Teen dd has become unintelligible!

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Early teen dd. No speech therapy issues when she was younger, but in the last year she has noticeably become a really lazy speaker - so much so that she says sentences now and I think I know what she is saying, but I need to get her to repeat herself.

It is like she can't be bothered saying words anymore and is going for a lazy good enough approach to being understood!

Should I be intervening other that making her repeat herself and pulling her up when she is particularly unintelligible? Is this a teen thing she will grow out of?

Is she doing it in school or with strangers? If she's all right with everyone else its probably not a medical/ability thing, in which case I wouldn't worry and I'd only pull her up if you couldn't understand her (not the hill to die on). If its happening else where I'd probe a bit more and work out if its behaviour or a medical issues which needs intervention.

I'd be concerned it's a medical issue.

Is she channelling Billie Eilish?

Not being funny, this can be a thing.

It's all the time. I genuinely think it is just a not being bothered enough to speak properly thing - she can speak clearly when we pull her up about it but its like she just cant be arsed anyone. She not that celeb driven so I don't think she is copying anyone.

Can you give an example?

What have her school said?

My DD13 is the same. I'm always asking her to repeat herself. I took her for a hearing test and she does have some minor hearing issues. Audiology are not sure it's connected though.

Has anyone else noticed this?

Only us - shes probably not changed her speech much - it is just lazy enunciation really. We want her to speak clearly as it is making her sound lazy imo. In the 80s there were Saturday speach and drama classes - thinking something like that if they still exist or an online you tube thing would help her. She can't hear herself doing it.

You know the way that toddlers develop speech?
Its called speech aquisition. I think teenagers go through speech de aquisition . If she can speak properly when asked to do so its not a speech defect.

Are you sure she doesn't have the accent for her area? Is yours a different region? My parents always used to comment on my speech when it was theirs that was out of the norm for our area.

I was like this as a teenager but I grew out of it so there is hope! In my case it started at school because I was incredibly shy and just didn’t have the confidence to speak loudly/clearly. Then it became habit so I was doing it at home too.

Now I constantly get told I talk too loudly because it’s the only way I can be heard over the noise my kids make! It’s become habit again so I do it without realising even when the kids aren’t around.

My teens have a habit of doing this. I can't distinguish between 'yes' or 'no' a lot of the time . I have to ask them to speak clearly several times a day. They do it when they talk to each other and can have a full conversation and understand each other! I'm hoping it's a phase.

Sounds like normal teenage behaviour. They grow out of it.

I just get them to repeat with a "sorry I didn't catch that"

I'm hoping it is phase too. I'm just going to keep making her correct herself!

Leave her be. If it’s not causing any issues at school it’s fine and just part of being a teenager. If you hassle her about it she’ll do it more!

She is possibly still developing her ability to blend. Mine talk completely differently with friends than around us.

I couldn’t understand my son for several years due to teenage mumble! He’s 19 now and speaks very clearly so it’s just a phase.

I can't distinguish between 'yes' or 'no' a lot of the time

My husband does this and he's 67! Drives me mad.

When did she last have her hearing checked?

Yer my 15 year old DD does this.

I cannot tell whether the noises are grunts, words, or sighs. Its just mumbled noise. That is when she even bothers to answer me at all.

I thought I was going deaf for a long time, but no, its her. She doesn't want me to talk to her. Ever.

My nieces did this as teenagers, incomprehensible mumbling. As an aunt I could just shout "I don't speak teenager" and they could suddenly enunciate again.

DD is only 12 so it hasn't started yet, not sure how I will deal with it if/when she does.

Yup. I would be signing up for drama!

Young teens with ADD or ADHD sometimes do this. Are there any other pointers in that direction OP?

My 8 year old is like this since Friday and the teen is often threatened with elocution lessons

My teen dd does this! I'm so relieved to hear it's a "thing". She has two speaking modes in fact. One where she enunciates clearly, and another inomprehensible mode when she swallows her words and mumbles, which is usually accompanied by eye rolling and shrugging of shoulders and a look of disdain . It's as if drumming up the energy to speak to an adult properly is altogether too much effort.