8-year-old son and speech/"r's"....

[Blessed_wth_Triplets]

For many years I was told my son not saying his "r" correctly was developmental....but he will be 8 in a few weeks and he still can't say them correctly...and is the only one in all of 2nd grade who hasn't "caught up" with this yet. He is in speech in the schools...but...I don't know...it just hasn't seemed to help yet. I looked into private speech outside of the schools and it's SOOO expensive....$80 for 30 minutes. I'm starting to get worried he is never going to get his r's...and this will start to affect him socially/emotionally. Does anyone have any experience with this? thank you...

 

[perpetualplanner]

My oldest DS also had the r problem (and a few others but nothing major). He did the speech in school but because it's only a few times a week progress was slow. I finally got him a private speech pathologist and he was done with speech in about a year (maybe slightly more). Our insurance paid for most of it so you might want to check into that. I didn't realize insurance covered it and that's why I waited to do the private. Also, at school they were in a group and the full time wasn't devoted to his issues vs. with the private it was one on one and fully focused on him.

 

[stacyalisa]

My 10 yr. old son had the same problem w/ his r sounds. My situation was exactly the same as yours. We were told it was developmental, but I was getting worried about it. He finally started outgrowing it and getting his r sounds at around age 9. He graduated from speech at the end of his third grade year so he didn't have to take it this year in the 4th grade. He's dong great now. I was skeptical (and still am really) that the speech classes really helped much anyway. I mean, if it was developmental wouldn't he have outgrown it without the therapy anyway? I wouldn't spend $$ on expensive therapy just yet, but I'm no expert. Just be patient, he'll get it. Good luck.

 

[Singledad]

I have some adult friends who still have not 'outgrown' this issue. It really hasn't effected them much. it is sorta like an accent. However, depending on how often he is getting speech in at school (1x a week? 2x a week, once a month?) I would wait and see if there is any progress, asking my child as well if they think they are improving (Ie: are people understanding you better?) If I think they are not improving, and/or not seeing speech enough (less than 2x a week is too little imho.) I would see what my insurance would cover. If they don't cover I would go back the school and let them know my concerns over lack of progress.

Only you know what is right for your child and family. Good luck!

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I looked into private speech outside of the schools and it's SOOO expensive....$80 for 30 minutes.

Have you checked to see if speech therapy is covered by your health insurance? Ours covers this.

 

[kathie859]

When I was a little girl....many, many moons ago.....I could not distinguish between g's and d's or say my s's. Mother found a voice coach (think along the lines of a singing coach) and my issues were eliminated within a year. I was about the same age as your son and never looked at these lessons as therapy. I just enjoyed singing and didn't realize (at the time) that the teacher was showing me the proper way to breathe and speak. It was a low tech solution to a real problem.

 

[Blessed_wth_Triplets]

thanks everyone. He is in speech in the school 2x per week with another student...haven't seen much progress but according to his IEP there is progress? I will look into seeing if my insurance covers it. When I called the hospital where they do the private speech, she mentioned while they do have many there whos insurance does cover it, it has to be very bad in order for them to cover it?? The evaluation alone is $300...so I'll look into it more. Thanks again.

 

[Blessed_wth_Triplets]

oh...forgot to add...even if insurance does cover it...we have a $3,000 deductible...so basically we'll be paying for it

 

[LisaTC]

My step son had this issue. 8 really isn't at all late to hope that it will resolve itself. Since he has and IEP, you as a parent are in control of that IEP. Don't let the school tell you otherwise. I had a principal and a really good IEP teacher tell me that. If you think he should go 3 times/week, then insist on it. Ask the speech teacher what types of things she helps him with and what you can do them at home as well. R's are hard, so are L's. It's about tongue placement. Sometimes it just doesn't feel right to a kid to place their tongue where it needs to be to make the proper sound and it just take practice. Practice makes Perfect is a good sentence to practice! My SS finally evolved out if it around 3-4th grade.

This is a good article:

http://www.angelfire.com/nj/speechlanguage/Articles.howtohelp.html

Don't despair. I think he will be fine! It's a lot of work and patience, but many, many times more than not it does resolve.

Good Luck!

 

[Blessed_wth_Triplets]

thanks for the info...I will check it out! He has an IEP meeting coming up this spring...and I will push for 3x per week. Especially since he is working on a lot more than the R...L...some others I can't remember right now. I know that in isolation, he does well...but in conversation/sentences he reverts back as he isn't "thinking" about it.

 

[RAlexander84]

When I was but a lad, I had difficulty pronouncing my "R"s. Bad news for me my name is Riley. I became i big fan of Wile E. Coyote and then was put into speach therapy, spent hours a week grrrrrrrrrrrrowling at the teacher. Good news now have no problems. Oddly the growling part is still one a best childhood memories.

 

[BLAZEY]

thanks everyone. He is in speech in the school 2x per week with another student...haven't seen much progress but according to his IEP there is progress? I will look into seeing if my insurance covers it. When I called the hospital where they do the private speech, she mentioned while they do have many there whos insurance does cover it, it has to be very bad in order for them to cover it?? The evaluation alone is $300...so I'll look into it more. Thanks again.

Have you spoken with the speech therapist he works with in the school? My sister is a speech pathologist and her biggest complaint as to why kids don't improve is that the parents don't to the "homework games". The therapist should give you some activities to work on at home. She can tell when the parents work with the kids outside visits and when they don't.

 

[brergnat]

Use your health insurance (call them directly, if necessary) to locate speech language pathologists in your area. You don't have to go to the one at the hospital. There are MANY practicing speech pathologists in the country who work either privately, or through therapy centers. If you have an HMO or PPO, you will probably need an authorization/referral from your son's pediatrician for the services, and you'll have to use a network provider. Depending on where you live, there could be hundreds of SLP's in the vicinity, or none at all, and you'll have to drive a bit. Just do some digging.

 

[figment3258]

My dd had a speech problem and we did speech through our insurance but after a while it seemed frustrating to her and I pulled her out. She did better just by herself

 

[stace1214]

I didn't read all of the responses, but pushing for more speech time in school would be a good idea- at his IEP meeting you can ask for more individual time rather than group time to help him along. You may have answered this all ready, but is his "r" stimuable in therapy? If so and it's just a carry-over problem, it most likely won't take him long to begin to self correct. It truly is developmental. One other thing you can try is to record him reading something with a lot of "r's" so he can hear himself. I've done that with a few students, and it has worked. After hearing themselves, it makes it easier to correct. Good luck!

 

[MSSANDRA]

My sister is 44 and still has trouble saying R's and a few other sounds correctly. She did the speech thing as a child, but to no avail. Oh, she has her masters in both English and Education and is a happy well adjusted person. Of course you want to get him any help you can, and hope he masters it but it's not the end of the world if that does not happen.

 

[SmallWorld71]

Well, this probably isn't it, but.... My brother couldn't say his R's when he was younger. Speech therapy didn't help. Turns out he had an extra piece of skin under his tongue. Quick surgery with a little snip and voila! he had no speech troubles anymore. Just figured I'd mention it in case it helps. FWIW - I do have some 2nd grade students who are not able to say their r's. All of them have other disabilities (reading, fine motor etc.) as well.

 

[PHefner]

Well, I'm a speech therapist but am hesitant to answer because it's been awhile since I've worked in the schools (because I'm a SAHM) BUT feel I can help to some extent. The /r/ sound is the most difficult sound to "correct" and generally takes the longest. I can't tell you how many seminars I've been to (as recently as this Feb.) that focus just on therapy techniques to try and fix the /r/ sound and yet no one seems to have the perfect method. A lot of it is develpmental but he has to know the correct form. If you (and others around him) model it correctly and you have him repeat it frequently (don't want to push to the point of frustration), he'll eventually get it. Honestly, I don't think your school would be able to pull him for more one-on-one time just to work on the /r/ sound. In Illinois they are trying to get away from pull out therapy all together so not sure what your state is doing. As far as getting a private therapist...I'd be hesitant to do with just an /r/. Working with him at home (with things the school therapist sends home) is the best thing you can do.

My boyfriend in the 7th grade (now my husband) couldn't say his /r/'s and he taught himself how to correct it. Never had a therapist. I had to tease him on our wedding day (14 years ago) that he better not say "With this WING I thee wed". My daughter (7 yo) just asked me a few weeks ago "Mommy, what's a speech ferapist?" Guess, I have some work to do.

Good Luck and I'm sure he'll be just fine.

 

[Blessed_wth_Triplets]

ahhh...thank you!! I need to talk with his speech therapist at school. Of all the speech issues he is working on...the r is the one he can't even seem to do in isolation. DH and I were working on it with him tonight...trying our best to teach him...put the tongue back...close your mouth more...etc...he just couldn't get it and we were all getting frustrated so I said we need to stop. Thanks again for the advice and peace of mind.

 

[PHefner]

I forgot to add that you may want to give him a little more time to develop simply because boys are usually behind girls and then he's a multiple. I've worked with many twin boys. His school therapist is very lucky to have an involved parent like you.