Teacher thinks our 3 year old should see a speech therapist, grandparents say he'll grow out of it

pebble_marigold_869223 Aug 2026

Our son says 'tat' for cat, 'wed' for red, and a few other swaps. His teacher brought it up gently at the PTM and suggested we get him assessed by a speech therapist. My parents and my in-laws are united for once: he's three, he'll grow out of it, we were all the same. I don't want to over-medicalise a toddler. I also don't want to wait a year and find out we should have gone. How did you decide?

2 comments

pebble_moon_681523 Aug 2026
Our families said the same things when our son was four. We went for one assessment, mainly to settle the debate. The session was relaxed, mostly play, and we came out with a clear idea of which sounds were expected at his age and which were worth watching. Whatever the answer turns out to be, one appointment is a small price for knowing.
violet_chai_285523 Aug 2026
our 5 yr old still mixes up a couple of sounds and school isn't worried. but if the teacher raised it herself i'd go once. relatives were all the same 30 years ago, nobody checked then either