Could there be a medical reason why my almost 5 year old still can hardly talk? :(

[Jenk99216]

My son turns 5 in June he's the 3rd child out of 4, and his talking is still really bad, I can't even understand some things he says.
He has been in speech therapy since January but there has been no Improvement, he hardly opens his mouth when talking, he can open it wide he just doesnt, I'm wondering if there could be a medical reason which is delaying his talking like giant tonsils for example or something wrong with his jaw? I have a dr app next week but.juat thought I'd ask here :)

@ShortyShortLegs what treatment has your ds received and do you think his speech will improve as he gets older?
My ds is nearly 6 and is a very poor speaker despite having speech therapy since he was 2. He can make most of the sounds and if you say "say CAT" (or whatever word) he can say it (with lots of effort) but then when he is talking he doesn't and you have to piece together what he's saying from clues (context/key words etc).
He is ASD and I believe he has verbal apraxia but I'm going to Google phonological speech disorder.

In lreland there are special language units attached to some schools and children go there for a year. They have intensive speech therapy everyday. They also have regular classes but the speech therapists works individually with them. After a year they return to their regular school. Do they have this system in Australia? I have seen choldren make a vast improvement..He sounds like he needs very specialised help on an ongoing basis.

Thanks everyone for the comments I will definitely look into the verbal dyspraxia. Hes booked into the gp next week too.
What does SALT stand for please?
Hes having pepperoni pizza for his tea tonight and just told me he lob fera omi fia which means he loves pepperoni pizza😍

This sounds random, but has he got tongue tie? Can he stick his tongue out or lift it to the top of his mouth?

I'm pretty sure he doesn't have tounge tie but will get dr to check

Speech and language therapy ==salt

Ah thanks I knew it was something along those lines 😂😂

If you're in Australia get the gp to do a medical plan (can't remember the name- it changed). He will get a few free therapy sessions each year.
Pay for a private pardiatrican and rule out (or in) any disability - make sure it's one that is recommended as some are reluctant to "label" children (I actually work in this area so see this sometimes and the kid misses out on support). Will cost about $360.

Depending where you live you can then register for ndis or disability services. Depending on which service you use will determine what happens next. There is an early intervention push and lots of funding ends when the child turns 6 so get in!

In qld asd will bring $12000 to use before age 6 on whichever therapy/support your dc needs.

Thanks that's really helpful, :)
I'm in WA by the way :)

I know nothing about WA. I think generally speech issues without a disability is poorly funded 😥 If you have the ndis they should fund support BUT I'm not sure if the speech alone is considered a disability.

At his age I'd suggest (after talking to your gp) contacting every agency people suggest and see what they can provide (or where they can direct you). Public speech had a long wait and then half hour per week so we went private from the start. It's very expensive so in hindsight I'd have looked into all options!
My ds has 2 sessions per week. In our case it's $180 a week. The therapist goes to his school.
There's a school in Brisbane for kids with speech issues. It's private and expensive, there may be one near you- I only accidentally found out about this one after it was too late for us.

Speaking (ha!) as someone who mumbles to an extent that can be pretty debilitating, because at my absolute worst I literally can't get a sentence out that can be understood, in my case it's def anxiety/tiredness related.

I can tell if I'm heading downhill and need a break because people start blinking incomprehendingly at me when I try to talk. I don't have any pronunciation problems, and perversely enough I'm a decent public speaker, but sometimes I physically cannot do conversation.

In my case (and who knows if this might apply to your kid - but it could be worth considering) trying to focus on fixing the voice just makes things worse because it exacerbates anxiety. Things that have worked are: sleep/rest/meditation/exercise in the fresh air. All the usual stuff that gets recommended for anxiety. You also might want to look into the Alexander Technique. Am not a woo person at all, but I went for it when my voice was particularly bad after reading that it was part of the RADA training because they thought it helped with voice work. I've never been quite as bad since.

Good luck.