4 Year Old Has Lost Her Words.

Dear K.,

Friendly disclaimer: I am currently a graduate student for speech-language pathology at CSUN, so I am not an SLP yet. This means that my advise is not professional but I would like to help you feel a little better and also give you a referral.

The courses I have taken on fluency (stuttering) have touched on the symptoms you have mentioned. Normal dysfluency is about 10% of the time for people. (We all get stuck sometimes, start to say a wrong word, or us fillers like um.) If however, the dysfluency is more frequent, and/or and this is important, it starts to bother the child, you need to take steps to help the issue.

CSUN has a speech, language and hearing clinic where you could take her for an evaluation. The clinic is excellent and will provide you with an assessment that you can use to get services for her, or you can bring her for therapy at CSUN. Their number is ###-###-####. The clinicians can also show you techniques to help your daughter with her speech.

In the meantime, try not to worry too much. Your display of tension or apprehension can affect the extent of her stuttering. Praise her whenever she has fluent speech. When she gets frustrated get down to her eye level and let her know that its okay because you love her a whole bunch. Also, if you ever get stuck on a word, or change your mind mid word, etc let her know. For example if you start to talk and say um, um, or cut a word in half to correct "co- I mean cup" immediately point it out to her: "Did you hear that? Mommy got her words mixed up. What I meant to say was cup, not cop." This will let her know that its okay to make mistakes.

On a side note: has there been a stressful situation that you can correlate with the onset of her dysfluency? We were taught that often times what happens is that there is a predisposition to stuttering which is then set in motion by a stressor like a move, new school, divorce, death or other things perceived as stressful for a child. Try to pay attention to when it happens most often (after a stressful day, doing something she doesn't like, etc.) Does she tense up her jaw, shoulders or other body parts when this is happening? Try to get her relaxed with a big hug, a gentle massage of the jaw "for fun" or other ways that you know she can relax with.

Be observant and reinforce good speaking whenever possible. I don't believe that you are dealing with Autism or ADD, but this is just my layman's hunch, as I am not a diagnostician.

Lots of luck and give us an update!!!!

wow thats scary i wouldnt wait because its obviously distressing your daughter. my 19 month old talks very advancly shes still babbles a bit but uses about 60 words and 2-3 word sentences. so if i saw her regress like that i would be fearful of autism. it could be add or adhd but i would think you would notice the hyper active behaivor beforehand. i would have her evaluated for anything that may have caused this. when i was her age i had trouble forming sentences so i just refused to talk until i could say a full sentence there was nothing wrong with me i was just stubborn. i dont think your daughter is stubborn since she was fine before with her speech. good luck i hope its nothing :)

From a former school psychologist, now SAHM, who worked in assessment of preschoolers with speech/langauge, social/behavioral, and learning issues: ASAP, call your local school district to have your daughter assessed by a licensed and/or credentialed Speech/Language Pathologist (SLP). This assessment is at no cost to you. This is a special education procedure so you will be asked to sign a consent form for the evaluation and after the assessment have a brief meeting to discuss the results. Coming from a NON-SLP, it sounds as though your daughter may need some speech therapy, which also is provided at no cost to you, usually at the school site. Do NOT "give it a few months" and do not try to handle this thru the medical field. It is an educational issue. Good luck!

If she was younger, maybe even 3, I might say give it a month. She is 4 though, my son is 3.5 and if he all of a sudden couldn't find words (he has a huge vocab) then I'd be at children's hospital having his brain looked at! Sorry, I know that sounds drastic but I'd be looking for answers and I wouldn't be OK with a wait and see approach. Something is going on. Studdering/stammering, I'd be fine with, my son went through that and I've had friends whose kids went through that. But not being able to say something as simple as I want a drink? I'd either insist your ped. see's her now or call someone else. I don't know, maybe I'm overeacting now that I just read what I wrote. When in doubt, listen to your gut.

Please keep us posted,
M.

I would NOT stand for it if my Pediatrician said to "give it a few months" and wait and see. NO. A 'few months', what is that? That is TOO long.

This needs to be looked at. The reasons could be anything..from emotional to medical.

I would ask to be referred to a specialist...sure, maybe a Speech Pathologist, Neurologist, or get testing done... MRI, brain scans, etc.

Has she suffered any type of sickness, head injury, falls, emotional trauma lately that you know of? I don't know about in children, but in older adults even a stroke or brain clots/tumors can cause disability in speech. No, I don't mean to get you scared...but think about your child.

You must press your Pediatrician to do something about this NOW. Especially since you said that "this thing came out of nowhere...." So, it seems like a sudden onset speech problems.

It is affecting her as well emotionally, she is crying and frustrated... it makes her sad and making her give up.... PLEASE investigate this right away... take her to a Doctor for a second opinion, and get her seen by a specialist.

Take care, and all the best,
Susan

Have there been any changes to her routine, big events, problems, etc? After my 2nd was born, #1 stuttered and had trouble talking for 2-3 months. The dr. said it was a way that children handle stress. Look back to the time this started and see if something is a factor.

I work with 4 year olds and it is not uncommon in my class for a child to have trouble getting his or her point across. Especially in times of excitement or distress. Exactly as you said, there brains work faster than their mouth.

To put you at ease and understand the situation better keep a log of these occurances with a few details about the activity she's involved in, mood, things like that. Perhaps you can establish a pattern. If in a month there is no improvement or it worsens, then go to your dr. with your notes.

I would call a local speech pathologist or your home school district for an evaluation. It could be stuttering and the loss of words or her just standing there could be a "block" (part of stuttering). I'm a speech pathologist and this could be the issue. Because she says, "I can't talk anymore" she is showing signs of frustration and you want to get her help ASAP if that's the issue. It's hard to say what could be going on without an evaluation. You may want to speak to your pediatrician too to rule out any other medical issues. Has she had any injuries or falls?

I will be moving to area in Dec so I am not familiar with schools yet. Here in st louis they have early childhood development programs. My son started at 3 & continued until kindegarten. He was diagnosed with autism at 3 and adhd. I noticed the symptoms but was a college student that was in denial. With the early intervention, he ended up in regular classrooms only leaving for special ed for a few hours a week. He eventually got on honor roll also!!

unfortunately we have had a few setbacks this past year I don't even have him in a traditional school setting anymore. I have also had to return to medication after a 3 yr break. I tried homeschool but am failing miserably and have all but given up.

I wish the best the best of luck and I trust you will be referred to speech therapists, neurologists, and occupational therapists for your daughter upon getting an assessment from the school district.

Holy Cow.

Since, she isn't still 'learning' to talk I would take steps to find a second opinion. If its affecting her, then you need to get some answers and right away.

If you have a PPO, just call your provider or look on-line and find someone like a speech pathologist. You don't want this to be something that prevents her from being confident and happy.