Toddlers poor speech

[lynbrown]

My daughter is 2 years and 4 months old. She goes to nursery and is bright. But her speech is really bad, I often dont know what she is saying. What should I do - and when should I do it?

[woofgang]

okay. Have you taken her to the doc or discussed this with your health visitor if you still have one? there are loads of common causes of poor speech in toddlers and most of them are easily fixed. One that springs to mind because a friend of mine's little boy had it is temporary deafness caused by glue ear...really easily solved. The first step is to see your GP or HV and get a proper assessment

[smurfchops]

My daughter was the same, at around two she saw a speech therapist (she kept pointing at things and grunting instead of talkiing !) but the speech therapist said there was nothing to worry about ... she is now a 24 year old primary school teacher and very bright ! Dont worry, just talk to her as if you were talking to a young adult, she will suddenly speak, ask your doc if you can see a speech therapist to set your mind at rest.

[mollykins]

I was a slow developer and now i'm in the top set for english.

But my neice is 2 and a half and i saw her on skype and her speach was quite bad and my brother said that her mum, who has her most of the time doesn't stimulator her much ie she doesn't take her swimming like he does and when they wre together, the mum always put her in a play pen, and probably still does as she should be walking better but acording to my auntie who is a retired nurse, she is probably a late developer but her mum isn't helping things.

[Laasya]

Still she need to grow up to speak perfectly.Beyond that make her practice certain words.

[Schlomo78]

Had the exact same problem with my son a few months ago (he was just under 3). I spoke to my HV who agreed he wasn't very clear at all and asked for him to be sent to a speech therapist. They have to give you an appt within 6-8 weeks apparently, and I was worried about glue ear, deafness and other underlying issues to do with the way he was born.
Took about 40 minutes in the Speech Therapist's, she said he was 'average' for his age, not slow, but not good, just average. When I asked about the glue ear she said there were certain sounds that he was speaking (if that makes sense) and hearing that he couldn't if it was glue ear or partial deafness. All in all 40 minutes well spent, she allayed my fears very quickly and gave me one less thing to stress about! I recommend seeing your HV and asking her opinion, she sees loads of kids every week so she will be able to tell you if she thinks little 'un needs to be referred. There are sometimes reasons that kids don't speak clearly or as quickly as other's, they seemed to think the main cause with my son was that he walked very quickly (9months) and therefore had to have less communication with people as he would just get up and get what he wanted instead of asking. He also didn't go to playgroup til he was older, so had less time with other kids. I'm sure it's probably not a problem, but I know how worrying it can be, and it's definitely worth getting her checked.
Hope this helps
Schlomo :)

[rockyracoon]

My 9 year old didn't speak properly until she was well gone three, I used to sit and wish for her to say a few proper words.............................now you can't shut her up and her vocabulary is very mature, she witters on incessantly all day. My 11 year old son was speaking properly before 2 and 1/2, all kids go at their own pace.

[jkelly24]

I think the best thing to do is speak to your HV and see if she will refer you to a speech therapist if only to put your mind at rest. My son had a speech problem at around the same age which turned out to take much longer than I thought to correct so I was pleased I got advice and help as soon as I did. Even if they say she doesn't really have a problem ( which I'm sure they wiil) they will give you great advice on how to encourage her speech along. Good luck

[tamborine]

My middle child had same problem, saw therapists etc & was dyslexic thru school (reading & writing now improved thru texting).

He's is 35 and definitely hard of hearing - tho' he wont accept it.....says his ear-drums burst from m'bikes & loud head-banging noise (I couldn't call it music).