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cgalang_05 · Oct 13, 2012, 06:07 PM

My son just turn 3 yrs of age last August and still he cannot speak thoroughly. He can only say few words like "dede", mama, papa, bye, hi, hello. I wonder if this is normal for a three-year old boy. We feel that he really wants to tell us stories but we cannot understand what he utters. He can understand what are our instructions and he follows,it just that he cannot deliver sentences. Anyway, our family is from Philippines. Hope you could give suggestions that will really help me.

Alty · Oct 13, 2012, 06:12 PM

It's time to take him to a speech therapist and figure out what's going on. At the age of three he should be able to communicate, speak in sentences, and speak clearly enough for the majority of people to understand what he's saying.

A speech therapist will test him, find out where he's lacking in speech development, and then offer suggestions and possibly therapy, to help him catch up.

Good luck.

cgalang_05 · Oct 13, 2012, 06:26 PM

Thanks for your reply. I will take him to his pediatrician for recommendations. Besides that, what more can we do at home?

Alty · Oct 13, 2012, 06:36 PM

Originally Posted by cgalang_05

Thanks for your reply. I will take him to his pediatrician for recommendations. Besides that, what more can we do at home?

At home you can start very simply. It's very easy for most parents to anticipate what their child wants or needs. Some parents are so good at it that the child really doesn't need to vocalize what he wants or needs.

Involve him. When you're making dinner tell him what you're making, ask him to say it. If he wants milk tell him to say it properly "Mommy I'd like some milk please". Point out things when you're out and about, tell him what it is and get him to repeat it.

But, before any of that, do have him checked. This could be a medical thing. My friends son had an issue with his tongue. I really don't know what it's called, and it's a simple surgery, but not something most people would know to look for. Because of this issue he couldn't speak properly. His tongue wasn't able to move in a way that would allow for coherent speech. Once that issue was fixed he started talking up a storm.

Know this, your son is not stupid. Don't think that just because he's having issues with speech, means he'll have other issues. My son was in speech therapy from the age of 3 on. He saw a speech therapist in school, an hour a day.

He's now 14 and doing very well. A lot of kids have speech issues. The sooner you get him help, the better off he'll be. :)