3-Year-Old Gets Head Start Perfecting Speech/ video

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3-Year-Old Gets Head Start Perfecting Speech

Jody Kerzman

8/10/2010

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http://www.kfyrtv.com/News_Stories.asp?news=42183

Kids love to talk, and most kids have a lot to say. But sometimes, understanding

what they`re trying to say can be difficult. For some kids, it`s something they

grow out of, but for others speech therapy is needed.

Like most 3-year-olds, Ava Klein loves to color. But, while she`s coloring,

she`s also working on her speech. For the past several months, Ava has been

coming to speech therapy with speech-language pathologist Neff.

Ava`s mom, says her progress has been amazing. " She has come a long, long ways, "

said Heidi Klein, Ava`s mom.

Ava used to drop the first letter of words, so instead of " see " she`d say " e " .

" When she would talk with us, especially in conversation, we could not

understand a lot of what she was saying and she would get very mad at us and

very frustrated, " explained Klein.

Speech-language pathologist Neff says that frustration is common. It`s her

job to help ease it, by helping kids speak more clearly. She says the secret, is

getting help early.

" Early intervention is the key to academic success. It relieves a lot of

pressure from the family, from the child and from me as the professional working

with the kids, " said Neff .

So, by the time Ava is 5 and ready for kindergarten her speech should be more

understandable, which will make the transition to school a little easier for

everyone.

Not every child who makes mistakes while talking needs speech therapy. Neff says

your pediatrician is a good place to start if you have questions. They can refer

you to a speech pathologist for a consult. But, even if your child doesn`t get

formal speech therapy, there are things you can do at home to help your child.

Neff says just talking to your child about daily activities, like grocery

shopping and washing the dishes, can help them learn how words are supposed to

sound. And gently correct them if they mispronounce a word.