[HKfornow]

My 4 1/2 year old boy is not able to articulate very well, and this is causing us some concern as it is difficult for people to understand him, and I have noticed that after he says something and it looks like we didn't get his meaning he gives up & says "nevermind", so I think it bothers him also that he is not understood.

Has any moms gone through this with their kids, how did you deal with it? Did you use a speech therapist, and if so would you highly recommend that person or group? Any comments/advise/recommendations would be highly appreciated.

[DoraT]

May I suggest you do a thorough comprehensive developmental assessment before embarking on speech therapies.
This is to ensure that he wasn't unable to talk because of defect in hearing certain frequencies, inability to articulate his muscles or controlling his emotions etc.
You can find the service at government CAC centres.

[cemily]

My son was similar when he was 3.5. At first I resisted ST. I knew the articulation would come when he turned 6 or 7, when children became perfect speakers. But he was very frustrated at school and other children were teasing his speech which made him unhappy. I knew he had no global development delay. He had some sound filtering problem.

Anyway, we went ahead with ST over summer holidays. I am glad we did. His speech cleared up so much that when school started, he was well understood by all. He was very happy.

Our ST is Sam Pygall at Watchdog, Borrett Road, Central. She is v good and experienced.

Just sharing my story. Every child is different and mother needs to make the decision of whether ST is suitable for her child.

Good luck.

Rgds

e