Speech deteriorating

H@ppyMom2Be · August 2011

My now 20 month son has been verbally advanced compared to his peers (not just a proud momma talking, the pediatrician has remarked on it and the day care teacher said he's one of the most verbal toddlers she's ever had in 15 years). Yesterday he started slurring some of his words. It seems like some (not all) words are deteriorating from the way he's pronounced them in the past. Even words he says every day - like "cracker" or "chair" are coming out differently. No bumps or falls that I am aware of and he hasn't eaten anything out of the normal in the past 48 hrs. He's still showing coordination, stacked 6 boxes on top of each other and walked while drinking from his sippy cup in a perfectly straight line (ha- sounds like a sobriety test!). He's not shaking or anything that resembles signs of stroke or seizures. But it seems strange to me. Maybe he is cutting another tooth and just keeping his tongue on his gums when he talks. My husband hears it but thinks I could be a bit too sensitive to it (I'm 38 wks pregnant) and thinks we should give it more time. I'm thinking I will call the Dr. tomorrow. Just wanted to see if anyone else has had a similar experience. TIA!

QueSrah · August 2011

Lately (just in the past few days) T has been saying things weird sometimes, and I think she's learning to play with her tongue and mouth in a different way or something. If it's not all the time or all of his words, I wouldn't worry too much. But if you're really worried, just call the doc and get that expert opinion to make you feel better.

tracy042206 · August 2011

Maggie was verbal very early. She had very clear words when she had less. Around the time when she started doing many many more words and sentences I felt like she became less clear with her speech and a little harder to understand. If you are really worried I would call the pedi, especially if it starts to get worse and you notice anything other than not clearly speaking.

Sofka · August 2011

my DD will do this on purpose sometimes, when she pretends to be a baby

mstavish79 · August 2011

I do this for a living so.... Developmentally as children go through growth spurts and langauge explosions sounds will be distorted or they will start substituting one sound for another. This is called a phonological process and it is very normal. It's how kids learn how to say their sounds. Perfectly normal. If you listen closely you can probably figure out what consistent sounds he is substituting or leaving out. It's pretty fun once you figure our the patterns! if you want more information check out www.asha.org (the governing body for Speech Language Pathologists and Audiologists).

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