could poor speech be linked with eating too fast in 5year old?

[barbiehouse]

MY dd has been having weekly SALT sessions for 18months, but is still struggling with lots of sounds, eg s j k sh ch sw sl sp st,to name a few. Up to now there has been improvement whilst doing a new sound, but it's then slipped back when we move onto a new sound. We're now covering sounds which she seems unable to make at all, although she can distinguish them when listening to them. My dh and I hve also noticed taht when drinking from a cup, she sticks her tongue out underneath, and she also eats very fast, cramming her mouth full of food, although we're trying to get her to break this habit. Does anyone know if this could be linked, or if there is any other advice generally. Her SALT is lovely, and very helpful but we do seem to be approaching a brick wall. Although she is a bright, happy child, dd will be starting school after the summer, and i am starting to worry how she will get on socially, although she seems ok at nursery.

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Barbie, just wanted to reassure you on the social side of things. I think your DD has all chances to do well at school. At this age, it really isn't all that important how well & clear they speak. They'll make friends anyhow if they are sociable otherwise. This is my over-generalization from seeing my DS develop on starting school (deaf, speech not great when he started school).

I don't know if the fact she eats quickly is something to do with the way she just eats or if it's a motor development problem. My son's SALT paid a lot of attention to the fact he was dribbling a lot. It really didn't bother us but it bothered her and she gave him extra "exercises" for that. So your SALT could have a look at this or perhaps recommend someone else. They are usually trained in everything to do with the mouth, not just speech production. Good luck. I hope she'll catch up and have you less worried.

DS1 did SALT from 3.5 until 5 yrs. He had the lot - hardly spoke, made noises instead etc., stammered.

He always looked as if he had trouble swallowing food and used to wretch sometimes. We were convinced the two were related. He was also tongue tied and when that was cut he improved.

I think eating and speaking are definitely related.

thanks for your replies. i think i'll definitely bring it up the eating/drinking thing again with the SALT, but reassuring to think that hopefully she'll be ok at school. On the positive side, it is a small school, and her teacher is aware of the speech problem so will be looking out for her, but i am finding myself getting stressed about it as i'd hate for her to become self conscious about it

Hi barbiehouse, you could ask the staff at school to keep an eye on her. I'm sure, if your dd is fine a nursery, she'll be ok at school. Are any of her friends going too?

Did your dd use a bottle for a long time? This could explain her tongue being outside her cup, as when drinking from a (baby) bottle they have to use their tongues differently from when they drink using a cup. I think many children with speech sound problems can also be 'messy eaters'. The slt might be able to suggest some strategies to help if you think it is a problem.

Re: your dd's therapy. Children often 'plateau' for a while during therapy and seem to make slower progress, then pick up again. Don't lose heart

it may be that your dd fills her mouth when eating because she likes it(behavioural) or it may be that she can control larger amounts of food in her mouth better than smaller amounts? ...or even a mixture of the two (she likes it because it is better)

im sure your salt would be interested in what you have observed about your dd's eating and drinking...

although the relationship between mouth/tongue movemnts for eating and mouth/tongue movements for speaking isnt straightforwrd,she may recommend soem exercises .

if your dd is getting alot of therapy for her speech and her eating doesnt really present her with any difficulties, id suggest you try not to 'fix' her eating habits too much...as too much therapy might get your bright happy dd down.

desperate housewife - yes, most the children in her class have been friends of hers for a while,but at her induction day she did feel left out at playtime, possibly because a lot of the others had older siblings in the school. She stopped having a bottle at 2y, because i thought she was drinking too much milk because she liked the bottle as opposed to being thirsty. its good to hear that it could just be a plateau - i just hope she rises from it soon!

BEANSONTOAST - certainly the way she eats reminds me of a friend who just used to scoop food as fast as possible from his plate to his mouth - not too pleasant to watch! i haven't been trying to stop it until recently, but i think i will go easy on her, as i can imagine her starting to feel continually nagged.

That sounds great if she is going to starting school with children she already knows. You'll be able to nurture those friendships too by having them back for tea.

Well done for stopping the bottle (lots of people keep using them!)

I think the only reason for addressing her eating is if she is at risk of choking because she has too much in her mouth. Otherwise, what beansontoast says makes sense. I certainly worked with lots of people who needed large mouthfuls to be able to swallow. It could also be that she doesn't get feedback that her mouth is full until it is REALLY full.

ok, thats one less thing i'll worry about then! (the eating i mean) We do see a lot of her future classmates on a one to one already, but i feel she gets sidelined when they are then in a group, (although admittedly this could be me just being overanxious, and looking for problems where there aren't any) . Many thanks for the replies = it does help put things back into perspective, and looking at previous threads, i suppose i should just count myself lucky that she's getting the level of support that she is.

Probably not worth worrying about until she settles into school. Your idea of being sidelined might be her idea of being in the thick of it.

But part of our job description as mothers is to worry and be anxious about our children. That, and the guilt!!