My 4 Y/o Son Just Started Stuttering What Could I Do to Help Him with It?

My daughter would stutter a bit, well, actually a pretty BIG bit for a while. She is 9 now, and occasionally it pops up. But with her, we would just stop her when she was stuttering and ask her to slow down, think about your words, and she would start over slower after having thought about her words. I liked the idea the other mom had about creating a square with the sentence. I think that thinking faster than the mouth will allow the words to come out is the major reason people stutter. Just be patient with him, give him a chance to correct himself, and love him during it. He will be great! Also, whatever method you decide upon, make sure to share this with the pre-school teacher, and let him know as well that this is what you are doing to help him. He may ask his friends for help as well. Good luck!

My brother did this when he started Kindergarten, and apparently my Grandfather also was a stutterer. I NEVER would have known that, he doesn't stutter now, nor does my brother.
My Grandfather told him a trick that a doctor taught him, it helped him to slow down and think about what he was trying to say. He told him to envision a square in his mind, each side of the square is a word in the sentence he is trying to say. So, if he is trying to say "Mom, may I have a drink?" It would be like this in your head:

mom (top line of the square)
May I(side of square)
have a (side of square)
Drink (bottom line of square)

Apparently it slows down the thought process enough that the mouth catches up.

I don't know how it actually works but it worked for my brother and Grandfather, and that was before there were all kinds of speech therapy.

Eventually they don't have to do the visualization and are able to speak normally.

Hi L.
I know what you a going thow.
my soon all so sturtted But the reson way my son was sturring was becuse of stress.and when i founed out were the stress was coming from we cofronted it.and know my son dose not sturtt no more.
I also sturtted when i was a child.And my mother put me in front of a looking glass.So when i would talk i could see how i was moving my lips.and she all so said a some words and i would have to say them back to her.I would look at her lips in the looking glass and then i would say them.We did this every day for a least 30 min a day.
I know that is one thing that helped me a lote.
You can try it and see.
I hope that it helps
God bless you all

Hi L.,

My youngest son also stuttered. It started right around him turning 3 years old. Per his doctor, we had him evaluated at Childrens Hospital, for speech problems & possible learning disabilities. When all of that came back normal, he started going to speech therapy through our school districts early childhood education department. I was so afraid he was going to start kindergarten stuttering. I know he was teased in daycare & I was afraid school would be worse!

I am happy to report that he "graduated" from speech therapy the spring before kindergarten started & he has not stuttered since! He is now in the 4th grade. I highly recommend speech therapy, it honestly worked wonders for my son.

Going through the speech evaluation & therapy it was interesting to learn that stuttering occurs most often in boys & the more frustrated they get trying to "make it better" when they talk the worse it gets. I know we had a lot of tense & frustrating situations until we learned how to help him. Home remedies are hard to suggest because every childs triggers are different.

I wish you & your son the best!
D.

Hello,

About four months ago my five year old began stuttering out of the blue. I consulted the pediatrician and did alot of research on my own. The doctor told me that stuttering can be a normal part of development. Basically the brain is functioning faster than he can verbalize. The doctor explained it to me like a cat and mouse game. It takes time to catch up. The doctor also told me not to be concerned unless it does not go away within about six months. My son has just now started to overcome his stuttering. I hope this helps!!

L.,
Your son may be dealing with stress being in a new daycare setting. It is also very typical for 3-5 yr olds to stutter for a short time as their vocabulary and language skills are developing at tremendous rates. If he continues to stutter for longer than 6 mo, I'd recommend an evaluation with a speech therapist. You might consider contacting his previous therapist and just talking to them about what he is doing. They may be able to give you things to try with him. If anything, it'll help ease your mind. Good luck!!

First ask the daycare teacher if there is another child there that stutters, may sound funny but when my son ran around with an older boy that stuttered when he was 4 he actually started picking it up. It took me awhile to figure this out but when he was not with that group of kids at that daycare it slowly went away. And stress being in a new place with a lot of kids maybe enjoying himself and having fun there may be something going on there that can cause stress that may be bringing it out. Best of wishes.