Lauren’s pediatrician referred her to us when she was 71⁄2. Her “r” sounds were not emerging. Our evaluation revealed the usual reason for delayed speech development in a 7 year old; Lauren had a tongue thrust.
She had a history of allergies, which caused nasal congestion and open-mouth breathing, and enlarged tonsils, which pushed her tongue forward. Her tongue rested against her lower teeth, and it pushed between her upper and lower incisors every time she swallowed – up to 500 times per day.
Lauren is a drop-dead beauty with golden blonde hair and luminous sky-blue eyes. She was missing one of her front teeth, which is not unusual for a 7-year-old girl. But Lauren had been missing that tooth for several months, and that is way too long for a permanent tooth to erupt. Her tongue was resting in the exact spot where that tooth was supposed to erupt, and it wasn’t letting the tooth grow into that space.
Lauren’s Speech was Difficult to Understand
Lauren rested her tongue in its favorite unhealthy position against her teeth, which made her talk with a frontal lisp. More importantly, she was not making ‘r’ sounds correctly. Although ‘r’ is one of the last sounds to emerge, 75% of children have mastered it by age 4.
If a child doesn’t say ‘r’ correctly by the time she is 7, there is a serious problem. And the longer parents and therapists wait to start working on that sound, the longer it will take to correct it. In some cases, distorted ‘r’ sounds are resistant to treatment after 7 years of producing them incorrectly!
Lauren delved into the tongue thrust program. She did lip strengthening exercises and soon learned to breathe through her nose with her lips closed. She learned to bite, chew and swallow her food correctly. She practiced 3 meals a day.
Next thing we knew… voila! Her tongue was back where it belonged, which allowed her front teeth to drop into place. In addition, her tongue was now in speech-ready position, so she self-corrected her own ‘s’s and ‘z’s. But there was still that incorrigible, distorted ‘r’!
It was about that time that her family invited me to Lauren’s dance recital. I sat with them and watched Lauren perform.
Lauren was a Budding Star
I was blown away by her talent. It wasn’t just her feet that impressed me, it was her passion and her ability to engage the audience with her twinkly eyes and charming smile. I was truly impressed with this little 7-year-old who could dazzle the audience with her talent and stage presence. I told myself; this little girl is going to be famous someday – she is going to be a star.
But I couldn’t have her on stage giving her acceptance speech with distorted ‘r’ sounds. I cringed as I imagined her thanking her “mothuh and fathuh fuh theuh suppot.”
From that moment on, I was on a mission to clean up those ‘r’s. After doing hundreds of “tongue bowls” and “surfboard tongues”, Lauren learned to make a perfect ‘er’. Soon she was able to say words beginning with ‘r’. She progressed to words ending with ‘r’, and then words with ‘r’ in the middle. Lauren completed her speech homework at least twice a day. It is rare to see that level of discipline in a child at age 7.
Lauren’s Victory
Because of her medical history, it took another year to perfect Lauren’s ‘r’ sounds, but it was worth the effort! She never has to think about her ‘r’ sounds any longer. She gives speeches in class and converses freely with family and friends. She is an award-winning dancer with scores of trophies, an honor student at Francis Parker, and a happy, adjusted teenager with a boatload of friends.
As a rule of thumb, ‘r’ sounds typically come in by age 4. If a child is not able to repeat an ‘r’ word by the time he is 5, have him evaluated by a speech-language pathologist. If the child has tongue weakness, exercises can be started to strengthen the tongue as young as age 4. At that age, the exercises will be more efficacious, because the bad habits will be less ingrained and the tongue will be less resistant to treatment.
Growing up these days is tough enough. It is not cool to have a speech disorder, especially after 2nd grade. And speech disorders are so preventable if they are properly diagnosed and treated early. Even older children who lisp or distort their ‘r’ sounds can be helped with proper diagnosis and treatment.
Equally important, every child has a gift to share with the world – but it’s much harder to share that gift if you can’t communicate clearly! You don’t want people listening to the way you talk, you want them listening to what you say.
If you know a child who is wrestling with a speech disorder, call us at 858-509-1131 or contact us via our form. It is never too early or too late to seek help.