I have a 10 year old son who was diagnosed with nodules on his vocal chords by his ENT. These are due to his loud speaking volume and yelling. My son has always been loud and energetic with lots to say, and isn't usually being noisy due to anger, etc., he's just loud. He is seeing the speech therapist at his school for almost a year now and there has been little if any improvement, which is not the therapist's fault. She sees him 2x a week and gives him exercises to do at home and we keep a tally sheet of the amount of times he's overly loud, does vocal play or yells/screams. He gets tired of being corrected for his volume issues and I get tired of correcting him. Sometimes I feel like it's not worth all this and that he may just grow out of it. His teachers notice his loud volume and so do some of his friends. Does anyone else have experience/advice in this area? I'd greatly appreciate any input.
I forgot to mention earlier that we did have his hearing checked and it's fine.
Thanks!
You might want to read "The Sensory Sensitive Child" by Karen A. Smith and Karen Gouze. My son is also loud and I have realized I grew up to speak very loud too. They said that most children who are sensitive to loud sounds speak loudly.
The book is a great read and suggests exercises you can do at home to help your child change some of his behaviors and develop new coping strategies.
C..
I am sure this is easier said than done, but as it sounds like you are doing what you can with a speech therapist and exercises for him to practice, the only other option there is to check into another therapist (many have other great ideas and resources - more so than sometimes the school has to offer.).
Otherwise, as annoying as it can become~ I would give it up. You cannot control your son, and it sounds like he is having some issues controlling this.
Perhaps if you just let it ride for a bit, practice his exercises (w/o making a huge deal out of when he's loud, etc. with the tally sheet), read the recommend book for other ideas (and see if there is other researched information available on the web)... He may settle it down on his own.
I personally would rebel anyway if someone was tallying my faults. Wouldn't you? I too, would become tired of it. Put yourself in his shoes and look through his eyes to see what is going on. Talk to him to see if there could be more to it. (emotional, not just overly sensitive to the surroundings.).
Hate to tell you this but I know two adults who are very loud speakers. Hurts my ears! My daughter tends to speak louder than necessary, esp. when she's excited. I just keep trying to remind her that she's only trying to talk across the table, not across the room and that when she's leaning forward in the backseat of the car, her mouth is less than a foot away from my ear. Helllloooo?! I can hear you! (sing to Sponge Bob theme song) a little deranged humor helps sometimes. Good luck! :)
My son too had this issue. Unfortunately he is 31 yo and still loud. We were told not to shout across the house, yard, room to help him curb his loudness. We knew about this problem when he was 4 yo so we were able to lessen his loudness a bit early on, but he is still rather loud and I have to tell him to lower his volume by using my hand only. The quieter he can talk, the better for the strain on his vocal chords and he will not increase the number of nodules. But he has to learn to monitor it himself. Do not be too h*** o* him. Just live with it most of the time and correct when he is exceptionally loud. Enjoy him while he is young.
I feel ya! My daughter, 5, is a very loud child. She is easily the loudest where ever we go. After dropping her off at school one day I heard her clearly over all the other kids in class. I am constanly correcting her volume, but have no advice, just letting you know you are not alone! ((hugs))
Oh and one more thought, Kiera is very social and loves to talk to EVERYONE we meet. It may just be a personality thing. (shrugs)
my son is also loud, his hearing is fine, even his normal speakin voice hurts my ears, and his whisper is deafening!
i dont correct him any more, unless he shouts in anger or to purposefully hurt my ears, you could try singing lessons, which would teach him how to use his voice correctly
My 2yo is also a VERY loud child. I feel like I can't take him anywhere. Maybe you should have your son's hearing checked. He might not be able to tell just HOW loud he is, if his hearing is less than it should be. I plan to have my son's hearing checked when he gets a little older.
Best of luck. I know it's nerve wracking.
