Speech Therapy for 4 year old?

Question

My daughter is 4 and will not be starting Kindergarten until Sept of '07. I have been homeschooling her a preschool curriculum to get her up to speed with other kids her age.

My main problem is that she can't pronounce her "R's".
Ex: Car = Caw, Run= Wun, River= Wival

I think its adorable, especially when she tells me an entire story with her "accent".

I have always figured that she will outgrow it, and once she begins school, they will correct it.

Recently, several people have told me that she needs therapy. I have been told that I should correct her when she says things incorrectly- but if I do that, she gets irritated and says "I did say caw (car). You dont heaw(hear) me wight (right)."

Should I correct it now, or should I wait until she starts school? She is my last baby :( so I am in no rush for her to grow up and I think its sooo cute.

Any advice?

Answer 1

You can have her evaluated by a speech therapist and see what they say. This is available free through the school district, as they start these services at age three. The earlier you correct this the easier it will be. I wouldn't wait until she starts kindergarten, I'd call now.

Answer 2

My 4 year old daughter will also be starting school in sept 07'. She doesn't have any problems. I think that your assumption is correct and that school will correct it. She knows the words, she can get them out. Just make sure when she says caw you correct her and says it's car. NOW, my son who will be 2 years old in August will be starting speech theropy next week. He has been assessed and has the vocabulary of a 12 month old, he can only say 4 words. Thats when speech theropy is needed. I don't think your daughter needs theropy since she KNOWS the words and can GET THEM OUT. Time will correct it. Of course i'm no expert! :-) Just a mom of 3. Good Luck.

Answer 3

This is a common problem for that age. My daughter is going into fifth grade and is about to finish speech therapy for this problem. When she first started I was told that before first grade don't worry about speech therapy- a lot of kids outgrow it - their mouths are still developing and maturing. Later on in first or second grade, if it is still an issue, then I would talk to a speech therapist for her. My daughter is doing great with her R's now.
I would not stress and I would not let other people's ill informed advice bother me. I often had to ask people to be more considerate of how they spoke about my daughter's speech in front of her when she was younger. Too many people want small children to be mature adults and they often get all worked up about what is normal for a child while turning a blind eye to things that really are a problem.
Sounds like you are doing a great job- keep it up and cherish her with all your heart!
God Bless you!!

Answer 4

One of the most important things at her age is to not bring the /r/ problem to her attention too much because she will begin to get self concious about her speech being different. Just model the sound for her when you speak without telling her that she is saying the sound incorrectly. You can also play games to practice the sound. For example, find pictures of words that have the /r/ sound and work with her to glue them on a poster to make a collage. She can practice her sound, as well as do a fun art project. You can hang it on the wall and when you have time you can look at the pictures again and have her name them. There are so many games you can play where she can practice her /r/ and not even know it. Look online for ideas.

Also try to get her evaluated through your school district when she school starts. She can recieve a free articulation eval., and if she qualifies, free speech services. :-)

Answer 5

Two of my four children have been in speech therapy (1 is high functioning autistic and the other viciously held on to his pacifier until he was 3). Contact you local school district about a speech evaluation. They will schedule a time for you and your daughter to meet with a speech pathologist at the school to evaluate whether your daughter has a delay in her speech development or whether this is an age appropriate speech sound. It's free and, better yet, if she qualifies for services, the therapy is free as well. Our pacifier boy only required one school year of speech therapy (twice a week for 45 minutes) to correct his "slushy" speech. My 11 yr old continues to receive speech therapy services during the school year to encourage him to communicate effectively with his peers.

Answer 6

my son is 3 he'll be 4 in sept. and hes been seeing a speech therapist for about 3 weeks and it has really helped him, he had a hard time saying his L, F, and B's, like food would be pood, or fish pish or book would be ****, so yes i would put her in as soon as possible that way her speech is fixed before school, kids can be mean. i always thought my son would out grow it to but i feel the sooner u put her in the better, in just 3 weeks theres such a difference they teach ur little one how to separate the words like for run she will prob. make the r sound and finish the word like rrr un so they catch on, well at least thats what my son's speech therapist did, and u can sit in the room with them and see how they teach her the sound and u can mi mick it at home, hope that helps :)

Answer 7

It would be in her best interest to get this checked our right away. You may think it's cute but kids at school can be cruel and could tease her about it. Also, my friend took her 4 year old to a speech therapist for the same thing and they discovered that he had a hearing problem which was the cause of his mispronunciation

Answer 8

When she starts school, tell her teacher of your concerns. She will pay attention to her speach and tell you if she feels your worries warrant therapy for your little girl.

My 5 yr old still says her words that way. She'll outgrow it. She has been assessed and therapists all say it's not a defect in her mouth. Just some kids develope language quicker than others. Like you said...no need to push her.

Answer 9

Think of it this way...do you want her to get teased? Do you want her to have every advantage in life?

Your attachment to this is hurting her. My son started speech therapy when he was hardly 3 and now he's 71/2 and still having to work very hard twice a week with a therapist. He's frustrated and embarrassed. he won't speak up in class or read out loud because he doesn't want the other kids to tease him.

Stop denying and start helping. Don't be critical but don't promote improper speech.

(P.S. To teach them to say a proper 'R' sound, have her 'growl' like a pirate when she says them...Ca'arrr')

Answer 10

before you judge me as being silly read the entire post!
My mom told me when I was born and was crying the doctor snipped a small piece of "skin" located under my tongue(behind the gum area.She was shocked and asked why,he told her when that little piece of skin is too thick that it will cause a child to be tongue tied and they won't be able to pronounce certain sounds or words.I thought it was totally ridiculous! But to my surprise when I had my daughter in for her 6 week check up,Her doctor did the exact thing my mom told had been done to me.and like my mom I was shocked and asked why.He gave me the exact explanation that my mom had been told! And as I thought about it,it made sense.if your tongue can't move or form to fully pronounce a sound or word. Car would sound like caw