My 3 Year Old Son Has a Stutter, Need Help

Updated on June 20, 2009
H.W. asks from Canyon Country, CA
4 answers

Hello Ladies,
I'm not sure if this is normal for his age or if this is something we should look into speach therapy for. My 3 1/2 year old son has a studder. At first he only studdered when he was very excited about something and his little head was going faster than his little mouth. But within the last few months it seems that it is all the time. His daycare ladies have noticed, neighbors, friends and family have also noticed that it seems to be getting worse. Every sentence is started with I I I I I I or what what what what what, or whatever other word he is trying to get out. We do try to tell him to calm down and relax and then ask him to start over and it seems that he might be trying to correct himself with the what- instead of finishing the word he drags it out to wha wha what and then continues his sentence. He is not behind in learning, he knows his alphabet, and at least one thing that starts with every letter, he can spell his name, write mom and do simple addition with his fingers, so I don't think it's a learning disability. Have any of you experienced this? Is there something else I can do at home to help him?- we don't rush him or get impatient with him. Should I take him to a speech therapist? I don't want him to start kindergarten next year with a studder. Thank you for all of your help.
Take care,
H.

1 mom found this helpful

What can I do next?

  • Add yourAnswer own comment
  • Ask your own question Add Question
  • Join the Mamapedia community Mamapedia
  • as inappropriate
  • this with your friends

So What Happened?

First thank you for your responses! Second, sorry for the spelling errors in my request- it looks like I might need the speech therapy- geesh =) LOL... So I have a neighbor that is a teachers aid at the elementary school across the street from my house, she spoke to the speech teacher who talked with me and directed me to the district office. I have called and we are now gathering all information for my sons evaluation. I did a lot of research on line and from what I've read and shared with others who know my son, they all agree he does have a stutter. So we will be doing his evaluation soon. Hopefully we can get this corrected before it starts impacting his life and social skills. Again thank you so much for the replies, it's one of the reasons I love this place, it's full of helpful, insightful, supporting women! Thanks again,
Cheers,
H.

More Answers

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

K.M.

answers from Los Angeles on

hey H.. my son is 3 and does not studder but he did not speak until he was about 2 1/2. if you're really concerned you can call your local Regional Center and tell them. if they see a concern they will recommend he get evaluated. that's what i did. they sent him to the Child Development Institute where he was diagnosed with a speech delay. Regional then sent us to McRory Pediatric Services in Encino for speech therapy and they worked wonders on him. and it's all been free, i have not had to pay a dime. within just 2 weeks of speech he was starting to attempt words and they also taught him sign language which he picked up really quick and helped ease his frustrations about not being able to communicate. it's been 9 months and he talks up a storm. his words are not perfect, but he was recently diagnosed with autism, so they may never be. but the speech therapy has been a miracle. let me know if you need phone numbers or anything, i'll be happy to help and good luck!

K.

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

C.B.

answers from Los Angeles on

Hi Julie,

When my son was three he had speech problems as well. He was my first so I just figured that was his cute little voice. My nephew who was four asked my one day why his cousin couldn't say his name. My son talked like he had a southern accent. He also couldn't say some sounds, for instance, the letter v. He could point out the letter v to you but couldn't pronounce it. It came out as a b sound or he would refuse to say the word.

I asked my sister-in-law if she thought my son had a problem and she said yes. She didn't know how I felt about it so hadn't said anything. My son's preschool teacher also agreed he needed some help. They were not allowed to say anything unless asked. I felt really clueless as a mother at this point.:(

My son was evaluated and when it was determined he needed speech he attended a speech preschool for a couple hours a week. He loved it. They worked on speech with preschool activities. The kids didn't know they were working on speech.

When kinder rolled around he still needed speech. His speech therapy continued until the middle of second grade. He is now ten and speaks perfectly well.

My son started kinder at four and a half. I was concerned like you about his speech issue and being teased. You will be pleasantly surprised I think. The kids in the classroom never teased him about his voice. (I was in the room atleast once a week helping and had close teacher contact). It was explained to me that generally the kids are envious of those who go to speech or other learning activities because they are doing something special. I didn't really believe it. They also just accepted him for who he was. My son was reluctant to let speech go when it was time.

The only child I have ever witnessed tease my son was a ten year old when mine was six. We were at a party and I saw the whole thing. Luckily, so did this child's father and I do not think he would have teased anyone again after that.

To have your son evaluated, contact your local school district. This will be done at your closest school. It is a free service to you. It is not intimidating. They just ask him questions with you in the room, and they make it fun. The preschool may not be at your closest school but they will try to place him as close as possible to your home school. The preschool is also free.

I cannot say anything but wonderful things about our experience with speech. It was amazing to me how supportive all the kids were of each other. My son is a very self confident and self reliant boy. He truly has no issues that stem from his time in speech.

You are one step a head of me in recognizing that your son may need assistance. The evaluation is the first step and then you go from there.

Good Luck.

C.

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.L.

answers from San Diego on

Hi H., a lot of small children go through a studdering stage, our first child did, and eventually gre out of it, before kindergarten, I have also had a couple daycare kids who studder, but grew out of it as well, it it goes on into age 4 or beyond then I would get him checked, if you really need peace of mind do it now, he sounds like a really smart little boys who's mind is faster than his mouth. J. L.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.S.

answers from Los Angeles on

Have there been any changes lately to his life lately? Stuttering can be caused by stress. My daughter started stuttering after her brother was born and it lasted about 3 months. The dr. said it's just one way kids handle stress or changes and not to worry.

Another possibility is just that his brain is working faster than his mouth and this is quite common in children. I see it in my preschoolers from time to time.

Either way, the best thing is just to ignore it. If you make it an issue, he will worry and stressa bout it, making matters worse. Give your ped. a call too just to see what he says.

For Updates and Special Promotions
Follow Us

Related Questions