Almost 4 year old doesn’t answer questions right

[Anonymous]

Op here, she doesn’t have a problem choosing like say between an apple and a banana, it’s only when asked a question like if you have asked if something was short or long or a letter or a number she wouldn’t try and figure it out she would just say whatever you said last. If you asked her something like how many legs she might say 1. If you asked her to count them she might count to 2 but still tell you she has 1. She actually has no trouble counting, if she counted 8 Cheerios, she will count ...”5,6,7,8! I have 3!” When they do patterns she will say the colors “blue, red, blue, red, next is pink.” Most concepts go right over her head tho she is confident in her answer. Trying to think of other example...oh she went to see the paw patrol and I told her to tell her teacher and her response was “there was noise.” I think maybe she just an odd way of describing things.

[Anonymous]

It's normal. My 4 year old has a huge vocabulary and speaks very well but doesn't know anything about his birthday. He's very smart on most topics but still confuses hot and cold.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here, she doesn’t have a problem choosing like say between an apple and a banana, it’s only when asked a question like if you have asked if something was short or long or a letter or a number she wouldn’t try and figure it out she would just say whatever you said last. If you asked her something like how many legs she might say 1. If you asked her to count them she might count to 2 but still tell you she has 1. She actually has no trouble counting, if she counted 8 Cheerios, she will count ...”5,6,7,8! I have 3!” When they do patterns she will say the colors “blue, red, blue, red, next is pink.” Most concepts go right over her head tho she is confident in her answer. Trying to think of other example...oh she went to see the paw patrol and I told her to tell her teacher and her response was “there was noise.” I think maybe she just an odd way of describing things.

It makes perfect sense. Get a speech evaluation for receptive language (a good evaluator will do both receptive and expressive) and a hearing exam to be on the safe side. U of MD, GW and Loyola in Columbia all have student run speech clinics for a lot less many of us have had good experiences with if your insurance will not cover it. A good SLP can work on those concepts and teach you what to work on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My otherwise sharp almost 4 yo wouldn't know what to answer either. His BD is not anywhere near Christmas or any other major holiday. He memorized months of the year, but I doubt he fully comprehends how a calendar works yet.

Sometimes kids feel they're being tested and do their best to throw off the tester. I get a kick out of discussing DS's progress with the teacher. She tells me he "occasionally simulates" reading. I don't bother to explain that he's been reading his own bed-time stories for about a year now. She sees what she sees, and I see what I see. If you see a problem, have a specialist look into it. Otherwise, take a teacher's recommendation with a grain of salt. They mean well, but most of them know squat.

Don't minimize the issue. You really could be hurting a child long term. This isn't about reading or simulating. You don't get language disorders and maybe the teacher has had experience in them. If the teacher used receptive language as key terms, I'm very impressed.

Anybody who can read online can use these terms. They're not hard to remember and use. It's not the point.

Yes, but the teacher took the time to read them online and figure it out vs. just ignore the situation. She may have experience with other kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's normal. My 4 year old has a huge vocabulary and speaks very well but doesn't know anything about his birthday. He's very smart on most topics but still confuses hot and cold.

She isn’t worried about her vocabulary. That’s not what a receptive delay is.

[Anonymous]

I guess everyone’s experience is different, but my 4 year old and most of his peers knew their birthday at 3.5. I certainly don’t think that is cause for alarm in itself, it’s simply a fact she hasn’t been taught, but some of the other things are a bit more concerning. She should be able to answer basic questions about her life (that you have a dog and celebrate Christmas) and I think the teacher and you would know if she was being imaginative or manipulative by giving the wrong answer, and it doesn’t sound like that’s what you think is happening.

She is likely fine, but get the eval. It can’t hurt. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

If your teacher recommends it, get your kid evaluated.

[Anonymous]

That's not enough evidence of a receptive delay.

That's evidence of a child trying to answer a question she doesn't know the answer to as best she can, which is the opposite of a receptive delay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your teacher recommends it, get your kid evaluated.

Bad plan.

[Anonymous]

My daughter was like this. It ended up being a higher order language thing- for kids who are concrete thinkers, they can get jumbled trying to access abstract thoughts. Language is like a tree- the roots are the basics of language and the limbs and leaves are the things like sarcasm, humor, abstract concepts. Higher order language disorder makes it hard for them to get to the top of the tree. And while she always had it, 4 was when it clearly manifested and became assessable by developmental pediatricians.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My otherwise sharp almost 4 yo wouldn't know what to answer either. His BD is not anywhere near Christmas or any other major holiday. He memorized months of the year, but I doubt he fully comprehends how a calendar works yet.

Sometimes kids feel they're being tested and do their best to throw off the tester. I get a kick out of discussing DS's progress with the teacher. She tells me he "occasionally simulates" reading. I don't bother to explain that he's been reading his own bed-time stories for about a year now. She sees what she sees, and I see what I see. If you see a problem, have a specialist look into it. Otherwise, take a teacher's recommendation with a grain of salt. They mean well, but most of them know squat.

Don't minimize the issue. You really could be hurting a child long term. This isn't about reading or simulating. You don't get language disorders and maybe the teacher has had experience in them. If the teacher used receptive language as key terms, I'm very impressed.

Anybody who can read online can use these terms. They're not hard to remember and use. It's not the point.

Yes, but the teacher took the time to read them online and figure it out vs. just ignore the situation. She may have experience with other kids.

A teacher might have experience with kids and learning disabilities? The hell you say!!

Jesus, do you guys think we come with zero training or expertise? THAT IS HER JOB.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the other PPs who say go ahead and do the eval - it could be speech delays, it could be hearing, it could be an auditory processing delay or...it could be your child's norm! Getting an eval will give you more information to work with and then decide what, if anything to do. And don't feel bad about missing this or thinking it was normal - we missed a lot with my younger son who eventually was diagnosed on the Autism spectrum and lots of other assorted comorbid diagnosis because to us he seemed more "normal" with gross and fine motor skills than our older son who had mild cerebral palsy so we didn't know exactly what "normal" was nor did we have anything to "compare" too other than kids we only saw at school, church, etc. and didn't live with. It's never too late to get evaluations and help IF that's what's needed!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My otherwise sharp almost 4 yo wouldn't know what to answer either. His BD is not anywhere near Christmas or any other major holiday. He memorized months of the year, but I doubt he fully comprehends how a calendar works yet.

Sometimes kids feel they're being tested and do their best to throw off the tester. I get a kick out of discussing DS's progress with the teacher. She tells me he "occasionally simulates" reading. I don't bother to explain that he's been reading his own bed-time stories for about a year now. She sees what she sees, and I see what I see. If you see a problem, have a specialist look into it. Otherwise, take a teacher's recommendation with a grain of salt. They mean well, but most of them know squat.

Don't minimize the issue. You really could be hurting a child long term. This isn't about reading or simulating. You don't get language disorders and maybe the teacher has had experience in them. If the teacher used receptive language as key terms, I'm very impressed.

Anybody who can read online can use these terms. They're not hard to remember and use. It's not the point.

Yes, but the teacher took the time to read them online and figure it out vs. just ignore the situation. She may have experience with other kids.

A teacher might have experience with kids and learning disabilities? The hell you say!!

Jesus, do you guys think we come with zero training or expertise? THAT IS HER JOB.

Yes, from my experience most daycare workers severely lack in training and experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My otherwise sharp almost 4 yo wouldn't know what to answer either. His BD is not anywhere near Christmas or any other major holiday. He memorized months of the year, but I doubt he fully comprehends how a calendar works yet.

Sometimes kids feel they're being tested and do their best to throw off the tester. I get a kick out of discussing DS's progress with the teacher. She tells me he "occasionally simulates" reading. I don't bother to explain that he's been reading his own bed-time stories for about a year now. She sees what she sees, and I see what I see. If you see a problem, have a specialist look into it. Otherwise, take a teacher's recommendation with a grain of salt. They mean well, but most of them know squat.

Don't minimize the issue. You really could be hurting a child long term. This isn't about reading or simulating. You don't get language disorders and maybe the teacher has had experience in them. If the teacher used receptive language as key terms, I'm very impressed.

Anybody who can read online can use these terms. They're not hard to remember and use. It's not the point.

Yes, but the teacher took the time to read them online and figure it out vs. just ignore the situation. She may have experience with other kids.

A teacher might have experience with kids and learning disabilities? The hell you say!!

Jesus, do you guys think we come with zero training or expertise? THAT IS HER JOB.

Yes, from my experience most daycare workers severely lack in training and experience.

This one seems on point. Np