speech therapy?
sara_boheme
My ds is almost 7 and still pronounces his "R"s with a w sound. He is
quite articulate and has an amazing vocabulary and we just always
assumed that he would eventually grow out of his "wascaly wabbit"
stage. It's not even that bad (or maybe we're just used to it), and
since he's not in school, the subject has never been pointed out to
him and (thank god) he's never been teased. All that being said, I was
going to bring it up with his pediatrician at his 7 year check up next
month. I thought I'd throw it out here as well to see if anyone has
had similar issues with their children, or any advice on the matter.
Thanks!
Sara
quite articulate and has an amazing vocabulary and we just always
assumed that he would eventually grow out of his "wascaly wabbit"
stage. It's not even that bad (or maybe we're just used to it), and
since he's not in school, the subject has never been pointed out to
him and (thank god) he's never been teased. All that being said, I was
going to bring it up with his pediatrician at his 7 year check up next
month. I thought I'd throw it out here as well to see if anyone has
had similar issues with their children, or any advice on the matter.
Thanks!
Sara
Michelle Leifur Reid
On 10/3/06, sara_boheme <Superchick400@...> wrote:
Sure you could do speech therapy, but chances are pretty good that he
will outgrow the "wascally wabbit" speech at the same time with or
without speech therapy. There are some studies done on speech
patterns and their natural evolution. I've watched my son's speech
patterns change over the past year. He still sounds sometimes very
much like a 3 or 4 yo in his pronunciation, but I've noticed recently
that he has some more mature speech patterns going on (he is 8 and
also has quite an extensive and amazing vocabulary).
And there are quite a few very famous people who have speech patterns
that are considered "bad" (lisps, consonant issues, vowel
misrepresentations, etc.) who have never let those "epidiments" stop
them from their careers. Even one of the most famous voice actors
(James Earl Jones) has a speech "issue." True. You have to listen
closely to hear it, but it is there. Sean Connery is another who who
has a definite sh lisp. Lauren Bacall also has a lisp. Hasn't
stopped them from going places.
If he still has a W problem when he is a grown up, he may decide that
he needs intervention. I bet, though, that he will grow out of it in
the next few years though.
Michelle - who can't pronounce the word jewelry :-)
> My ds is almost 7 and still pronounces his "R"s with a w sound. He isHe's seven. this is a normal speech pattern for children of that age.
> quite articulate and has an amazing vocabulary and we just always
> assumed that he would eventually grow out of his "wascaly wabbit"
> stage.
Sure you could do speech therapy, but chances are pretty good that he
will outgrow the "wascally wabbit" speech at the same time with or
without speech therapy. There are some studies done on speech
patterns and their natural evolution. I've watched my son's speech
patterns change over the past year. He still sounds sometimes very
much like a 3 or 4 yo in his pronunciation, but I've noticed recently
that he has some more mature speech patterns going on (he is 8 and
also has quite an extensive and amazing vocabulary).
And there are quite a few very famous people who have speech patterns
that are considered "bad" (lisps, consonant issues, vowel
misrepresentations, etc.) who have never let those "epidiments" stop
them from their careers. Even one of the most famous voice actors
(James Earl Jones) has a speech "issue." True. You have to listen
closely to hear it, but it is there. Sean Connery is another who who
has a definite sh lisp. Lauren Bacall also has a lisp. Hasn't
stopped them from going places.
If he still has a W problem when he is a grown up, he may decide that
he needs intervention. I bet, though, that he will grow out of it in
the next few years though.
Michelle - who can't pronounce the word jewelry :-)
Jane
My 7 yo has a speech issue as well. Three years ago, during a traditional pediatrician "well visit", our pediatrician suggested we take ds for speech therapy. I did. When I met with the therapist, I told her, "This is Nikolas. He has trouble getting stuck. We need your help to unstick him.". She laughed as if I was being funny and began "treatment" of Nik.
As I sat through session after session, there was nothing that she did that I could not. She blew bubbles with him, asked him to slow down, modeled "correct" speech, read with him, worked on articulation, and a few more things. Nothing earth shattering. Nikolas really liked her and the time he spent with her. So, we continued.
One day, she came out of the session visably frustrated. She told me that she was no longer able to treat Nik because "he doesn't realize he has a problem" she said. I told her that he never did have a problem and reiterated what I had told her on our first day. We never went back. She recommended all sorts of treatment options and whatnot. No thanks.
Four years later, Nik still has "speech issues" (mostly articulation). We choose to listen carefully to him and help him through it as necessary. We have never labeled him as anything other than Nikolas (not speech impaired, needing speech anything). I can tell you for a fact that his speech is *much* better than when he was being "treated" and he is, in fact, growing into more normal speech.
I wouldn't take him to therapy again unless he requested it. With us, it just wasn't necessary to Nik nor to me. Yup, some people he doesn't know have trouble understanding him, but, those who take the time to really listen are easily able to understand.
Hth some,
Jane
Jane Powell
Tribe's Partner
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." - Gandhi
"There is no right way to do the wrong thing." - unknown
---------------------------------
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
As I sat through session after session, there was nothing that she did that I could not. She blew bubbles with him, asked him to slow down, modeled "correct" speech, read with him, worked on articulation, and a few more things. Nothing earth shattering. Nikolas really liked her and the time he spent with her. So, we continued.
One day, she came out of the session visably frustrated. She told me that she was no longer able to treat Nik because "he doesn't realize he has a problem" she said. I told her that he never did have a problem and reiterated what I had told her on our first day. We never went back. She recommended all sorts of treatment options and whatnot. No thanks.
Four years later, Nik still has "speech issues" (mostly articulation). We choose to listen carefully to him and help him through it as necessary. We have never labeled him as anything other than Nikolas (not speech impaired, needing speech anything). I can tell you for a fact that his speech is *much* better than when he was being "treated" and he is, in fact, growing into more normal speech.
I wouldn't take him to therapy again unless he requested it. With us, it just wasn't necessary to Nik nor to me. Yup, some people he doesn't know have trouble understanding him, but, those who take the time to really listen are easily able to understand.
Hth some,
Jane
Jane Powell
Tribe's Partner
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." - Gandhi
"There is no right way to do the wrong thing." - unknown
---------------------------------
Talk is cheap. Use Yahoo! Messenger to make PC-to-Phone calls. Great rates starting at 1¢/min.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Solé
Does he read? Sometimes these false pronunciations go away when they
start to read. Then they realize that there are two different letters/
sounds for what they thought was just one. Then they can really see
where it is and can from then on hear it. He probably doesn't hear
the difference, so why should he say it differently? It's a very
slight difference!! Instead of going to an "expert" I would simply go
to a specialist in ears (I dunno how they are called in English), and
just check if he is hearing good. If yes, I wouldn't do anything
else, and if no, then that's the real problem.
And also, don't be afraid that he will never learn it. I think the
english "r" is very easy for anybody to learn as adult even - take
Germans, we don't have that sound in our system yet this sound is not
the problem in German accents. Neither for Spanish people. While the
"th" sound is a problem for many people, I've never heard of an
Englishlearner who couldn't pronounce the R (unlike the spanish,
rolled R!).
If you want to do something, you could also show him, without
pushing, how the R sound is made in your mouth. It's not difficult!
You just like "w", but you roll your tongue a bit backwards. This has
time until he asks how the letter R would be pronounced or when it
comes up naturally. I have English groups for kids aged 1-6 here in
Germany, and they have the same "problem", they say it like a "w" or
"u". But when I have showed them my tongue, how it rolls back, and
drew them pictures of how it looks like in the mouth and when I have
showed with my hand how the tongue rolls back, they have usually
gotten it very quickly.
Greetings
Johanna
Am 04.10.2006 um 04:33 schrieb sara_boheme:
start to read. Then they realize that there are two different letters/
sounds for what they thought was just one. Then they can really see
where it is and can from then on hear it. He probably doesn't hear
the difference, so why should he say it differently? It's a very
slight difference!! Instead of going to an "expert" I would simply go
to a specialist in ears (I dunno how they are called in English), and
just check if he is hearing good. If yes, I wouldn't do anything
else, and if no, then that's the real problem.
And also, don't be afraid that he will never learn it. I think the
english "r" is very easy for anybody to learn as adult even - take
Germans, we don't have that sound in our system yet this sound is not
the problem in German accents. Neither for Spanish people. While the
"th" sound is a problem for many people, I've never heard of an
Englishlearner who couldn't pronounce the R (unlike the spanish,
rolled R!).
If you want to do something, you could also show him, without
pushing, how the R sound is made in your mouth. It's not difficult!
You just like "w", but you roll your tongue a bit backwards. This has
time until he asks how the letter R would be pronounced or when it
comes up naturally. I have English groups for kids aged 1-6 here in
Germany, and they have the same "problem", they say it like a "w" or
"u". But when I have showed them my tongue, how it rolls back, and
drew them pictures of how it looks like in the mouth and when I have
showed with my hand how the tongue rolls back, they have usually
gotten it very quickly.
Greetings
Johanna
Am 04.10.2006 um 04:33 schrieb sara_boheme:
> My ds is almost 7 and still pronounces his "R"s with a w sound. He is
> quite articulate and has an amazing vocabulary and we just always
> assumed that he would eventually grow out of his "wascaly wabbit"
> stage. It's not even that bad (or maybe we're just used to it), and
> since he's not in school, the subject has never been pointed out to
> him and (thank god) he's never been teased. All that being said, I was
> going to bring it up with his pediatrician at his 7 year check up next
> month. I thought I'd throw it out here as well to see if anyone has
> had similar issues with their children, or any advice on the matter.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Sara
>
>
>
Deb
--- In [email protected], Solé <solelokuai@...>
wrote:
up when he started reading things.
He's 8 now and still has a little trouble with "th" sounds (THings,
THree, weaTHer, wiTH, etc) - I just now and then, when it's just us,
remind him to 'bite his tongue' - now he's occasionally asking
whether such and such a word has a TH if he's not sure and he self-
corrects his pronunciation based on that. I've made a point of being
clearer in my own pronunciations, especially when I'm responding to
DS "There are Free episodes of Spongebob on!" "Wow, that's cool
THree episodes right in a row!" I think it's basically that he has a
very flexible tongue (he can actually reach his nose with the tip of
his tongue) and it tends to 'roam' a bit instead of sticking out
when needed. His tongue just needs a bit of exercise and training
and it's getting better rapidly.
--Deb
wrote:
>I noticed this with DS - several sounds that were "fuzzy" sharpened
> Does he read? Sometimes these false pronunciations go away when
>they
> start to read.
up when he started reading things.
He's 8 now and still has a little trouble with "th" sounds (THings,
THree, weaTHer, wiTH, etc) - I just now and then, when it's just us,
remind him to 'bite his tongue' - now he's occasionally asking
whether such and such a word has a TH if he's not sure and he self-
corrects his pronunciation based on that. I've made a point of being
clearer in my own pronunciations, especially when I'm responding to
DS "There are Free episodes of Spongebob on!" "Wow, that's cool
THree episodes right in a row!" I think it's basically that he has a
very flexible tongue (he can actually reach his nose with the tip of
his tongue) and it tends to 'roam' a bit instead of sticking out
when needed. His tongue just needs a bit of exercise and training
and it's getting better rapidly.
--Deb
Solé
Talking about it when you are both alone is really a good idea, since
I'm being respectful to my child, I have noticed she highly
apreciates it when I say things that might be embarassing only when
we are alone (I didn't before, and wondered why she wouldn't listen
to me).
But the example Deb brought up – I think this would be a good time, a
natural situation, in which one could point out what a difference it
makes. I'd rather point out that it sounds like they were free,
whereas the others one has to pay for. I think most of these
"problems" come from not really hearing the difference, and they are
mostly not aware of it because we kind of understand anyway, so how
would they even think of it? In a situation like this, I'd rather
point out the difference it makes, because just saying "th" louder
won't help telling the very slight differences between f and th. Well
maybe it helps ;-) I dunno.
Greetings
Johanna
Am 04.10.2006 um 14:39 schrieb Deb:
I'm being respectful to my child, I have noticed she highly
apreciates it when I say things that might be embarassing only when
we are alone (I didn't before, and wondered why she wouldn't listen
to me).
But the example Deb brought up – I think this would be a good time, a
natural situation, in which one could point out what a difference it
makes. I'd rather point out that it sounds like they were free,
whereas the others one has to pay for. I think most of these
"problems" come from not really hearing the difference, and they are
mostly not aware of it because we kind of understand anyway, so how
would they even think of it? In a situation like this, I'd rather
point out the difference it makes, because just saying "th" louder
won't help telling the very slight differences between f and th. Well
maybe it helps ;-) I dunno.
Greetings
Johanna
Am 04.10.2006 um 14:39 schrieb Deb:
> I've made a point of being
> clearer in my own pronunciations, especially when I'm responding to
> DS "There are Free episodes of Spongebob on!" "Wow, that's cool
> THree episodes right in a row!"
Deb
--- In [email protected], Solé <solelokuai@...>
wrote:
accompanied by clarification, discussion, assistance, etc. Reminding
him that it's a "th" word for instance, might help. It took me a
while of silently and consciously saying "free - three" over and
over until I could pinpoint a simple reminder or 'hint'. For my DS,
pointing out the "do we have to pay for it or not?" type things
would more likely lead to frustration than a simple reminder that it
is a 'th' word. So, I agree that just saying it louder is less
helpful than it could be and does nothing to really address the
situation (providing help with how to identify and pronounce the
sound) - guess I didn't clarify my point well enough.
--Deb
wrote:
>I agree - saying it louder doesn't necessarily help - unless it is
>
> But the example Deb brought up I think this would be a good
>time, a
> natural situation, in which one could point out what a difference
>it
> makes. I'd rather point out that it sounds like they were free,
> whereas the others one has to pay for. I think most of these
> "problems" come from not really hearing the difference, and they
>are
> mostly not aware of it because we kind of understand anyway, so
>how
> would they even think of it? In a situation like this, I'd rather
> point out the difference it makes, because just saying "th"
>louder
> won't help telling the very slight differences between f and th.
>Well
> maybe it helps ;-) I dunno.
>
accompanied by clarification, discussion, assistance, etc. Reminding
him that it's a "th" word for instance, might help. It took me a
while of silently and consciously saying "free - three" over and
over until I could pinpoint a simple reminder or 'hint'. For my DS,
pointing out the "do we have to pay for it or not?" type things
would more likely lead to frustration than a simple reminder that it
is a 'th' word. So, I agree that just saying it louder is less
helpful than it could be and does nothing to really address the
situation (providing help with how to identify and pronounce the
sound) - guess I didn't clarify my point well enough.
--Deb