Hi,
My daughter who turned 3 last week has been stuttering for the past 11 months. Prior to that she was talking in complete sentences beautifully. We had decided to wait 1 year before getting an evaluation since she is so young. Her stuttering comes and goes in waves. On some days when the stuttering is bad, I have noticed her scrunching her face or blinking her eyes. But on other days, these facial changes are not present. She seems to be unaware of her problem yet. Everytime after a bad period of stuttering which may last 2-3 days, her vocabulary increases by leaps and bounds and she amazes us with her talking and comprehension.
Has anyone else gone through something like this and has their child grown out of it? If so, can you tell me the nature of the stuttering in your child and how long it lasted. As a mother, my heart breaks everytime I hear her talk and am so worried that she will have a lifelong issue.
My niece started stuttering when people were not listening to what she was trying to say. Once my brother and sister in law realized the problem they made an extra effort to stop and listen to her and the stuttering went away. It's worth a shot. If not don't wait to get speech help.
good luck,
Peggy
My son is turning 3 in a month and he has been doing the same thing for the past few months. I mentioned it to his pediatrician and he said to ignore it and don't call attention to the stuttering. The doctor said he isn't even aware that anything is strange until you call attention to it and make a big deal about it. My son's preschool teacher also said it is very common at this age. They both told me if he is still doing it at 5 or 6, then he should be evaluated. Hope this helps!
Hi H. Why wait a year to get her evaluated? I would suggest you get on it right now. The sooner the better. You need to know what's causing this before she starts school.
Our son went through a situation similar to what you are describing with your daughter and we asked the doctor about it. He encouraged us to not call it out as it would make him self-conscious and aware that he was doing it.
The doc's reason for our son doing this was that his mouth wasn't quite able to catch up with his brain and as he learned new words and ways of describing his experiences, he couldn't get it out fast enough to let us know.
This has passed for us and as you described, each time his increased vocabulary and comprehension blew us away. It was like he had absorbed and learned overnight - things we had no clue a kid his age would be able to even notice let alone understand and describe.
Give it some time - if in a month or so from now it hasn't gotten better, talk to her doctor.
My son went through the same thing around 3. He was actually going to speech therapy at the time for other issues. The therapist told us it was very common at this age for him to stutter. They said at this age their mind works faster than their mouth. My son noticed that he was stuttering and we were told not to make a big deal about it. Good luck. I know it is hard to see them go through this. Hopefully it is just a phase.
Our daughter experienced the same thing, beginning around 3. We also noticed that the stuttering coincided with big leaps in learning. She started kindergarten this fall and so far, even though she is learning like crazy, we have had no relapse. It seems that she has grown out of it.
H.,
My almost 4yo son is/was going thru his right now. It's been about a year so far. I spoke with a speech therapist about this and she said their thoughts cannot always keep up with the verbal skills. She also mentioned as long as he is not getting frustrated this is a normal phase. She did mention to watch his facial expressions to see if there were any changes like clenching his jaw, so I'm not sure about the other changes. His stuttering would usually last about a week or so and then he would be fine for a while and then go back to it again. As he got a little older and was able to understand better I would just remind him to slow down a little bit. I'm not sure if that helped or not. I would mention it your doc. if you have to go for the 3yo check up just for some reassurance. Good luck.
My son also did this and it stopped about the time he started Kindergarten. I had mentioned it to his Pediatrician and he was not concerned at all. He said it often happens to kids who are more advanced verbally and cognitively because there thoughts are faster than they can speak it. It seemed to stop as suddenly as it started around when he turned 5. He is now 9. Considering she is only 3 I wouldn't be concerned. I certainly would have her evaluated if she is still doing it before she gets ready to start school.
She may be getting a little frustrated that her muscles arent keeping up with her brain yet.
Teach her how to calm herself by controlling her breath. Have her take in nice (deeper than usual) breaths hold a moment & slowly exhale. Do this about 3 times. You can model this tool for her when you feel the need to calm yourself as well.
Your school district should be performing Pre-school screenings periodically. check with them. they will then get her into a speech class. you are already paying taxes for this, so go that route first. don't try to do it on your own.
My niece did the same thing around that age. It seemed disturbing but the Dr. said her thinking was working faster than she could get the words out. It is normal at that age. My niece is a very bright girl, she was a very early and clear talker - extensive vocabulary for her age (in two languages) and complete sentences by age 18 mos. She is now stutter free. No worries...you just have a bright child. If you are worried, have her evaluated for piece of mind. She will grow out of it...and then won't stop talking!! Enjoy your little girl!
My daughter did the same thing around that age. We were told to wait a year then have it evaluated. We waited the year and then we had her tested with a speech therapist. It was just developmental for her and she outgrew it by the time she was 5. She did stutter for close to 2.5 years. Have her tested, it will give you the answers you need to hear.
