Pronunciation / development in 3yo

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My ds had very little speech when he went into the School nursery at 3yrs and 1 month. He had really just single words and they were not very clearly pronounced, certainly not as good as the examples you've given. Train was "bren", for example.

We got a Speech Therapist for him at around that time and she was able to work with him, although it was more "language acquisition" work than correctional speech therapy. She assessed him and pointed out that he had some nouns but no verbs, so we showed him pictures (provided by her) of teddy running, a dog running, a boy running, etc. And when he had enough words she began to correct his pronunciation. This was when he was about 3 yrs and 8 months.

I don't know if that's any help. I would mention it to your hv and certainly find out how long the waiting list is for speech therapy. You can always take his name off the list if you find out you don't need it. Or you could just have an assessment with a speech therapist and see what she says.

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I'm loathe to post as a professional but as an SLT I'd say have him referred. All SLT departments offer an open referral system so you can actually ring them up and request an assessment yourself - cut out the middle man.

Waiting times for initial will vary between areas (wrong, I know) could be as little as three weeks, might be eighteen months. In the meantime, have his hearing checked - probably a shorter waiting list, on average.

If he needs help with speech sounds, I wouldn't work with him until he's at least 4. There are reasons for this which are too long to go into here, but he probably wouldn't be ready, is the gist. There's no guarantee he will be ready at 4 either, the SLT will judge when the time is right.

The speech sounds you describe aren't too worrying, but I'd want him checked by a trained ear, if you don't feel offended by the suggestion that your ear isn't as well trained! In my experience, parents pick up some of the difficulties but not all of them. Also, it's worth noticing whether the sounds you feel concerned about are developing at other "word positions" so for example can a child say a sound if it's at the end of a word but not the beginning. If so, it's a good sign that the sound is at least developing somewhere in the child's system.

Of course the SLT will look at language as well to rule that out. Sometimes children with delayed speech also have delayed language. In most cases, they don't. Try not to worry, just have him checked!

Mogwai -- how would I find the phone number for a SLT who works in my area? Am generally not bothered about getting someone to see DD, plus I think it would be a major hassle to go see someone. We live 20 miles from the hospital where DD might get an appointment and I would have to haul at least the baby with me...

My DD doesn't have grommets history, or anything like that. But at 3.5 yo we still have trouble understanding a lot of her words, have to play guessing games to figure out what she means. It's only because she has an October birthday (so another 18 months before she starts school) that I have been able to relax.

zebrax, sorry I'm unclear what you mean, you said you are not bothered about getting someone to see your dd and that it would be a hassle.

DO you mean you want to get a private SLT assessment? If so, you should contact ASLTIIP (they have a website) for a directory of private SLTS. Our department always keeps a list of local SLTs who work privately as well, it might be worth ringing them. Your HV should have a phone number for the local SLT. A private assessment costs about 80 pounds, I think.

Your child might be offered an appointment on the NHS more locally than you think, it depends what sort of area you live in (very rural?). Most departments have community clinics or outreach home visits. I'm not sure you would be expected to travel 20 miles, I could be wrong, but it wouldn't seem like an accessible service, so I would think there would be something closer.

Of course, some areas have recruitment and retetion problems, I can't say how well staffed your local area would be.

Some children have unclear speech until 3 years. It tends to even out a bit in the year prior to the fourth birthday, so if you really do have to guess what she means (and translate for other people) I'd say you might think about getting her on the waiting list for assessment. She might improve a lot between now and then, but at least you are on the list.

Ho hum, said I wouldn't post as a professional anymore....that didn't last long!

Thanks, Mogwai, sorry to pester you. I am not sure what I mean, either! Should have composed better.... am coming to conclusion that DD probably has mild verbal dyspraxia, or some sort of condition which I think I suffer from, too (obviously, lol).... I will think about getting a private SLT appointment ... yes, we do have to translate much of what she says (but then, we don't have to translate much of it, too).

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