talks toooo fast

[sportsmom]

I was wondering if anybody has this problem with their child......Levi will be telling us something that has happend and before you know it he is talking soooo fast you can hardly understand what he just said . I am always telling him to slow down so we can hear him and he will for maybe one sentence and then off he goes. I can deal with this at home but I am thinking he is also like this at school and I don't want his friends to stop talking to him so I was wondering if there is anything else I can do to help him. I was thinking maybe having him see the speech therapist at school again but I am not sure if she would be much help? Here is some background info: Levi was tongue tied and about 7 months ago we had the procedure done to get rid of the tie---he didn't have a bad tie but it would interfer with his speech and when our dentist said he could do it we had the procedure done. I just noticed how fast he talks thou---it is not like it started after the procedure was performed. I was thinking maybe some ideas to help him here at home to slow down and think about what he is going to say and to talk slowly. He has some funny stories to tell but when he starts talking watch out hehehehe. (maybe he gets that from me )

[rosyred45]

Whatdoyoumeanyoucan'tunderstandhim,he'stryingtogeteverythingoutsohedoesn'tforget

Does he realize that he is talking this fast? Like I said above too, he has sooooooomany things that he wants to say. i have a couple of kids tha ttalk really really fast and I swear it sounds like what i typed up top, but all I do is remind them that I can't understand them.

It is frustrating. But just keep reminding him. You could do a eye thing or something so that you don't have to SAY anything, but just as a reminder. Like open your eyes really wide and look at him through your eye brows like YOUR DOING IT AGAIN.

I hope that helps a little

[sweety]

;D ;D We ADHDers in the Wallace clan TALK TOO LOUD!!!!!!! We can talk prettty fast too, but for some reason when we all get excited we TALK TOO LOUD. My boss tells me "I'm right here, Helen" So does my mother (who is guilty herself) I've had neighbors in Apts. bang on the wall when I get going.

[sportsmom]

I am a very loud talker as well.....I am always being told at work to quiet down...maybe I talk as fast as levi also and nobody has ever said anything to me? Nah--I just talk to loud LOL

[vickilyn32]

I am another one who talks too loud and fast when I get excited about something. I did finally stop some as I got older, but still do on occasion. DH is the same way, but neither of our kids is like that. I dont know what to do to help your DS, since noone ever tried anything special to slow me down except to remind me when I would get too excited. I also heard, you dont need to yell, slow down alot.

[Isabella]

My daughter does that too Cheryl. I always chalked it up to ADD motor-mouth. Maybe her hyper brain was shooting out signals that her tongue was tripping over, I reasoned.

I think that is the case with some ADD kids, but it turned out not to be the case for my daughter (or the whole case). she was diagnosed with a Language Processing disorder. In more common terms, this type of disorder produces dyslexia symptoms. It has also produced a delay in the development of age appropriate speech skills, as well as other weakness in the Verbal realm of learning (like auditory learning, for example).

If I really listen to her closely (which is hard to do sometimes because I tune her out when her mouth is driving me nuts) I realize that for all the fast talk, she isn't saying much. It is like she is trying to rev up to spit something important out, but just can't get it out. Additionally, she throws in lots of "ummmmm" and "you know" and "that thing" and other fillers.

If that sounds like what your son is doing, ask for a Speech/Language evaluation from the school. Every school should have a Speech Language Pathologist on staff.

Isa

[sportsmom]

Isa,

You are right----it seems like it takes him a long time to say what he wants to say(always saying more and more but not getting to the point).....and since school has started he says and umm and umm alot. I have also noticed dyslexia symptoms in Levi for the last year---I have mostly noticed him switch his numbers around. I should be getting his first 9 weeks report card next week---if I see of any problems I am going to nip it in the bud and get him tested for dyslexia right away. As for the speech I will make an appt to talk to the speech therapist that is on staff here at school. Thanks

[Isabella]

A word about dyslexia.... I said my daughter has dyslexia symptoms, because most people have a basic understanding of that term. However, it is not really a clinical or accurate term. There are actually a number of learning disabilities that fall within the realm of dyslexia, and they can be quite different. They include visual, language, and auditory processing disorders. School teachers and counselors tend to act like they are allergic to the word dyslexia for some reason. Just say learning disability or LD instead.

If you google the word dyslexia, you will get a large number of sites in the UK and Australia, because they use it as a catch-all term for most any kid with a reading problem. They do seem pretty proactive in those countries about dealing with reading problems, and the sites have some useful info, but may not be exactly what you need to get to the root of the problem. Many, although not all, dylexia sites in the US are geared toward extracting money from worried parents.

You will need to do some homework on Learning disabilities. www.schwablearning.org and www.wrightslaw.com are a great place to start. Learn about various learning disabilities, and learn about what your rights are under the law. It is important that you get to the root of your son's problems, and begin to implement specific remediation.

You will probably need to send a written request to the school for a learning disabilities full initial evaluation to include IQ testing, achievement testing, speech/language evaluation, and a reading diagnostic test. You need to CC your letter to the Principal, Vice Principal, Teacher, Counselor, Diagnostician, Speech Language Pathologist, and the Lunch Ladies (just kidding). But seriously, you need to include a lot of people, make follow up phone calls, write thank you notes for everything they do, etc. You need to be assertive, clear, serious, and show them that you will hold them accountable and that you are not going away. Most schools play some games in this area, so it is time to be extra strong.

When you get scores, don't be surprised to hear, "he doesn't qualify" or something equally vague and evasive. You have appeal power, and you will need to be well armed to use it. Start by posting scores on the message board at www.schwablearning.org as well as here to we can go over them with a fine tooth comb. I know I am not the only one on this board that can extract the finer nuances out of testing scores.

As an example, my daughter's IQ tested lower than her achievement scores. That is not common, except in kids with ADD. The school said that did not qualify her for special services, and I countered with the clause in the IDEA that no one criteria is to be used to determine elegibility. Also the US Dept of education has stated that in some cases ADD or ADHD are severe enough to count as a disibility in themselves under the Other Health Impaired stipulation in the IDEA. ZING! They weren't prepared for someone who had done a little homework.

Keep us informed as to how it goes for you when and if you take this big step. You will likely need some support.

hugs, -Isa