Speech f for th and nearly 10

[Notchattingnow]

Hi all, my ds is nearly 10 and still says f for th. He spoke early but then had mild glue ear but not bad enough for grommets,and had a perfect hearing test[ during a period with no cold though] just a bit deaf with colds.

He also has asthma and gets very blocked up and colds last a long time.

Now hes getting older I am getting worried its permanent ? he can say the th sound with a bit of effort but tends to revert to f by habit. He also drops his h's.
He had a stammer as a toddler and sometimes his fluency seems a bit off as well and not sure if its too late for any speech therapy now ?
Any suggestions to help with this ?
Thanks

[lollystix]

My brother went through a phase at a similar age of using f for Th and he also would write fank you. It lasted about a year or so. He's an orthopaedic surgeon now.

[Notchattingnow]

lol..
when he was little he said "hanks" for thanks now he says "fanks " bless
because he confuses them he spells the words with f too

[yesdarling]

My daughter is nearly 9 and says fanks ( thanks) and free (three). I correct her constantly. I think it's just habit and am not worried.

[Snowjive]

DS who is just 9 used to say f for th, but now he's swapped them around and says th for f: three for free and thingers for fingers! I correct him in his spelling and writing but I'm not concerned. I think these are sounds which quite a lot of children easily confuse and it will sort itself out.

[notcitrus]

Do you live in an area where most people say f for th and drop their h's?
If so then I think all you can do is remind him to pronounce them your way at home.

[kermithermit]

My 9 year old does this too. He had a slight expressive speech delay when he was younger. After years of correcting him he's JUST started to say his th sound properly. Phew. I'm sure your ds will be ok but you could get it checked just in case. They might suggest mouth/tongue exercises?

[mrsbaffled]

My husband still does this at nearly 40!....he can spell it correctly though(!) He says he can't hear the difference between f and th.

[piprabbit]

Do you live near me - everyone talks that way around here.

[Notchattingnow]

Kermit, did you have a particular cause for the expressive speech delay?