A few weeks ago, I was at the playground with my 3-year-old daughter. She initiated a conversation with a little boy, asking him his age. He held up two fingers and said, "Oot." When she asked his name, he said, "My mane's Cyb." As I listened to more of this child's speech, it became clear that he said almost every other word backwards. His mother explained to me that the boy was 2, that his name was Bryce, and that he'd been "talking backwards" for a few months.
It's not my place to judge or diagnose other children, but I was fascinated by this toddler's speech patterns. Speech development, especially speech-language pathology, has been an intense interest of mine ever since my own daughter developed echolalia and pronoun reversal (issues that have since resolved with speech therapy). After looking into backwards speech in toddlers, I discovered several fascinating facts.
1. It's not entirely uncommon. The more I listened and talked to other mom-friends, the more I heard about kids speaking backwards. One mom-friend said that her son, who has now been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, displayed the trait, but the trait is also seen in kids with typical development. Backwards speech may not be what you're used to hearing, but it isn't extremely out-of-the-ordinary.
2. There is a developmental reason for it. According to Dr. Bettye M. Caldwell, a Professor of Pediatrics in Child Development and Education, there are specific reasons that a toddler might develop backwards speech patterns. She notes that the mouth movements required to make "P" and "B" sounds are similar, as are "K" and "G." A toddler who is just beginning to learn language may not understand the fine differences between the sounds. Due to the similarity between "M" and "N," I'm not at all surprised that my daughter's acquaintance gave his "mane" instead of his name.
3. It's probably nothing to worry about. Dr. Caldwell urges parents not to worry about backwards speech in toddlers. She compares labeling a 2-year-old as "dyslexic" to diagnosing a forgetful teenager with Alzheimer's disease. In most cases, it is far too early to begin worrying about dyslexia or other learning-related disorders. Your toddler is still learning the fine points of language itself. He has plenty of time to learn that "oot" is not a number.
4. Provide communication support. It's incredibly cute when a toddler reverses a word or makes another awkward communication error. I can't help but echo, "Dinosaurs are pre-hysterical reptiles, huh?" when my daughter mis-speaks, and I'm sure I'd repeat her errors if she spoke backwards. However, it's important to provide your toddler with support so that he can communicate correctly. If he points out a dog and calls it a god, go ahead and giggle -- then gently say, "Yeah, I see the dog over there."
5. Get help in extreme cases. Personally, if my toddler were showing reversed speech as significant as her acquaintance at the playground, I would have scheduled an evaluation from a speech-language pathologist, just to be on the safe side. While shifting words occasionally, or even frequently, may be normal, the child at the playground seemed to only speak in reversals. I believe that, any time that a child's speech patterns are significantly hindering his ability to communicate, it can't hurt to have a professional double-check his development. However, other moms may decide not to have an evaluation -- and this choice is just as legitimate as the decision I would make.
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