Speech therapy? or how can I help?

[soph252]

Hi there, I was just wondering if anyone can help me, help my 6 year old ds. The doctor at his 3 year check said his speech was borderline and that she'd see how it goes, pre-sch and sch both said it was fine - pronunciation (sp?) not great, but nothing that wouldn't correct itself. Now it is all fine and he seems to be-able to say all of his sounds no problem except -

He still says 's' with his tongue between his teeth, so sort of lispy. He can say it properly sort of although holds his teeth firmly together to do this. How can I get him to pronounce this sound properly or will this naturally correct itself? He hasn't lost any teeth yet and has very tiny upper teeth, which I think may be adding to the problem. I was just hoping someone might be able to re-assure me it will correct itself or maybe offer me some advice on how I could help him to pronounce it properly.

He also when excited or mostly when chatting to more than one friend stutters - not on one sound, but by repeating the first word of a sentence a few times - it's almost as if he is trying to get what he wants to say out so fast that his brain can't formulate the rest of the sentence in time so he ends up saying for example 'Mummy, Mummy Mummy urrr Mummy Mummy' then even when his brain does catch up he still has to repeat the 'Mummy' or whatever the first word of the sentence is once, before he continues. Telling him to take his time and think about what he wants to say does seem to help and it isn't often he does this, but again is there anything I can do to help him?

Not sure if this is the best place to post this, but hopefully someone with some experience of this might come along and be-able to help.

Thank you!

[soph252]

oops sorry how do I get a thread moved? Should have probably put this in 'Behaviour/ Development.

[RunningAllDay]

Don't know if your post is in the wrong place, but am interested in any responses. My DD (5.75) is exactly the same and I keep wondering if the lisp will go away.

I think the 'Mummy Mummy Mummy' thing is normal. Or at least, normal in my experience of my two DDs!

[2littlecherubs]

Hi, my ds is 5 in Jan and started reception in September. He has a great vocablary (sp) but his pronunciation is not great. He says w for r, can't say sh - it comes out as s. And can stutter at the start of sentances - especially if he is over excited and wants to tell you something urgently.
We had parents evening 2 weeks ago and his teacher brought it up and said we should sort it asap. Her concern was more that when he starts to write it could effect his spelling (it depends how he hears the sounds in his head) She pointed out she is not a speech specialist but thought it would be a good idea to see one.
Saw a speech therapist last week who said his speech was a bit behind but nothing to be concerned about however, she recommended we had some sessions to sort it out as at this age it can hopefully be solved quickly. Our sessions are starting in the morning. I assume we will just be given lots of little exercises to do at home but will wait and see tomorrow

[missmapp]

DS1 is 6.5 and started speech therapy when he was 5 because his reception teacher noticed he couldnt make some sounds. He had most problems with l, sh, ch, and blends with l ( sl,pl etc) the speech therapist was expensive but well worth it and his reading improved along side his speech - the salt focused on hearing the sound aswell as forming the letters. His confidence speaking to people outside family and friends has also improved. We have just been told we have finished with the private salt, but he still has sessions with school. I am very glad we saw a speech therapist, it may well be worth getting an assessment done to see what the salt thinks - it can be a great help.

[ragged]

. I will add more later if I get a chance, but short answer is I suggest you see a salt privately for a one-off appointment to get a detailed list of things you can do at home. He doens't sound at all bad, but there are things you can do to help.

[soph252]

I have asked the docs when he was 3, his pre-sch & all teachers he has had so far at sch, but they have all said he doesn't need any help, although I always thought his speech wasn't as clear as it should be. It seems in part they were right as his speech generally is fine now and they all said it was age appropriate.

It is just the 's' sound. However it isn't affecting his reading or spelling at all as he knows its the 's' sound he is saying he just sticks his tongue too far out of his mouth. He can say the 's' sound properly if I ask him too and in foundation when he was practising with the snake action - 'ssss', but just doesn't when he is speaking iyswim.

I will bring it up with his new teacher at parents evening, but I am doubtful that she will say any different to all the others I have asked as his speech apart from this is great and it isn't affecting his school work. Is it expensive to see salt privately? I was really hoping I could just steal a couple of ideas of things I could do at home from someone who has experience of a similar thing on here, sorry bit cheeky, but true ;)

[soph252]

sorry I forgot to say - thank you for all of your help and suggestions :)

[missmapp]

when ds1 was trying to make the l sound, the salt used a mirror to great effect, just so he could see what he was doing, he really thought he was putting his tounge in the right palce until he saw it.

[ragged]

Self-correction comes with time. If he can hear the difference he's 90% the way there. Even just a brief phone chat with a SALT might be all you need.

I was helping my 3yo today who kept saying "shex" when he meant "jet". I pointed at my lips and showed how forward they move to make the sound. But we're used to this game, and a Salt would be really good at hearing exactly what's deficient in your child's speech and giving the right advice.