BellaOnline Forums Education Homeschooling Speech Problems

I have a 3 yob almost 4 who has a speech problem. I haven't been able to find any resources to tell me how to deal with this problem. We have not had him professionally evaluated but it's pretty obvious. I would like to find something that I could work with him at home with. Please give me any suggestions that you may have. Thank you.

Professional evaluation never hurts, but it can be pricey and not covered by insurance. In some states the local school will do it (even if you are a homeschooling family).

Note that some problems are outgrown and a child's speech functions are not considered mature until they are 8 yrs old.

I've been through this twice. My first child developed her own language when she was 2 and needed therapy. my second child couldn't correctly pronounce the R if it wasn't at the beginning of a word - but a few days before she turned 6 I noticed her starting to correct it herself, with no prompting from me or my husband. it's been a few weeks and she pronounces the R correctly 80% of the time - all on her own.

A good speech therapist will engage a child this young in play therapy. He or she should invite you to observe at first, teach you how to review at home, then eventually involve you in therapy sessions, then finally turn the reigns over to you with less frequent visits.

Take care,
Meg

What kind of speech problem does your child have? Is he incorrectly saying words or saying words incorrectly? They actually ARE different questions. Does his mouth and tongue seem to be moving normally? Please let me know and I'll see if I have any information that might help. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Sometimes things work out okay when given time, as Meg suggests. However, in my own experience, the earlier you can begin, the better for the child. Good Luck. I hope to hear soon. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Trish

S - substitution
O - omission
D - distortion
A -

Ok, there are four main types of speech disoprders. I was a speech path major in college, but it's been a LONG time and my fried brain (28 wks pregnant and I have a toddler) can't remember what A stands for..

Anyhow, like I said, these are the four major types of problems.

Now, hurricane #3 in 6 wks is set to cross over my town in about 5 hours, so if I'm not around for a while, that would be why!

Meg