and the l sound is the only sound not working, you really shouldn't worry.

I am a speech language pathologist and my suggestion would be to not worry too much at this point. Developmentally she would be considered age-appropriate. The research says that by the age of 5 around 90% of children have mastered initial /l/ (like in the word ladder) and by 5 1/2 around 90% of kids have mastered final /l/ (like in the word ball).
Showing her the /l/ is not bad idea, but keep it fun. Have her try doing tongue up movements with you in mirror. You don't want her to worry about how she is saying things at this age. It sounds like you have a bright little girl who will master the sound soon. If she is getting the /r/ sound then that is a great sign, usually the /r/ is much more difficult to master. Hope that helps.

When either of our kids are talking to us, and say something incorrect, my husband or I will say the word correctly and ask them to repeat it before they finish what they are trying to tell us. I don't know a whole lot about what causes speech problems, but I do know that doing this with our kids has made them try harder to say words correctly. We have done this since they could talk, and both speak very well. I don't think you are being obsessive at all. My son is in Kindergarten, and over half of the class speaks the way you are describing. I have a theory, and I could be way off, but I think that kids who are in daycare, or around other children who speak the way you describe, hear it and repeat it daily, thus causing the incorrect speech to be the natural way for them. I think this because several of my son's friends grew up in daycare, and speak without R's or L's. Just keep working hard at getting her to say the words correctly, and remember not to talk "baby talk" to her. I think this can also cause children to speak incorrectly. Again, I could be completely wrong, but with the results I have seen in my kids, I think it's worth a try. Good luck!

Hi H.,

My daughter just turned 3 in February and she still can't say her L's either (although she replaces it with a "y" instead of a "w".... yook instead of look, yeyo instead of yellow, for example). She's never had a problem with R's but can't pronounce S's very well. So go figure. My daughter was a late talker and didn't start talking until just after two (but she took off very quickly and now she's nonstop!!) :) So I've just figured it may take her a bit longer to get certain sounds down. Her doctor wasn't concerned at her 3 year check up, so I'm just giving it time.
Good luck, I'm sure she'll be just fine!

H.,
I wouldn't wait if you feel there is an issue. Our son has been in speech therapy since he was 18 months. It's through the state and she would be evaluated to see if she would need the help. Contact your pediatrician and tell them your concern. The Douglas County organization Reed goes through is called Child Find and then through Developmental Pathways. But start with your pediatrician. Good luck, K.

you would actually need to find your local early intervention agency.(to add to last post.) these services are through the individuals with disabilities education act(IDEA) your early intervention agency handles birth to age three through part b of this act and your school system handles age 3-18? through part c of IDEA,. but contact your local school and they can probably give you the contact info of the early intervention agency for your area. it sounds like your little one may be having some issues with her expressive language(the physical act of making sounds) if she has a delay in this area you can get help through the early intervention agency or they can put you in contact with a speech therapist in your area(depending on the severity of the delay) also look through the past post, recently i responded to a mom concerned about her childs speech and i listed all the speech milestones of a 2yo(maybe lookup my profile and see if it is listed there) this may give you an idea of what you should be expecting
GL, N. i just look it up, itis under "20mo not talking enough" you can find it if you "view all" of my momasource post under my profile :)

She sounds like a normal 2 - 3 year old. Don't worry about it, her sounds will come around as she gets older.

Hi, I had courses in College that delt with helping children with speech impediments but I would not consider myself an expert by any means. I have had extensive interaction with hundreds of children in this age group (2-12). Most Children have difficulty with some letters till they are 4 or 5 some have problems clear into grades 6 and 7. I thought that my neighbors children were going to need special help because of the way they pronounced some of their fricatives, (f,v, etc.) in elementary school. She has 9 Brilliant children that all speak very clearly now. None of them had special help or classes.

I am a mom of 5 great kids that all had different rates of development and now have 2 grand babies the age of your daughter. I have been very sad as my baby girl,(now 7),has out grown the cute ways she use to say things... "kachoozi" for "jaquizi". This only happened a month ago.

I guess what I am trying to say is don't worry or stress about this. She is bright and will probably out grow it before she starts school or soon after when she is exposed to the way more people speak. Then you may miss her "baby talk". Get a tape of it so she can get a kick out of it when she is in College like my boys did.

I still think Texans, Bostonians, New Yorkers, etc., all talk with accents as they would me. Love her unique way of saying things. You are a great mom for wondering. Good luck!

If anything at this age maybe have her hearing tested to see if that might be a problem.

http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdesped/download/pdf/CF_Direct...

Hi H. - just going through this now with my 23mos old son. He seems to have some articulation problems as well but also is not speaking as much or as clearly as your daughter.

It's pretty normal for a 2.5 yo to have problems with certain letters so with a little work, she may just mature into it. If it nags at you, you could always have her speech evaluated.

I decided to go ahead and have my son tested now rather than wait. Above is a link to a Colo. Dept of Education site that lists all the Colorado offices for Child Find - they help identify kids between 18mos and 6 who may have speech or other developmental problems. You can have your daughter evaluated by a certified speech therapist at no cost to you. Look for the county where you live and then call the appropriate office to schedule an appt.

They have 2 programs - one for kids between 18mos and 2.11 years and 3-6yrs. The younger kids receive speech therapy in a home setting, the older kids are in a small group/play group setting. My niece is 4 and she attends a play group setting and has a lot of fun. A friend here in Parker just called Child Find because her 4.5 year old daughter is still having trouble with L's and R's. She wishes she had called sooner but didn't know about the program until I mentioned what was happening with my son.

I don't know if my son will qualify for benefits but at least I will know his strengths and weaknesses.

Best of luck to you!!

I have a kindergarter who is now in speech/language special ed. in cherry creek schools. She's doing great, BUT I wish I would have gotten her hooked up with a speech and OT person earlier. Earlier is alway better. Look up "Child Find" - (I don't think it's just for cherry creek, and if it is they can tell you someone else to contact) it's for preschoolers, and they can do a screening. If she needs help they will get it for her.

My daughter had a similar problem, and I thought, oh it's not that bad and didn't do it. Here confidence took a real dip when she got in school, with new kids who didn't know her and understand her. She's already bounced back, BUT - I wish I would have had help for her earlier. (The worse thing that could happen contacting child find is that they say she doesn't need it, and the best thing would be her getting through it that much easier!) Good Luck!

Hello H.,
Contact your local school district and ask them to have your child evaluated. Believe it or not, services can begin as young as infancy at the school district's expense and most school districts do provide these services. For children younger than three services are usually provided in your home and after the age of three they are provided at the school district (or your designated elementary school) and depending on the level of services your child qualifies for, sometimes free preschool is included. Two of my boys have issues with articulation and my youngest (4) has been receiving services through our school district for over two years. My other son (10) did not receive services until he started kindergarten and was in the program through third grade. Had I have known about the services earlier, I would have had him evaluated at a much younger age, I just always assumed it was for school age children. If your school district doesn't have a speech/language program, talk to you pediatrician for a referral to a speech pathologist. Good luck.

Hi H., My kids are older now, but from what I recall, all kinds of speech issues are normal until age seven, at which point remaining issues must be attended to with a professional. If your child were 5 or 6 with a big issue, I'd say discuss it with your Dr., but at age two, this is incredibly normal. Have fun with her!

It is normal for her to be leaving out letters and sluring things together. But if you are really concerned about it have her tested. I know that in my area they have Child Development Services that will test children for free and if they are lacking they will even start providing the needed services to help them. I know this from experience because I have a 2 yr old boy that we were originally told was deaf and they helped us to screen his hearing and then started getting us a speech therapist coming once a month. But thankfully we have no need of them now (that is a long story and one that I would happily tell if you are interested). Check around and see what you have available....but I don't think that it is too much to be concerned about right now. I think that without having her tested you're already doing the right thing. Something else that you could do to, it to over-emphasize the sound of that letter everytime that you say it. I still have a 12 yr old that will occasionally say "turch" instead of "church" and all we did for her was to say the word empasizing the proper pronunciation. Good luck!
J.--SAHM of 6

Hi you can have your child evaluated for free thru Child Find Act. The contact in Arapahoe Co is Developmental Pathways. Children under 3 can have services in their home by speech tx, OT, PT whatever they are found to need. Over 3 they qualify for free preeschool which is partial days at certain schools. If you have more questions feel free to call me or emai me. ###-###-#### P. dybinski I have experiece with all thru my 3 yr old son. goodluck

My 2nd son, who is now 5, had some verbal delays and it was suggested to us to check out Child Find. They did a full exam of all areas of development and found my son to have some needs in different areas. I'm so glad we went as they were able to point us in the right direction. We did our testing at Monarch a school in Louisville/Lafayette area. You can find their # thru Parenting Place in Boulder.
Good luck

Speech issues with letters like "R" and "L" are very common in the early years. Most kids outgrow it and actually speech pathologists will tell you there are certain ages it is not an issue until the child reaches that stage. However, it never hurts to have your child evaluated. Most school districts or local colleges have some sort of early intervention program which is free and a good place to start. That being said, I would not make a big deal about this with your daughter - you don't want to give her a complex! :). A good thing to do to reiterate the correct sounds is when she says the sound incorrectly, you can repeat it the correct way so she learns the right sounds. (If she says "wook at the duck" you can say "oh yes, Look at the duck") Don't make her repeat the correct sound though...she'll get it. I have five kids and some of them have at one stage or another had this problem and they did outgrow it early on.

My son was 3 when I started speech theropy. It worked awesomely for him. When it was time for kindergarden the school tested him and he no longer needed it any more. I would really go and have her tested right away and the sooner the better I say. Waiting just makes it harder on you and her. Good luck and I'm sure she will do fine. Let me know if this helped or not. Thanks, K.

Your daughter is still pretty young, so I wouldn't worry too much. It is very normal for young children to have problems with certain letters, most common "L" and "R". If it persists, you can speak with your pediatrician for advice. Another option is what we did for my son when he was younger. We contacted the school district we lived in. Most school districts, if not all, offer testing for speech therapy, occupational therapy and physical therapy. My son qualified to enroll in specialized pre-school to help him with his speech therapy. The therapy continued through elementary school (they came to the school 1-2 times a week to work with him). It was great!

I have a friend whose daughter age3 had a tied tongue. Last week she had surgery to correct, it was a snap! Anyway her speech impediment sounds very similar to yours. See if this is the problem. It may be as simple as a quick snip. If you have questions regarding this subject just pull up tongue tied on Mamasource there is alot og info. Good luck

Hi H.,
It sounds like the substitutions are age appropriate for a two year old. They make many substitutions - even up to age five. If you are concerned, however, or just want some reassurance, you can contact Child Find in Alamosa. I work there, and assess kids for cognitive issues. There are people there who assess for speech-only issues. There are also speech therapists there who could possibly answer your questions over the phone. They are all really great people. It doesn't sound like a problem - L's are tough! But if you just want a little "professional" input, Child Find is the place. They should be able to reassure you! Two year olds make a lot of substitutions :)

Hope this helps. You could try calling Maxine at ###-###-####. She coordinates Child Find appointments. You can tell her K. Peterson gave you her number because you were concerned. She may even be able to guide you to a speech therapist to talk to who could answer your questions. It's all free. Take care. K.

H.,
I have a boy who just turned 4 and he has been in speech therapy for about a year. The best resource is to check with your pedicatrician and have them refer you to a speech therapist and get a good evaluation. The therapist can then direct you if they think there might be a problem, or not. I would not wait much longer, we waited a little too long (he was three and a half with the intelligibilty of a 2 year 9 month old) but now we "fight" to break bad habits.

My daughter developed speech problems at about 4 years old. To make a long story short, it was her ears. Everything she heard sounded like it was under water. Plus she was 50% deaf in both ears because of the ear problems. We had surgery to correct the problem and she regained all of her hearing after only a couple of months!

So, you should have her ears checked. It could just be a speech problem that she will have also. But, I would make an appointment with your pediatrician just to make sure it isn't something else.

Good luck to you!
D. - working mom of 5, grandma of 5.

Hi, H.. My nephew in HIghlands Ranch has had some major speech issues (he's just 3).
Turns out Jefferson County has free testing and he now sees a therapist once a week. This with starting preschool has helped him tremendously. I think his visits with the therapist are free,too. I wonder if Douglas County has the same thing? Keep up what you're doing.

My daughter will be 4 next week, and she still says "yike" instead of "like" and has a little trouble with her R's sometimes, but she is a great talker otherwise, has always been ahead in her speech and articulation (she speaks like an adult, the way she words things)and is perfectly easy to understand. I haven't worried about it; my son has been behind in speech, and his speech teacher has talked to my daughter on many occasions, and has never mentioned anything...if you are really worried, get a professional opinion. I think the public school system helps with speech (free) after age 3.

When my youngest daughter was learning to talk she would say h for almost everything. Daddy always came out haddy her sister Jacki was hacki. The pedi would always tell me she will grow out of it. By the time she was 3 I had enough. I took her into our local school speach teacher and had her tested. She had a speach problem. Her pallet was to high for her make her sounds the same was as I do. They put her into a preschool 2 times a week were they taught her to make her sounds. Now she is 7 and you cant even tell. If you are worried about her go to your local school and ask them if they have a system where they help preschool children. I recomend you wait until 2 1/2 or 3 years old. This is the time that they are still learning how to work the sounds in their mouths. I know that everyone always told me it was normal but it dosnt hurt to find out for sure.

A Little about Me:
Mother of 2 girls, 9yrs and 7yrs. I work full time outside of the home plus run my own business out of the home, and have a very loving, understanding husband

B. M.

she's fine! as she keeps hearing you and others speak, she will incorporate those sounds into her speech. some letters or combos are difficult to pick up. if she can't say them when she's 5 or 5, then i'd get some help for her. no worries mama!

If there IS a table for speech development, it shouldn't be looked at as a standard or as solid milestones for accomplishing certain sounds or whatever. All kids develop at different times and stages and ages. With that said, let me share my experience: My daughter is 3 (4 in June) and at the same age as your daughter, she was having the exact same problems with her speech. EXACTLY. Same letters, same sounds, same development (talking sentences, singing, advanced in pretty much everything). I had the EXACT same concerns when I was at your point and did the EXACT same things you are doing (asking others, considering intervention...). The advice I got was the same as you: "It's normal at that age. Just give it time..." Okay. Now that my daughter is one year older, just like everyone told me, she is correcting herself. A little while ago, I heard her "practicing" her r's and l's and repeating words that she noticed sounded different when she said them than when I said them. When she was your daughter's age, I tried showing her the placement of the tongue and having her listen to how I said it and try to repeat it. She had NO interest in that whatsoever. She would repeat the word, but it still sounded the same and she would want to go play instead of try more. Now, she still has a few things that sound funny (like using 'f' for 'th' etc.) but she notices when her words sound different con her own and when I notice her noticing, I will try to teach her the right way to say things. It completely works now. It didn't then. Now when she says something with the wrong sounds, it's usually because it's a habit, and can easily be corrected if I tell her the right way to say it.

All of that said: If you're really worried about it, ask her regular pediatrician if there's anything further that should be done. He'll probably tell you the same as me, and as the advice you referenced in your original question, unless there really is something to be concerned about. Hope this helps put your mind at ease. It doesn't sound to me like there's really anything wrong, but it can't hurt to ask, right? Good luck.

If she can click her tongue she shouldn't have a problem. She thinks she's repeating the "l" sound in words that she hears, and she's too busy learning other things right now to let it sink in. Sing songs with "along" and "all" and "ball" and "balloon" and "rollypolly" and other fun words like that. She'll begin to pick up on the nuances.

My daughter didn't know the "y" at the beginning of words until she learned the letter "y" and that it was different from "u" and "l", depending on the word. No matter how hard we tried, we couldn't get her to say Yellow; she thought it began with L. When she saw the word written, she saw it began with Y and hasn't had a problem with any of her words since, now that we can tell her what they start with.

I am not sure at her age if that is something to worry about or not, but it might not hurt to talk to your pediatrician to see if she qualifies for a speech assessment thru Child Find/Development Pathways which is a free service thru the county. My son is 21 mos. and just started speech therapy with them. He is not saying very many words yet and we aren't sure why so I am hoping this will help. Good luck to you and if you need any more information feel free to email me. A.

H. I am a pre-k teacher and a lot of my 4&5 year olds still have a problem with there speech. My co-teacher had told me that once they lose there front teeth they figure out were to put there tongue. I have a 2 year old she will be 3 in May and she still has some problems with diferent letters. So don't worry she will get it. It will just come when she is ready. Hope this helps.
R.

Hi H.! The good news is that at two years old this is completely normal. Usually sometime after they turn two, you can start understanding a few words they say and every month you can understand more. They will have their own Accent, I call it for years. We thought our daughter was mysteriously from Boston until she was about 5 or 6 and looking back at videos you can barely tell sometimes even at 8. As long as she is progressively learning new words. The great news is that kids who try and talk learn the words quicker, so talking is a great thing. Repeat the word back to her correctly but don't worry about getting her to say it back correctly, she just needs to hear it and she will figure it out. Most Dr.s will not even test for speech problems until the child is 4. that is because they all learn at different rates and usually before 4 they are taking pretty well with only a few letters being difficult. Sounds like your little one is doing GREAT
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