My dd has some minor difficulty in pronouncing the letter "R". It's not like we can't understand her, but occasionally when she says a word we think she said something else and when she repeats it it is clear that what she said and what we heard we different because of how she pronounces the letter "R". This has been an issue since she started talking. Now, my question for all of you is: Would you just work on the pronunciation with her, and if so for how long, or, would you take her to a speech therapist?
What my daughter's speech therapist does with sounds is to have a list of words that begin with the letter---- have the child say them 3x daily 5-10 times each. For example, my daughter has a list of about 15 words beginning with 'r' ---- like 'rose.' She has to say the word 'rose' correctly 5-10 times around 2-3 times a day. Then, we went to compound words where the 'r' was in the middle - like 'sunray.' She'd say that list of words just as above. Finally, we went to words where the 'r' is at the end. Do the same as above. We were just starting to work on 'r' when we had to break for the last month. We'll be going back this month. The technique really has improved her 'th' issues, and it did so very quickly.
My DH had that problem when he was young. (He still does, but we don't make a big deal out of it) He attended speech therapy for it, andit helped but the problem hasn't gone away, he still has it when he talks fast or we are debating something. Sometimes kids grow out of it. Sometimes they need therapy. I would have her look in a mirror when she tries to say it so she can ee the way her mouth is moving when she tries to say it. Show her in the mirror how YOU say the word and then have her try to mimick what you have done with your mouth.
My DD has the same issue. Which makes her brothers name sound like an altogether different one. I am working with her using the modeling correct word technique. For example she says 'Wabbit' I say 'Oh you like the RABBIT' or some such response. I also let her know it's normal. One in seven kids have need of some correction. My DS went through speech therapy so she picked up a lot of his incorrect pronunciations. She has grown out of most but that 'r' is holding fast at being a 'w' or being forgotten altogether. I read that most kids have the 'r' down by five. She's five and a half. I think if that's the only letter that is her issue just keep working on it. If it were more then speech therapy may be warranted. Good luck.
Thanks for all the advice. Shelley- I think I will try to have her work on words with the letter r like you suggested. She can reproduce the r sound when I stop her and have her slow it down a bit, so I know she can say it correctly. I guess I never really worried about it until my friend that I haven't seen in awhile who is a teacher and works with special ed students pointed it out.
