Where to start with a 4yo whose speech is unclear?

[Audrey]

My DS-4 is very willing to learn, but I'm not sure where to start with learning to read. His speech is somewhat unclear and he does not use the proper letter sounds in many cases.

For example, he often uses /b/ or /p/ for /f/. He will also use /w/ for /r/ and he cannot manage to say /th/. He understands what he is trying to say, but the letter sounds do not always come out correctly. He does try to say the sounds properly when he is corrected, but often has difficulty or in some cases cannot say the sound properly at all. I have been told (not by experts) that it is because he is an only child, but I have a hard time buying that!

I have the Reading Lesson book, and he enjoys the Sounds of Letters movie on your website. We have not begun work in the book at all yet, though. I am hesitant to start because I think he should know the letter sounds first.

What can you suggest in this case?

Thank you.

[Michael Levin MD]

It is not unusual for a four-year-old to have mild speech impediments. Sometimes there is a problem with sounds production, and sometimes it is the result of poor auditory discrimination, and sometimes both.

Poor auditory discrimination means that a child does not separate different consonants and hears them as one sound (e.g. /t/, /d/, /the/, are perceived as one sound /de/ .) Children are not born with the same set of strengths and weaknesses, some children are more advanced than others and vice versa. The good news is that most children do get better. When it happens, earlier or later is a moot point. Many of these problems improve with age and maturity, but not always so an evaluation by a specialist will help to plan ahead.

Practical advice:
1) get him evaluated by a Speech Pathologist and start speech therapy, your public schools might offer this service free. You will need a baseline before starting therapy if suggested by a specialist.

2) Try the Reading Lesson with him, but go slow, use the CD-ROM first. If he moves along, don’t worry about his pronounciation. If not, wait for six months and try again. One of the rationale is to start reading early is that it helps identify children who may have significant reading problems later on and this early identification can give extra time to instruct reading in contrast to starting late and then having to catch up.

3) Kindergarten decision – I would suggest to start on time even if he is behind his peers; if he keeps up with the program move him on to the first grade the following year, if not – repeat the K. This is important. repeat K even if it does not feel good. While in kindergarten, take full advantage of school’s Speech and Language program, ask for maximum allowed time and if necessary supplement privately.

And you are right, it has nothing to do with being an only child.

Michael Levin, M.D.