Can My Son Be Showing Ealry Signs of Stutering??

Don't stress, Mamma! Stuttering is quite common and quite normal in young children. I teach preschool and see it frequently. Their little brains work faster than their mouths do and it's most often a case of thinking faster than he can talk.

Stuttering is also a stress outlet for kids. After my youngest son was born, big sister developed stuttering for a cople of months and it went away on its own. Have there been any changes? New sibling, house, routine, new bed? If it is stress related, anything could casue it. for my daughter, the pediatrician said to just let it be and not to make a big deal.

A lot of kids go through this so I wouldn't worry nor make a big deal. Just wait and see what happens. When he is speaking to you get down on his eye level, show him you are really listening, and if he starts showing a little trouble just tell him to slow down that you are listening. I bet within a couple of weeks this will work itself out.

My son did the same thing around the same age and grew out of it...he's now 4 1/2. He was always very verbal and I think he just had trouble getting his mouth to catch up to his brain!

My vote...just wait it out...it's probably fine.

-M

Hi M.~~My daughter is 6 now, but we went through the same thing. I did ask the docter and looked up stuttering in every avenue that I could find. What came of it for us was that around 2 thru 5 children are learning so much, potty traing, communicating, emotions, etc. that stuttering emerges as a result of the pressures of new things. It seems to be pretty common when it comes to potty traing. My docter told me to look into it further if she was stuttering past the age of 5. He told us that it was no big deal and not to make to much of it. Definately don't make fun of or criticize. I say this only because I have an older daughter that used to tease my younger one a little bit. This only caused more issues so we were just patient and let her get her thoughts out as the came. She was completely stutter free by late 3's early 4's. Good luck to you . It should be fine.

My daughter did the same thing around the same age, it was more like "I I I I like that....", I asked her pediatrician to listen in and she said that wasn't stuttering, in fact it was because her brain was working very fast and it's usually something that happens to very smart children. I wouldn't worry unless it sounds like he is having a hard time getting words out, but take him to his pediatrician and have him listen to him talk. Good luck.

Yes. This exact same thing happened to my son. When he was about 2 years old I noticed the stutter in his speech. It was slight and everyone felt it was just part of him earning to speak. Even my aunt who was a speech pathologist didn't think it was an issue.My husband wanted to atribute it to excitement. Well I was right. He never grew out of it. When he was in elementary we signed him up for sppech therapy and he even delivered his Dth grade grad speech stutter free!!!he still stutters and it has always been slight. This in no way affects their intelligence. He is now 15, an A student on the JV bball team and has always been really popular.

My advice to you is to go with ur instinct and get it checked out now!! Don't let others disuade you like I did. If u r wrong, no harm done but if u r right and wait u could miss out on something that can be done while he is still developing his speech patterns.

You can also tell the difference between them stuttering or just tripping over their words. The stutter is more of a getting stuck so to speak on the first letter like a C in can't or a T in Tie. I am not sure how to explain it but you can just tell. Its the same way an adult sounds who you can recognize immediately as having a stuttering problem.

Relax, YOU DO NOT WANT TO MAKE A BIG DEAL ABOUT THIS. You don't want him to become self concious and stunt his verbal growth. I think it may be a bit early, but keep listening to and watching him. Once his auditory catches up he may start shaking his head and starting his thought all over again. Sort of correcting himself. My son did the same thing, he just had soooo much he wanted to say and his mouth couldn't keep up with his growing brain. It takes alot of work for all the parts of the mouth to work together so it is perfectly natural to get stuck on certain syllables at this point of growth.
Good Luck!

I wouldn't worry too much yet. Just keep watch and see what happens.

"Many young kids go through a stage between the ages of 2 and 5 when they stutter...In many cases, stuttering goes away on its own by age 5..." http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/behavior/stutter.html

Good luck.

Many kids do stutter a bit at this age. Their little brains are just going to darn fast for their mouths! :p lol

At this age, kids have so, so many new thoughts running through their heads at any given moment, but haven't really mastered yet how to slow those thoughts down and 'think' before they start to say something. And so they stutter a bit.

If he becomes unable to speak even one sentence without stuttering a lot, then that is when I would start to worry and seek help. But if it's just a few times a day or whatever, it's normal I think!! :)

Hi Mireva,

I think you're doing the right thing... Questioning and researching. You are your child's best advocate and you know your child better than anyone. It certainly can't hurt to talk with your pediatrician or seek an assessment with a speech pathologist just be sure your child is receiving all the tools out there to be the best he can be. My son is 4 and has speech delays and I can't begin to tell you how thankful we are that we got help early on in the process. Even if your son doesn't have any problems with stuttering, you might learn a lot just by talking with your pediatrician and a speech pathologist about normal developmental patterns and more tools that can help any child excel. Good luck and all my best to you, -P.

Hi M.,

My daughter did the exact same thing at the exact same age. My friend, who is a speech therapist, said that it is common for kids to do that at that age and that we should just sort of keep a light attitude about it (not try to correct her or make a big deal about it). At times, my daughter even thought it was funny how she stuttered. Anyhow, my friend said that if she is still having a problem with it in a year or two, to contact my local school, and she could be tested to see if she required further help. She grew out of it in about a year, and is now fine (she's seven).

I would recommend for you to try the same, but if it is something that is continuing to bother you, seek out professional advice for peace of mind.

I think we figured out that with my daughter, her verbal skills were just not able to keep up with her mind for a short period of time. It's almost as if she needed that extra bit of time to verbalize exactly what she wanted to say.

Good luck to you, and I hope that all turns out just fine.

Cheers,
L.

my son was the same, early walker, talker, etc. He started stuttering around 2 1/2. i took him to a speech pathologist and she made many recommendations and they worked. I think it was called precocious stuttering (but I might not be remembering correctly- it was 4 years ago), basically, the brain is processing language it's not ready for and it trips them up. Speak slowly to him and encourage him to speak slowly. If he starts to get tripped up, don't make him anxious about it. Let him finish and then you repeat it to him slowly and ask him to repeat it back to you slowly and then heap on the praise when they say it smoothly. I use to say, that's a bumpy word, let's try and make it smooth. Just a few tips, but i'd take him in as well. don't worry :)

My brother did that when he was young & my folks took him to a speech therapist. They were told exactly what your husband says it is. The ST said he'd grow out of it & he did. My daughter had a few years of doing that as well, started in kindergarten. I asked the teachers to listen & give their opinion. We were even lucky enough to have a therapist who rotated through the elementary schools in our city at the time. Everyone had the same opinion - thinking faster than the words could get out. Lots of kids do that & grow out of it. She doesn't do it anymore either.

A 3 year old, especially, is learning so much all the time, including the mechanics of speech. They have so much going on in their minds it's perfectly normal for a stutter or a stammer to develop. I wouldn't worry about it.

All the best,
Colleen

My experience with my son was similar. It was the day that I actually saw him get FRUSTRATED with the fact that he couldn't complete the word that I was alarmed. After getting stuck on "wha wha wha wha wha...." he said, "Uh! I can't SAY that." I asked him, "Are you having trouble thinking of the word you need to say or are you just not able to SAY it?" "I can't SAY it," he told me. So, I said, "Do you have a question about this book?" "Yes." "Do you have a question about this frog in the book?" "What is the frog doing?" he asked me. I asked if that was what he wanted to ask me and he said it was. He was CERTAINLY able to ask me those sorts of questions before.

Anyway, I took him to a local public school and had him tested for speech. He went to speech for 2 years and now is in kindergarten and goes to speech once a week. He seems to go through periods where he doesn't stutter at all, and then all of a sudden, he will stutter very noticeably.

These are the coping techniques that help with him: If I notice him stuttering, I will STOP what I'm doing, and look at him in the eye so that he knows he has my full attention. Then I will try to slow down my speech a little bit (not like a robot, just a little more deliberate in my words.) If I am looking at him and he is STILL stuttering, I will say kindly, "Remember, I'm listening to you and there is no need to rush." It usually calms him down enough take care of the stutter.

My suggestion is to follow your instinct. I don't think that every child who stutters needs speech therapy. I only became concerned when it was noticeable and frustrating to HIM. I have found that some adults have been insensitive to him, and some older children, but his peers never even seemed to notice - which has also helped a lot.

Good luck!

You obviously are concerned, so follow your instincts. the worst that could happen is that nothing is wrong & you will know for sure. Kids make all sorts of funny sounds playing with words but waiting should not be a consideration with a serious concern like stuttering. If he does stutter, there are new treatments that can completely correct his speech. But I'd go get 2 opinions about this. Good luck, most likely he's fine, but you know him best.

Hi there...I didn't read the other posts so forgive me if I repeat. I was just reading this in "Toddler 411" the other day. I'm paraphrasing here...there is a time between the ages of 2 and 4 (may run in families) when a child may lapse into stuttering for several weeks or only when trying to say something important. Good news is that 75% of the kids will out grow it on their own.

They cited the following red flags for getting help...going on for more than 6 months with no improvement, begins after the age of three, another family member stutters/needed help to improve. They gave three organizations for more info:

American Speech Language & Hearing Association (asha.org)
Friends: Association of Young People Who Stutter (friendswhostutter.org)
National Stuttering Association (nsastutter.org)

My son did the same thing... he began to stutter and I panicked as my brother stutters (he's now a grown man). Anyway, I did more research on it than anyone could imagine and I suggest you do the same. He grew out of it after a couple months thank goodness but I made sure that I never rushed him, I gave him my undivided attention when he was speaking and never finished his sentence. Try and keep him away from stressful situations too. Read about it, educate yourself. One post said that stuttering is with the first letter, I was told it's the whole word. So... do your own research but know that there is a lot of help out there if indeed this is a true stutter. Good luck. :)

My daughter was exactly like that at age 3 (almost 4). She is 12 now and does not have a stuttering problem.

I did take her to a speech therapist for an eval at that time and we were told that we didn't need to worry. Just to slow her down or stop her when she started to stutter and to tell her to think about what she wanted to say first (it was worse when she got excited). And, of course, just to be patient.

Good luck.

My son also spoke very clearly, very early on. When he was little he also would do the same thing everytime he was growing. He is now a healthy, bright 9 year old with no studder problems. Still today when he slurrs his words or mumbles alot, I know he is growing again, and to be sure he is only putting the best fuel into his body to help give him get what he needs to grow and think all at the same time (not easy). Hope that helps.

Relax - this is developmentally appropriate - check it out with your pediatrician. Most children this age do this.

My son started a little stuttering when he turned 3 years old as well. As the previous person wrote, it's just their brains moving faster than their mouths right now and it will all catch up eventually. He would stutter a little when he spoke his first sentence and his following sentences would be fine. His teachers and pediatricians all said to ignore it and to not try and correct him. He's now almost 3years and 4 months and the stuttering has gotten a lot better. Sometimes it will still happen when he's anxious and eager to get his words out, but generally doesn't stutter anymore.

My daughter, who speaks very clearly, did the same thing at 2 1/2. She would stutter when she got excited or was asking a question. The toddler book said to ignore it, and it would go away. I ignored it (didn't tell her to slow down either), and it disappeared in a few weeks.

you need to do what's best for you and your piece of mind however I can tell you I stuttered as a kid the exact same way; stuck on the first letter of the first word of a sentence. I know it lasted a pretty long time, but wasn't pervasive or impaired my speech, because I remember doing it. I remember thinking it was a combination of thinking what I was saying and when I felt like I wasn't being heard so I sort of stopped and started again until someone was hearing me.
I never had any speech therapy and it went away when I was a kid, before middle school for sure. and I talk a lot now as an adult!
good luck to you.

This is actually fairly normal for his age. It has more to do w brain development that speech. Check out the Ames series of books for different aged children. (My 3 year old, 4 year old, etc - available on amazon) Excellent description of what the brain is doing when.
Good luck.

Hi M.,

My son did the same thing when he was three, and I was also concerned that he would continue to stutter. I asked the doctor, and she said it may be a sign of stress, and also that he would likely grow out of it. Is your son feeling a bit stressed about something perhaps? Have their been any big changes recently, or is it potty training time or big-boy bed time? I guess at this age, they don't really know how to express their frustrations well, so it manifests in different ways. He may need a bit of a slower pace if he is very busy, or he may feel stressed. I wish you much luck with this, and don't worry too much, if a few months go by and he's still doing it talk to the doc.

Hello M.,

I am a Special Education Teacher and do work with Speech Therapist...as your concern of your son stutering, well everytime you hear him stuter, ask him to stop take a deep breath and then to continue what he is going to say. Yes sometimes our mind speaks faster than we move our mouth and vice versa. Give it a couple of weeks and see what happens using this kind of technique. If this technique doesn't work for him, then yes I would refer your son to a speech therapist. I hope this will help. Just a note, a child who stuters does grow out it, I have many students who did.

Do not worry at all at this point! It is so common for a child this age to sound like he is stuttering. It's likely what your husband say - he is just trying to think of the rest of what he wants to say as he is getting it out, and he is so eager and excited that his mouth can't catch up with his thoughts. My son, who is now almost 7, did the same thing for about a year around that age. It concerned me briefly, but it did not last. He now speaks more articulately and clearly than many other children his age. We tried not to make him self-conscious at the time, but we would sometimes say, "Slow down and think about what you want to say, and then tell us." Good luck!