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Original poster

My Ds aged 6 speaks sooooo slowly

11 replies

cantgetpast · 29/05/2022 09:23

It's painful listening to him ( bless him). I see on drop off his teacher finds it painful, I imagine other kids don't listen to him as they rush around playing. He doesn't have a best friend. I had a private speech therapist access him a few months back and she did a standard test on him and said he has appropriate language for his age, but this doesn't really help with the S l o w n e s s.

I don't know what to do. I don't think the NHS salt with help as says they have big backlogs and only dealing with eating / swallowing issues. I feel unsure what to do. Anyone experienced this?

OP posts:
TeenPlusCat · 29/05/2022 09:45

Don't rush or interrupt him. Stay patient.

Can he speak fast at all, e.g. when singing songs?

Does he struggle with anything else compared with his peers?

Original poster
cantgetpast · 29/05/2022 09:57

I would just say he struggles a bit socially. No problem joining in or playing, taking turns, but any speaking to each other is a big issue. Younger children no problem as he's more like a 3 year old for speech.
Otherwise he is doing ok with his school work. The teacher does say she sometimes has to skip him on answering in class as he takes so long 😢. He doesn't shutter or umm or uhhh it's just like slow motion considered speech.

OP posts:
TeenPlusCat · 29/05/2022 10:05

It's not great the teacher is skipping him.
Maybe suggest she pre-warns him, gives him time to think/formulate answers?

Socially it's not unexpected with slow speech (DD had issues with speech too.)

What about the singing? (ie can he be faster if he knows the words and the rhythmn?)

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Morph22010 · 29/05/2022 10:06

Teacher defiantly shouldn’t be skipping him, how is he ever going to get any better

mrswhiplington · 29/05/2022 10:22

So sad the teacher is sometimes skipping him. I remember when I was a child I had a stammer. There was one particular teacher who was always patient. I have a vivid memory of standing next to him reading and him telling me to take my time. I am 60 years old and have never forgotten that.

Hiphopfrogger · 29/05/2022 10:23

Can you practise speaking fast? Tongue twisters and so on. Make it into a game - who can say it the fastest

TeenPlusCat · 29/05/2022 10:27

It could be a processing speed or a physical issue (or both). Or just him.

Original poster
cantgetpast · 29/05/2022 22:16

Hiphopfrogger · 29/05/2022 10:23

Can you practise speaking fast? Tongue twisters and so on. Make it into a game - who can say it the fastest

@Hiphopfrogger practiced stuff and singing he is fine. I think as a p.p. suggested it could be processing issue, he can't seem to think quickly then speak, he starts talking and thinks and then does a winding sentence at half speed and gets there in the end. I did try to engage the therapist would accessed him about this, but they said it isn't really have a speech issue so they wouldn't deal with it.

OP posts:
SugarFly · 29/05/2022 22:50

Definitely ask about salt referral, or look into private if you can afford it

Does he have any issues with phonics or signs of dyslexia? Similarly any ASD signs? I wouldn't over stress yourself at this stage, just keep an eye. It will likely be something that sorts itself out.

Talk to the teacher and ask if she can get TA to rehearse answers with him occasionally and make sure at least once each morning and afternoon he gets to speak. She should not be skipping him.

HalfShrunkMoreToGo · 29/05/2022 22:54

DD used to get this, we eventually noticed that it seemed to be paired with a sudden burst of knowledge. It was like her head was so filled with information she was struggling to figure out how to put it into sentences and get it out of her mouth. Like she was thinking further ahead into the conversation than she was actually at. She's 8 now and talks the hind legs off of a donkey, so for her it improved naturally.

Morph22010 · 30/05/2022 05:15

cantgetpast · 29/05/2022 22:16

@Hiphopfrogger practiced stuff and singing he is fine. I think as a p.p. suggested it could be processing issue, he can't seem to think quickly then speak, he starts talking and thinks and then does a winding sentence at half speed and gets there in the end. I did try to engage the therapist would accessed him about this, but they said it isn't really have a speech issue so they wouldn't deal with it.

Show quote history

my Son has salt through school and he can speak perfectly fine, he has asd and salt also deal with social and language issues. Nhs salt is pretty limited though so you prob wouldn’t qualify for that and if you do it would only be a couple of sessions per term. If you can afford it then it would be worth trying a private salt and/or maybe paying for an Ed psych assessment to see if there are any underlying issues like processing speed.

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