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Original poster

Dribbling - when does the *average* child stop?

37 replies

marthamoo · 16/04/2004 16:19

Ds2 is 28 months and is still incredibly dribbly. He has all his teeth now, though the back molars are not completely through, but it shows no signs of abating. His clothes get sodden in no time - I have to change his top layer and vest at least twice a day, often three times. He won't wear a cloth bib, btw, he just pulls it off. Ds1 was fairly dribbly too but not in the same league, and I can't remember when he stopped but I'm sure it was before this age.

It doesn't bother me that much, apart from all the washing, but while we were in Wales last week (and spending time with my nephew who is just a little older than ds2 and not dribbly at all) dh decided in his wisdom that ds2 is dribbling through habit and started nagging at him to stop. Needless to say, we "had words." as I don't think it is something that ds2 can control.

Any ideas?

Btw, apologies to anyone who has a late dribbler due to SN, and thinks this is utterly trivial - I tried to word my thread title carefully.

OP posts:
Jimjams · 16/04/2004 16:40

It does seem quite late, although I have come across a couple of 2+'s who are dribblers. I doubt very much he can control it though so you were right to have a go at your dh. How clear is his speech? Anything like tongue tie?

Original poster
marthamoo · 16/04/2004 17:10

I think his tongue is OK, I had a friend whose son was tongue-tied and he couldn't stick his tongue out, ds2 can. His speech isn't brilliant - his consonants are pretty interchangeable, but most people seem to be able to understand what he is saying. Do you think it's worth mentioning to my GP?

OP posts:
JJ · 16/04/2004 17:38

MM, my son (2 1/2) is a dribbler. He has some very slight weakness in the muscle tone in his lower lip (that's from his speech assessment). It's hurting his sound production a little. My SIL (she has had the 3 of hers go through speech therapy) suggested that I make him use a straw all of the time. It'll help tone up the muscles and is easy to do. For a "workout" make milkshakes or smoothies! She says it takes a while, but is easy enough to do and really makes a difference. She also said that there are some special (ie expensive) straws out there, but they're not worth the money. The disposable straws that come in big bags work perfectly.

HTH.. Really, I really hope that helps, for my sake, as well as yours!

JJ · 16/04/2004 17:40

oops, forgot to add that you're completely in the right wrt your dh. It's not something your son can control.

Jimjams · 16/04/2004 17:44

marthamoo- can be a sign of oral dyspraxia (as opposed to verbal dyspraxia). What's he like at eating? It's fairly easy to help- you just need to be shown exercises. Things like putting lipstick on him and getting him to kiss a mirror, blowing bubbles, and ping pong balls through straws etc. You could mention it to your HV they may be able to get you a sheet of exercises from speech therapy.

Original poster
marthamoo · 16/04/2004 18:00

Thanks for that jimjams and JJ, I shall have a google at oral dyspraxia when the kids are in bed.

He's a messy eater, is that what you mean, jimjams? But not unusually so, at least I don't think so.

I think I will see the HV. Thanks again JJ and jj

OP posts:
bluebear · 16/04/2004 22:43

Hi Marthamoo,
My ds is now 33 months and still dribbling like a waterfall.
Once he was over 2 year 3 months the HV decided that he was no longer just a 'normal dribbly child' and referred him to the speech and language team with ?oral dyspraxia.
We also took him to the GP and asked for a referral from them.
It's taken a few months but we've discovered that he has enlarged adenoids and tonsils which mean that he can't breathe through his nose properly..so he breathes through his mouth and leaves it open..hence the dribble.
He has problems pronouncing constanants too..this is because his adenoid blocks the tube to his ears so he has chronic glue ear which muffles sound..he hears muffled speech so he speaks the way he thinks other people sound.
Look out for eating with his mouth open, snoring, signs of deafness (we didn't think ds had a hearing problem until we saw the test results!), look in his mouth and see if tonsils look big (ds has huge tonsils which supposedly go with big adenoid).

Worth trying to get an ENT referral as well as a speech and language referral - our GP was worried about rare neurological causes but is sticking with ENT problems for now.

Oh, and the speech therapist did recommend asking him to 'drink the water in his mouth' as a way of getting him to swallow the dribble - according to the handout they gave me there really are some children who do it out of habit!

Original poster
marthamoo · 17/04/2004 09:15

Thanks...I think

I suppose I was sort of hoping I would post this and get loads of replies saying not to worry, this is normal, my child dribbled and suddenly stopped at 2.5. I hadn't really considered the possibility of an underlying cause.

I will ring GP on Monday and find out when I can take him to see the HV (bad Mum that I am I don't even know what day the clinic is).

Thanks bb, JJ and jj for replies - I will keep you posted.

OP posts:
Jimjams · 17/04/2004 09:15

Yeas- I meant can he chew food etc ok? Bluebear's post is more useful than mine though!

Jimjams · 17/04/2004 09:17

I'm flowing you around the boards today. ROFL about the clinic- I have no idea when mine is either! DS2 hasn't been since he was about 5 months.

Original poster
marthamoo · 17/04/2004 09:31

Are you stalking me jimjams ?

I am observing him to the point of obsession now Trying to decide if he is an unusually messy eater is hard - ds1 is 7 and still needs his face washed after a meal.
I have just had a look at his tonsils but I don't really know what constitutes large.
He does snore, though not all the time.

Oh I'm going to stop fretting about it and take him to see the HV. Not telling dh though - he will think I am overreacting (especially if I tell him I asked my cronies on MN!)

OP posts:
bluebear · 17/04/2004 21:23

Don't expect anything to happen too soon Marthamoo!

We went from being told that we shouldn't worry about the dribble (age 2), to being told it was abnormal 3 months later...I felt like the worst type of 'bad mother' for having taken notice of all the 'ignore it it's normal' brigade.

It took 3 months for a speech and language/audiology appointment to come through..5 months for a peadiatrics appointment (who simply referred him to ENT) and we don't have an NHS ENT appointment until next month (I was getting very upset so in the end we have taken him to a private ENT consultant)... it is estimated that he will have to wait 11 months after he's seen ENT to have the op. he needs.

Just warning you... you might be on a long path..and the soggy T shirts are still going to be around a while longer.

On a more practical note have you tried these cowboy bibs

that's my first ever link - hope it works.

They are the only bibs my boy will keep on (and quite discrete..not too bib-like)

tigermoth · 18/04/2004 15:06

FYI, marthamoo, my oldest son was a dribbler and still dribbled occasionally when he was 4 years old. By that time the dribbles occurred when he was concentrating - building lego for instance - or suddently excited - opening presents, presented with an ice cream etc.

He talked quite early and always had clear, definite speech. He was an averagely messy eater with average dexterity. When he went to school he could write and hold a pencil with no probs. He did have an awful habit of knocking cups over

JJ · 18/04/2004 15:16

Bluebear, my eldest had his adenoids and tonsils removed due to obstructing his breathing. I've heard (just hearsay, but..) that it could be hereditary? I'm getting my youngest (the dribbler) an ENT appt at the beginning of May. Are you in London? We've got a great guy there. Quite honestly, I hope his problems are due to ENT type issues.

MM, I hope it gets sorted. If nothing else, it's a @#(* pain. Honestly, most likely he'll grow out of it or it's easily sorted.

bluebear · 18/04/2004 19:44

JJ - yes probably is inherited from his father.
Dh didn't talk until he was three and still has a 'dodgy nose', and his speech is very difficult to understand. He also snores and I think maybe have apnea (is still tired after 10 hours sleep) so he is thinking of going to GP to see if there's anything they can check out, even at his ripe old age

bluebear · 18/04/2004 19:45

Oh, and yes we are in London W5.

Jimjams · 18/04/2004 19:55

I'm going to a oral/verbal dyspraxia conference on Tuesday- will report back with anything of interst......

elliott · 18/04/2004 19:58

oh dear, I was just going to post a 'don't worry, mine does that too' response and now I'm all worried! My ds1 is 28 months and still pretty dribbly - though I don't generally change his top (got bored of that) sometimes nursery do! Some times he is more dribbly than others but I can't say what makes it worse or better (though just the last few days we had noticed it was much better). fwiw his speech is very clear and he is very good at eating and chewing. It really hadn't occurred to me to be worried as opposed to irritated by it! Most of the mums of dribblers I've discussed it with said it stops around the age of three, so I was resigned to a few more months yet. Maybe I'll take up some of these suggestions for improvement, or maybe I'll just live with it.

aloha · 18/04/2004 22:14

My son still dribbles - but not as much as yours I do think his back molars are coming through though as he quite often says his teeth hurt him. He is a really good talker with old fashioned enunciation (well, I think so) and he also mouths things ALL the time, which I do think is unusual in a child of his age. But then I think he may have some kind of dyspraxia anyway. But he's terribly charming and sweet and gentle so I think that may well not be the end of the world.

Demented · 18/04/2004 22:32

Marthamoo, my DS1 dribbled until well after three, he did have a speech delay and suspected glue ear but nothing was found (because of course they have the trouble in the winter and the ENT appointment takes until the summer to come through ). He was seen by a Paediatrician and Speech Therapists who were concerned about the dribbling but tended to think that it was due to him having constant colds. All of a sudden it cleared up but the number of colds he has had seems to have lessened and he doesn't seem to have had any further problems with his ears.

Hope you get to the bottom of it.

Original poster
marthamoo · 18/04/2004 22:45

You are all stars, do you know that?

Bluebear, I am honoured that you did your first link for me - I think I will invest in a couple of the bandana type ones. The "It's Cool to Drool" one nearly made me wet myself

Still going to see the HV, but am going to stop fretting. I have been writing down his sounds today - bear with me -

he can't say th - so there is dere, this is dis etc.

can't say a double l - so ball is bore, all is ore

can't say y: yellow is leh-oh, yes is less

can't say b: rabbit is aye-it, green is geen

can't say r: sorry is towee, his own name, harry, is hawee.

But when I went through the alphabet "can you say b etc.?" his pronounciation was quite clear. It seems to be blending the sounds to make words that causes him problems.

Sorry, will shut up now!!

OP posts:
aloha · 18/04/2004 22:52

Marthamoo, I think the speech things sound really normal and, tbh, adorable. My ds says wabbit and lisps a bit, but that's what makes him my baby.

Original poster
marthamoo · 18/04/2004 23:50

I know it, aloha

Dh has just come up and seen this thread and said "do you know, you have never worried about anything being wrong with me...I feel quite left out."

Am thinking of starting a thread,

Have this big lunk of a dh, means well, all the empathy of a house-brick.......

Seriously, thankyou for taking the time to post, I will see the HV, but if dribbling is the worst of his problems I will count myself blessed. I'm a Mum, I fret

OP posts:
Original poster
marthamoo · 19/04/2004 13:27

We are off to see the HV tomorrow...you have to make an appointment now, not just go and wait for hours with all the screaming babies waiting to be weighed

OP posts:
bluebear · 19/04/2004 16:35

His speech is similar to my ds's (eg. can do a 'b' noise but doesn't actually use it in words).

However, under the age of three the speech and lang. therapist said the minimum speech sounds required are only 5 sounds ( b, w, and p and two others) ie. they have to be reallllly bad to be thought of as having a problem.
Ds is being assessed every 3 months by the Speech therapist..he is def. not speaking half as clearly as his friends of the same age but is not clinically abnormal yet...but therapist says they prefer to have them 'on the books' before the age of three so that therapy can start at age 3 if it is still required.

Hope he's just dribbly

Hope your bibs look cool - ds calls his his 'cowboy' but I'm making a couple at the moment which are yellow with red dots - like Noddy!