Is 3 too young for speech therapy?

[RainbowSprinkles]

I'm wondering because my older two never had these issues. My 3 year old does several things:

 

1. makes *B* sound when words start with *F*

 

2. makes hard *G* sound when words start with *J*

 

3. makes *F* sound when words start with *P*

 

4. He also adds a *B* to my daughter's name that starts with an *I*, but I have not noticed this any other time.

 

Based on this, would you want to get your 3 year old evaluated or would you wait in case he outgrows it?

Edited March 13, 2012 by RainbowSprinkles
fixed mistake

[k2bdeutmeyer]

I had my not even 2yr old evaluated and was glad I did. He is now (a year later) within the normal range :)

 

I say it doesn't hurt to get him evaluated. You can always opt to not do therapy.

[Scarymelon]

Not at all; even if problems may self correct, it can be a good idea.

[wapiti]

Your question is really whether those sound substitutions are appropriate for that age, which I personally do not know the answer to.

 

Kids commonly start speech therapy much younger (say, 18 months or even earlier) but it all depends on whether the speech development is within normal limits for the exact age. For a 3 y.o., the school district would do a free evaluation.

[MamaT]

My youngest had speech therapy at 3. It helped her tremendously.

[indigomama]

I was told to wait till five, as most kids self correct. My 3 yo can be hard to understand. We rephrase things for him, have him repeat it and make sure we read a lot to him. He is getting better.

 

I could not say R for the life of me as a kid. I was evaluated in kindergarten, but didn't start speech until 1st grade. I was in for three years. But I still slip, every once and a while. I hate the word "roar". :glare:

[Mom23Boys]

No, you almost can't start too early. All 3 of my boys needed speech therapy - my oldest started at 3 and my youngest at 18 months. I regret waiting so long for my oldest. They were the more severe cases, my middle child was not as bad, but still needed speech therapy. For example, at 18 months, my youngest had *no* sounds - no babbling, no mama, nothing. I knew from experience he wouldn't magically start talking, so I started him then.

 

Our therapist has always been upfront about what my kids problems were and whether or not we needed to worry about the problems. She actually discharged all of my kids when they still had issues, but they were issues typical for their development. She just re-accessed 6 months out and then again once they should have had them passed. My two oldest never needed to go back to therapy. My youngest may end up back in therapy this summer.

[LadyMSews]

My oldest ds had substitutions like that when he was 3 and 4 and we waited, thinking it would resolve itself. Big mistake. It only got worse, he was harder and harder to understand, especially for people outside the family, and it came to the point where he didn't want to talk hardly at all.

 

We spent two years in speech therapy and it made a huge difference. I would not hesitate to get an evaluation as soon as a problem is noticed. BTW, we went through the school district, they were very welcoming and helpful and the whole thing was free.

[momofkhm]

I had my not even 2yr old evaluated and was glad I did. He is now (a year later) within the normal range :)

 

I say it doesn't hurt to get him evaluated. You can always opt to not do therapy.

 

:iagree:

 

When my youngest was around 2, he was evaluated and found to be 6-12 months behind in receptive speech (what he understands) and 12-18 months behind in expressive speech (what he could say). He starts therapy and within 9 months, he was up to age level. Now at 11 1/2, you would never know he ever had problems.

[BatmansWife]

I think I'd wait a bit. I don't think this is all that uncommon. My youngest stuttered terribly around age 3. Just when I thought about getting her checked out....it stopped. My ds was a funny guy. He didn't speak until he was 3. Until then, he hummed everything (and you could tell what he was asking.....or, I should say, humming). When he did begin to talk he had troubles with certain letter sounds. One really bad one was tr. He would say "f" for tr. Ask me how fun it was to be in a car with a bunch of people when ds, strapped in his car seat, sees a firetruck and goes wild yelling, "Fire truck, fire truck!!!!!" (but without the tr). :blush: All this to say, it may just pass and be nothing to worry about. Afterall, he is only 3.

[Tohru]

My family are late talkers and it doesn't bother me a bit. Ds didn't articulate well until he was about 6, and he speaks very eloquently now.

 

If you have serious concerns, then look into it, however my assumption is that most therapists will say yes your child needs therapy because of the financial factor involved so perhaps asking your pediatrician would be better.

 

ETA: Perhaps look into getting hearing tested first.

Edited March 13, 2012 by jadedone80

[tabrizia]

I'd get assessed. We waited with my almost 5 year old till he was 3 1/2 and I really regret it. We weren't around a lot of kids until he was 3 1/2 and he kept progressing when we got worried, but not at a normal rate still. At 3 1/2 when his 18 month old sister was easier to understand then he was we decided it was time to get him assessed.

 

He is still in speech therapy but it has helped him a lot. I am glad we finally did it, that being said I wish we had got an evaluation when I first started worrying about it instead of waiting. He would have had an additional year and a half of services if I had been proactive and might have corrected more of his articulation issues by now.

[joannqn]

Here is a link to a chart that shows when children generally master specific sounds.

 

I'm wondering because my older two never had these issues. My 3 year old does several things:

 

1. makes *B* sound when words start with *F* F is mastered around 2-3 years of age

 

2. makes soft *G* sound when words start with *J* J is mastered around the age of 5

 

3. makes *F* sound when words start with *P* P is mastered between ages 1 and 3

 

4. He also adds a *B* to my daughter's name that starts with an *I*, but I have not noticed this any other time.

 

Based on this, would you want to get your 3 year old evaluated or would you wait in case he outgrows it?

 

Based on that, I think it might start to be concerned. If you are, go ahead and get an evaluation. If speech therapy is needed, they'll let you know.

[MistyMountain]

.

Edited October 11, 2015 by MistyMountain

[nukeswife]

I think I'd have him evaluated just to ease your mind. I'm confused on the "Soft G said for J", the soft g sound is the sound of j. I'm guessing you mean something different though, like maybe he says the hard g sound but just not as loud.

[RainbowSprinkles]

I think I'd have him evaluated just to ease your mind. I'm confused on the "Soft G said for J", the soft g sound is the sound of j. I'm guessing you mean something different though, like maybe he says the hard g sound but just not as loud.

 

 

Yes, I meant the hard sound. I fixed it. :)

 

I made him an appt for a regular check up since he is overdue anyway and will bring it up. Hopefully I will get a referral for an evaluation.

[K&Rs Mom]

I made him an appt for a regular check up since he is overdue anyway and will bring it up. Hopefully I will get a referral for an evaluation.

 

This is what we did for my younger. Calling the school district on my own didn't get us anywhere, but a referral from her dr got a call back the next week. :tongue_smilie: She started therapy at 3.5, and was done in a little over a year - still some sounds to work on, but they were the later ones, so she caught up to what she should have for her age and the therapist gave me some ideas to work on the rest on our own. It was perfect because she was below the mandatory school age, so I didn't have to try to work out therapy & homeschooling (I know our therapist was mistaken about the law, and never had to try to convince her because we were done by then).

[kwg]

I had my child evaluated for speech services for free with the school district through the preschool assessment center. He ended up not qualifying- but I am glad we did it. He thought it was fun for the most part.

[nukeswife]

Yes, I meant the hard sound. I fixed it. :) Though it must be something like that :)

 

I made him an appt for a regular check up since he is overdue anyway and will bring it up. Hopefully I will get a referral for an evaluation.

 

Sounds like a good idea. My dd got speech therapy through our local PS and although it helped some I'm frustrated with it because they stopped after one year and said "Her R sounds aren't perfect, but she has that funny new england accent so that's the best we can do" Now my daughter does have an odd accent but it's not a full on Boston or anything, It's kind of a Boston/New York hybrid of some sort with a little southern twang for good measure. Gotta love moving so much when it comes to things like this. :tongue_smilie:

[cathmom]

I was told to wait till five, as most kids self correct. My 3 yo can be hard to understand. We rephrase things for him, have him repeat it and make sure we read a lot to him. He is getting better.

 

I could not say R for the life of me as a kid. I was evaluated in kindergarten, but didn't start speech until 1st grade. I was in for three years. But I still slip, every once and a while. I hate the word "roar". :glare:

 

As the mom of 4 boys who have needed speech therapy, I'm horrified at this advice! (the bolded) I have twins who, at 3y3m had ONE WORD, and that was a made up word. I can't imagine how behind we'd be if we waited until age 5. I wish I had gotten them evaluated when I first realized they were behind at age 2. My youngest started therapy at age 2 and now at 3.5, he's doing really well.

 

If you have concerns, get the child evaluated NOW and see what a qualified expert says. Getting therapy earlier makes a big difference.

[Crimson Wife]

As the mom of 4 boys who have needed speech therapy, I'm horrified at this advice! (the bolded) I have twins who, at 3y3m had ONE WORD, and that was a made up word. I can't imagine how behind we'd be if we waited until age 5. I wish I had gotten them evaluated when I first realized they were behind at age 2. My youngest started therapy at age 2 and now at 3.5, he's doing really well.

 

If you have concerns, get the child evaluated NOW and see what a qualified expert says. Getting therapy earlier makes a big difference.

 

:iagree:However there is a difference between a child with normal amounts of speech production but difficulty articulating certain sounds, and a child with expressive language delay.

 

My 2nd child had articulation disorder and made rapid progress in speech therapy. My 3rd child has okay articulation but significant expressive language delay and while speech therapy is helping, she is not making remotely the same kind of progress with it as her big brother did at the same age.

 

Early intervention is a good idea for all children with speech issues, but some kids need it more than others.