4Yr Old Stuttering

J. -
My son stuttered at this same age; now his son is doing it. Someone else here said it, but their little brains are going so fast, sometimes their mouths can't go fast enough so they stutter as a means of 'catching up.' When you hear him stuttering, bring him to eye level; look him in the eye; tell him to slow down, take three deep breaths, think about what he's going to say, then say it. See if that works. If it does, it's a phase he'll quickly outgrow.

Blessings -
CeceD

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Hey, J.! Don't know the age of the child in question, but to let you know, I stuttered when I was around 8 or 9 and it worked itself out. I just needed to slow down and think before I spoke. I would get so caught up in what I wanted to say that I would get ahead of myself and start stuttering. I still sometimes will stutter when around a group and I need to interject something and I can't seem to get it out fast enough. I just need to pause and rethink my thought and then say it.

When my youngest was 3 he started stuttering and we didn't know why. We took him to the pediatrician and he said it was common and to wait and see if it works itself out. He would get frustrated and then stop talking all together when that happened. We would stop what we were doing and take the time to get on his level and find out what he needed or wanted to say. The pediatrician said to give it another few weeks and if he continued to get frustrated with it then we would proceed from there. After a few weeks, it did stop and we hadn't had a problem since and he is now 5.

One other thing, during this time he was stuttering, our church was having VBS and I was a teacher and we were constantly on the move that week and getting up earlier than normal and just very tiring week. The doctor seemed to think that being overly tired for him may have somehow triggered it. Just look around and see if there is anything new that may have triggered it -- less sleep, more activities to run to and fro, a new relationship with someone, anything could trigger it!

Stuttering is common at that age b/c they don't have the words for the concepts they are trying to articulate and they think much faster than they talk. They often stutter as a 'place holder', kind of like adults say, 'umm' when we are trying to think what to say.

I'd listen to how he does it and if it seems like this doesn't fit, you may talk to your doc, but this is much more likely.

For my family, age 4 seemed to be the worst for stuttering. Happy holidays!!

J., don't count on this condition to 'work itself out'. It may, but it may not. So don't ignore it. Don't over react either, though. Juwt learn to control it. When your 4 y/o starts to stutter, just gently stop him and say, "Okay, now calm down and tell me." If he starts stuttering again, remind him, "Slow down. Don't rush. I'm listening." And be sure, when he wants to talk - and the rest of the kids, too - you take the time to give him/them your undivided attention. The knowledge that you really will listen to them will make it easier for them to come to you with problems in the future. And, with the 4 y/o, the assurance that he will be heard (particularly in the midst of a big family) can do more to put him at ease and help him get beyond the stuttering than just about anything.

My son stuttered at 4 too. We noticed it just before we started speech therapy for other issues. It worked itself out. It was usually when he was excited to say something or trying to think through a pretend/play situation. When he is speaking to you (or in your presence), just ask him to wait and start over. Give his brain time to catch up with his mouth.

My friend said her son stuttered at around that age too. Just try to give him some attention when you see it happen. If you think it is going on for too long, I would see an evaluation. Our speech therapy was through the school system. It is free through a state program.

HTH

My sister's child stuttered when he was that age. She took him to a speech therapist and found out that he was in some kind of anxiety mode because the father was athletic and wanted him to be a "football" player like him. The child was using his left hand and the father thought that he should be right handed to play quarterback football like his dad so he would try switching him all the time. Well that caused stress on the child and he started stuttering. It aws fixed when the father decided to leave the child alone and let him be who he is. He is now in law school and no stuttering. Very smart.
Not saying that you are doing anything to cause it but that was my experience. I didn't know that it could happen that way. But it did.
Good luck.

My daughter started stuttering at about 2 1/2 yrs. I was told by a ped nurse and our family dr that it was normal for children to stutter because their brain is working faster than they could speak. My daughter is now 5. I rarely hear her stutter unless she is real tired. I worked with my daughter daily for the stuttering. I noticed that she did it more when peope interrupted her. Kinda like she needed to speak as quick as possible because people cut her off. I started to tell friends and family to just tell her to take her time and slow down that there was no hurry and that they wanted to hear what she had to say.

Stuttering isn't normal, and it will negataively affect how others see him and his self-esteem. Take him to a speech therapist now for help. The longer he goes without fixing the problem the more he practices doing things wrong.

I found this and thought it might help.

Hi all
I wondered if anyone could give me further advice. I've heard that EFT is effective for stammering. My 9 year old son suffers with a stutter which comes and goes. Recently it's been quite a problem for him and feels he's being intimidated at school due to this. (Kids can be sooooo cruel at times!) I wondered if anyone has any experience of EFT or it's effects on stammering.
Thanks
Rach
x

Answers:

Hello Rach:
I've never used EFT for stuttering, but I did develop a method that worked wonderfully for me and couple other stutterers (I had a SEVERE stuttering problem in childhood, which would return whenever I had to do public speaking in front of small groups: particularly read aloud).
The method is twofold: Take a breath, begin to exhale, and then with the voice in a slightly lower the register than normal, talk as though singing (words all connected while on the exhale). The lower register and exhalation relax the voicebox, and the continuous stream of breath keeps the voice box from hitching at the begining of a new word.
The second method can be used along with the first: alternate foot-tapping while speaking if sitting, and alternate-hand or finger tapping against the sides of the legs if standing. stuttering is associated with speech processing becoming polarized in one hemisphere of the brain: The alternating left-right activity gets the hemispheres to work together, which disrupts the the stutter reflex.
Blessings,
Alfred

Answers:

Thanks for that Alfred.
My son actually mentioned the other night that it sometimes helps him if he taps his finger on his leg or even tapping a pencil on the school desk. This is something he found out by himself coincidentally. It was just that when he mentioned the 'tapping' that I linked it with the tapping technique used in EFT. I remembered seeing a Paul McKenna programme where he treated a stutterer with this system. I also found a few links on a google search explaining how it can help.
The further suggestions you gave may prove extremely useful so I'll have to give these a try with him.
Thanks again
Rachel

Good luck!

My nephew had the same problem as a child. My sister's pediatrician told her to make sure when he had something to say to not interupt and advise other family members to give him time to say what he needs to say. Sounds like you have a large family (!) so he likely is trying to be heard and this has caused the problem. My nephew eventually grew out of it.
Good luck!

I stuttered and had a lisp as a child. Its not that unusual. Most kids outgrow it. I had speech therapy at my school in 1st or 2nd grade to help with the problems. I haven't stuttered since. My nephew had speech therapy at school for pronunciation when he was in around the 4th grade. Most kids, their mouths just move faster than the brains so they stutter. If its just when he's in a hurry to say something then I wouldn't worry yet. If it because chronic you can check into therapy.

YES this normal and most of the time it works out without getting the child help.Just remind him often to slow down when talking and make sure he is finished talking before you start to talk.

If your son is school age or close to it, the public school system should evaluate your son to see if he is entitled to speech therapy. The schools generally have one on staff that may service several schools. Contact your school system office or your nearby school or choose a private practioner if you prefer. Better to have it evaluated and intervene if needed to prevent further problems down the road.