My almost-4yo dd can't say the /r/ sound. Should I worry?

[Suzanne in ABQ]

I can't remember when my older kids were able to say all their sounds. Is it normal for the /r/ sound to be late?

 

Those who have done speech therapy, are their exercises or techniques specific to the /r/ sound that I could do with my dd?

[OnTheBrink]

I can't remember when my older kids were able to say all their sounds. Is it normal for the /r/ sound to be late?

 

Those who have done speech therapy, are their exercises or techniques specific to the /r/ sound that I could do with my dd?

 

I had this same issue with my dd. She couldn't really say her 'r's until about five. I was worried about it, too. Eventually, she could say them just fine.

 

My son had no linguistic issues at all, so her R problem was new for me.

[Heather in Neverland]

I can't remember when my older kids were able to say all their sounds. Is it normal for the /r/ sound to be late?

 

Those who have done speech therapy, are their exercises or techniques specific to the /r/ sound that I could do with my dd?

 

I had my just-turned-5 yo son evaluated by a speech therapist for the same reason. She said that it is one of the last sounds to develop and it is normal for it to take until they are 7 or 8yo. After that, you may want to have it checked out.

[laylamcb]

I've got a 4.5 yo boy with the same problem. I had anxieties about it only because his sister never had any speech hangups. But everyone I've talked to about the /r/ has rolled their eyes at me and said the same thing that Heather did. :001_smile:

[NorthwestMom]

Heather is correct. It is too early to worry about it yet. : )

[Tree House Academy]

My ds, who had a year of speech therapy for an earlier delay, did not say the R sound correctly until he was about 4.5. The ST told me that was well within the normal range. I would just work on it closely. My little guy just started saying the L sound properly this year and that was after much working and repeating and modeling. Some kids just take a bit more time. Heck, my 9 year old will occasionally say the f sound for th. THAT drives me bonkers...but for him, it is out of habit now.

[joannqn]

The r sounds doesn't typically develop fully until age 7 or 8. When my son graduated from three years of speech therapy last year, the therapist told me that if he didn't say his r's after he turned 8 to bring him back.

 

Here's a list of the speech articulation norms...what age each sound is normally acquired by. You'll see that most of them aren't considered delayed until age 5 or later.

 

http://www.wayland.k12.ma.us/speech/dev_artic_norms.html

[Suzanne in ABQ]

Wow! Thanks everyone. I guess I'll put that worry on the shelf. Life has enough problems with me creating more where they don't exist! :)

 

Thanks again.

[Suzanne in ABQ]

The r sounds doesn't typically develop fully until age 7 or 8. When my son graduated from three years of speech therapy last year, the therapist told me that if he didn't say his r's after he turned 8 to bring him back.

 

Here's a list of the speech articulation norms...what age each sound is normally acquired by. You'll see that most of them aren't considered delayed until age 5 or later.

 

http://www.wayland.k12.ma.us/speech/dev_artic_norms.html

 

Thanks for the chart! I guess she actually speaks very well for her age. /r/ is the only sound she can't say (which is why I noticed it). I'm sure she'll be fine, but I'll be back in four years if she hasn't learned it yet. :)

[abbeyej]

AAAAAAaaaaaaaah! She's not four! She can't be four! She's an infant! I know she is! Noooooooooo!

 

lol... ;) I guess that's what I get for not visiting, huh? .... I can't believe she's almost 4!

[Suzanne in ABQ]

I've lost track of T and F, too. How old are they now? (covering my eyes 'cause I'm not sure I want to know)

 

We really should get together sometime. If only it weren't for all those states between us these days.