Anyone had a toddler diagnosed with tongue tie

[loueytbg]

DS1 is 3 and has developmental delay and delayed speech. He can say a lot of words but his pronunciation is very poor. We've been testing which sounds he can/can't say and have realised that he can't stick his tongue out. Having looked at his tongue I think he has tongue tie and this may be responsible for some of his speech problems. Normally it gets picked up in babies so I don't know if it's unusual to be potentially undiagnosed at 3. I also don't know who is the best health professional to approach? Any ideas or experiences would be appreciated.

My ds2 had a tongue tie treated when he was a few weeks old, but I do know of a girl who had her tongue tie operated on when she was about 5, because it was affecting her speech. Is your ds seeing a speech therapist? Surely he or she would have some views on its effect on his speech and whether you should be referred to someone? Or you could approach your GP and ask for a referral? Support from a speech therapist might be helpful if you want something done about it, as there's no point having the tongue tie cut if it isn't actually the cause of any speech or eating/swallowing problems. In older children, I think they tend to do tongue ties under general anaesthetic and he might need a few tiny stitches, as the tissue forming the tie is likely to be quite tough by his age.

Yes he is. He sees a private salt weekly and has NHS group therapy (which is useless IMHO). I have been chasing his NHS therapist because I think he needs some one-on-one sessions and also because I think he may have dyspraxia. I guess I just need to chase again. It's useful to know that someone else had it picked up at 5.

We recently had a child at nursery diagnosed with this - he was 4. Our first route was to speak to mu and advise her to contact either her GP or HV as they would be more able to advise on next steps. I was a bit surprised this was not picked up earlier as always assumed it was spotted in babies, but apparently it is very common for it not to be spotted until they are a bit older. Hope all goes well for you

Ds1 had his tongue tie picked up just before he turned 3, it hadn't affected his feeding but his speech was really hard to understand. He had it snipped under a general anaesthetic, no stitches and was right as rain the next day, his speech sounds started to improve immediately, despite being told by his SALT it wouldn't make any difference. We got a referral through the GP.

We have got an appt at GP this evening. Hopefully he will refer quickly. Bigcar - its good to know your DS recovered so quickly. How long did you have to wait for the op? Just hope we don't have to fight to get referral.

It's hard to remember, ds1 is 9 now! I think we waited about 3 months for the original appointment and then a few weeks after that for the actual operation. We took a short notice cancellation so got it done quite quickly.

GP is referring to paediatrics and he said it shouldn't take more than a few weeks to get an appointment. He did say that they are very reluctant to operate though unless the tongue tie is very severe. Just managed to get hold of his NHS SALT who said the same and it probably wouldn't make much difference to his speech. I don't want to put him through an operation uneccesarily but if it will help him then I think its worth it. Feel we will have a fight on our hands....

DS1 had speech delay and was found to have tongue tie when when he was 3.5.
Consultant said he wouldn't operate at that age unless speech therapist recommended it. Speech therapist said it would make no difference to his problems.

Needed work on his R sound when he was about 9 but otherwise fine and has never had the op.

speech fine now aged 12.

Tongue tie can't have been too severe, he bf for over a year with no problems.

ds2 is tongue tied which i picked up on when he had feeding issues when he started solids, I went to the gp and was referrred to paeds who were bloody useless.

Our public health nurse found out though and got us referred to SALT and that was fantastic, the SALT referred us on to a specialist ENT clinic, although we have been told it's unlikely it'll be snipped unless it's proven that it's causing speech delays (he's 14 months atm but doesn't babble properly and has no words other than mama and rarely dada) they should be able to help in practical matters such as helping to teach him to drink from a cup (he's completely relient on me for fluid atm)

My 3.11 yo has a tongue tie. He had his snipped as a 6wo baby, but the chap who did it didn't cut it back enough. We didn't realise.

His pre-school picked up on the fact that he dribbles when he says certain sounds. He also can't lick his mouth clean, snores badly, and is a fussy eater (turns out he may struggle with hot foods and chewing).

His pre-school referred him to a SALT who said he still had some degree of tongue tie and needed an op under GA to sort it out. She wrote to our GP and he referred ds1 to ENT at the local hospital.

A couple of weeks ago we saw the ENT consultant and he won't let ds1 have the op. Apparently he doesn't meet the crieria because it isn't impeding his speech (has excellent language skills) and doesn't cause him distress, and those are their criteria. The best he could offer was a review in 12 months time.

I don't know where to go with it now. I may have it done privately.

Mine was picked up when I was 30 but it only really affects my speech if I'm nervous or trying to say something in a hurry. My daughter has the same kins of tie and it was when she was having hers done by the breastfeeding specialist that they noticed mine.

Have always been a fussy eater though I wonder if thats why!

should have said actually... my mother is tongue tied and has never had it snipped and so am i but i only realised at the same time i noticed ds2'.... I was 25

I always thought it was just general stupidity that made me stumble and stutter when speaking and be completely unable to pronounce some words my mother was unable to breastfeed me as abbay, i was literally starving to death while she tried and the doctors insisted she switch to formula as they thought she simply wasn't feeding me properly

I have to say it doesn't bother me enough to have it snipped though.

all three of us have posterior tongue tie which means the tip of the tongue is free... thus causing most doctors not to notice.

There used to be a lot of opposition to dealing with tongue ties in small babies, with the medical profession generally refusing to believe it could cause problems with breastfeeding. I don't think there are many doctors left who will argue that point any more, thank God... Having had no trouble at all breastfeeding ds1, I was left in totally agony with ds2, who couldn't use his tongue to breastfeed until his tongue tie was cut, so would clamp up and down on my nipple with his gums, instead. Given that the procedure to release his tongue tie was so swift and simple, it's hard to understand why there was so much opposition to it from people who hadn't actually done much, if any, research into the matter. I wonder whether the same will happen with regard to the belief that tongue ties rarely cause speech problems, as it seems to me that, whilst a child whose only problem with developing normal speech is his tongue tie may well find ways around it, a child who also has difficulty with co-ordination, or other speech issues, probably will find it yet another overwhelming (yet easily curable) obstacle.

Hi @TulipsInTheSunshine!

I know this is a super old thread but just wondering how you got on? Our 10mo is having some issues with solids due to ties. Did your little ones resolve with age and learning?

All the best and thanks for reading/responding If you’re still around :)