Stuttering?

Hi L., If this is something that has just developed over the last week or so I wouldn't start to worry just yet. I remember my youngest going through a peroid of suttering and it seemed to be simply a matter of her mind being faster than her mouth. I usually just responded to it by saying things like "slow down kiddo" or "take a breath sweetie" to interrupt the stutter. the stutter seemed to disappear as quickly as it arrived with no lasting effects. Best wishes.

Hey L.

My son started the same type of stuttering when he was 3. I was very concerned, but the pediatrician wasn't, and he has grown out of it. He's 4 1/2 now, he still occasionally stutters. I really think that all of their thoughts are running so fast that their brain has a hard time keeping up and getting it all out in words. Just my opinion. But, if you are concerned, talk to the pediatrician about it and see if he recommends anything.

L.:
Don't know exactly why I am writing to you as my children
are 31,30,and 28 years of age now. My middle child when
he was about your sons age began to hesitate or stutter
when he would talk. At that time Justin was 3, Ryan 4 and
Patrick under a year. Justin would talk extremely fast
and when he would slow down he would be fairly good.
He was extremely gifted all through grade school, high school and college. He now works for IBM in New York. Even now at times, he still will hesitate when he gets talking fast. Someone told me it is because the brain is working way to fast for the mode of speech pronunciation of the words coming out.

Justin at a young age was vying for my attention as I was
very busy and was a complete stay at home in the early years with them being 13 months apart.

Perhaps this may be your child's problem at this age.

My great uncle was a great educator and speaker and he would help college students who would stutter back in the 1940's. In that day, he would give them small pebbles to put into their mouths and then get them to speak. For whatever reason it seemed to work. NO DON'T DO THIS WITH YOUR SON!!!!!

From my own personal experience, I started to stutter
at the age of about 4 or 5. I would start to talk and
could not get the words out because of stuttering. Once
I became aware that I was not able to say something, It would become worse because of my personal inferiority and I could feel myself becoming more anxious which did not help. I would become very frustrated, and embarrassed which would only make the situation worse.

It seemed to go away once after I was in 2 grade. I
was in a christian grade school. Then in 9th grade was in
a public junior high school. You guessed it, again I started stuttering at age 12. This was most embarrassing if you can imagine. However, once I became acquainted with my surroundings, new people, teachers, classes, etc. it quit. I was afraid to speak and get up and give answers in class etc.

Many years later, I am a professional and have spoken to hundreds of people on many subjects. No, I don't stutter, and on occasion do get butterflies, however, my
attitude is if the people don't like me for myself then
let it be their problem. I have imagined those people listening sitting down many times in their underwear!

Encourage your child to not give up when he begins to stutter. Tell him he is very important to you and let him
know how much you Love Him and support him. Let him know
that what he has to say to you is very important and you
are in NO hurry to hear him finish the sentence.

May God Give You The Strength to get thru this with your
child.

You are a busy mom as most mother's are today. I did go
back working in the medical field for a few years and now
work independently out of my home.

May God Bless you,

M. M
Pennslylvania

I am a speech therapist and my son had the exact problem right around that age. It was SEVERE. My family was very concerned as were my neighbors and parents of Sam's friends. It lasted for a few months and then completely stopped. Every once in a while he has a slight dysfluency when he is excited, but it not nearly what it once was. My advice to you is not to call much attention to this at this time. Tell him to take his time and that you want to hear what he has to say. Tell him that sometimes when children are growing and are thinking, the brain gets "ahead of the mouth," and that is why this happens. Assure him that this is part of growing up and it will get easier to express himself. This is what I told my son and it worked to ease his mind so much. He told me he was so relieved to know that he would not always do this. If this continues for longer than 6 months, ask your pediatrician about a speech evaluation. Good luck to you, I know how upsetting it is to watch your child struggle like this! Email me with any questions.

Hi, L.,
My son was about the same age when he started the same type of stuttering. He did not experience any frustration with it, which seemed to be a common question asked by the speech pathologist and developmental center I took him to see. My doctor recommended if the stuttering persisted to go to the center (it actually did not persist, but came back again). It turns out it is a very common thing with toddlers. I found this online for you, since I couldn't copy all of the literature given to us:
"It is quite common for toddlers to experience a brief period where they appear to be stuttering (this is typically called "developmental disfluency."). If your child is simply repeating whole words or whole syllables, it probably isn't true stuttering. If it persists for more than 6 months, you should have your child seen by a speech pathologist, preferably one who specializes in childhood stuttering."
In talking with friends who have older children, it seems that many of the children stuttered at some point during the toddler stage only to come out of it with a better speech pattern/skill. It seemed most common in the boys. It happened twice with my son and, once it passed, he did speak longer sentences or pronounce certain sounds better. I think at this age their brains are developed to the point where their thoughts move faster than their tongues have the ability to!
Good luck!
M.

That happened with our son as well and lasted a few months. Even though he was a good talker before that, it seemed like his mouth just couldn't keep up with what he wanted to say. I had looked it up then and found that it was pretty normal for that to happen. Just give him time to spit it out and don't make an issue out of it.

Hi L.,
I am by no means an expert of this, but my daughter went through the same thing at the end of two/beginning of 3 (she turned 3 in April) and I was concerned b/c my husband had a severe stutter growing up. Stuttering can definitely be genetic. So I called the pediatrician and was told to really watch when it happens (time of day, part of sentence or getting stuck on a specific sound, etc) and if wanted to get her evaluated I could. But they said it's honestly very common at this age. Sometimes it's hard for them to keep up with all of these new thoughts! So anyway, I knew my daughter would NOT cooperate with a speech therapist to get evaluated, so we decided to wait a little. Honestly, she hardly ever does it anymore, so I really think it was just a phase. So, if it were me, I'd wait just a bit, take notes, and if it is really bothering you, seek a therapist to get him evaluated. Good luck to you!

Hi L.,

I experienced much the same with my 3 year old and it can be scary. He would talk and stutter and then say, "mom I can't say it". I think it was a bit frustrating for him. I was concerned that this would be a problem in school etc. and so I talked to the pediatrition and found out it is quite normal at this age. they told me to wait a bit and that it's a stage that their minds are working faster than their mouths. Sure enough, in about 6 months it was gone. He's now 7, and has no problem with stuttering!
But it is scary to hear your child struggle. I think it's key not to draw attention to it and not to get upset or make a bigger deal of it than you need to. If you're more concerned ask your pediatrician, but I think it's just a stage.

good luck!

Talk to his doctor. There's nothing you can do to help except reassure him. My nephew developed the same problem and we kept telling him to slow down and think about what he needed to say. My sister took him to the doctor who recommended speech therapy before he went to school. They need a professional. They told us that telling them to slow down and think about it didn't really help...it just frustrates them even more because they can't slow down. They are not rushing...it's their brain that's making it happen not them. I know the other post says otherwise but I figured you should have another opinion. It certainly can't hurt to have it checked out. They told us the longer you wait sometimes the worse it can get. My sister was young and she waited a little. I hope it all works out for you. Within a year or two my nephew stopped stuttering...just in time to go to school. If you catch it early maybe it won't take as long.

As a pediatric speech therapist I can tell you that many children go through a period of stuttering at this age. It is NOT uncommon. Their brains are just ahead of what their mouths can do. It IS important not to draw attention to it and just wait patiently until he can get the words out. Don't finish his sentences for him. Don't tell him to slow down. All of those things can make it worse and frustrate him. Typically a "true" stuttering doesn't develop until later around age 5, past the preschool years. Most of these preschool age "normal stutters" are repeating the same beginning sound or word. They usually don't include hard eye blinks or mouth open with no sound coming out (called a block). If it lasts longer than 6 months then I would have him checked but my gut is telling me that this will work itself out. Good luck.

See what happens this month and if continues then call the local school district and ask them to evaluate your son for speech. Did his brother have the same problem?

It may be nothing...or it may be something. I would talk to your pediatrician and send him for a speech evaluation. It's always my belief that we, as moms, need to give our kids every available resource. What harm could an evaluation do? And if he needs speech therapy, the sooner you start, the better. Good luck!

There is absolutely nothing to worry about! I have a second child in speech therapy. It is absolutely not uncommon for a child to start stuttering. Do a search online and you will find many articles about it. It doesn't last long. His mind is working faster than his mouth can move, that is all. It will not last. If it were a true stutter it would have been there from the moment he started talking two years earlier. This is very common in children, especially boys. One thing not to do is bring attention to it or criticize him or panic in front of him. It can take weeks, it can take months but it will pass. Let him try to get out what he needs. Then gently have him stop and take a breath and have him slow down and try again. Let him take as long as he needs and let him know it's ok. Try not to finish for him. It may make him feel incompetent about his speech. 4 out of 5 of my children stuttered to one degree or another. I was always told it was not uncommon and to be patient. Some last a short period and was mild. Others lasted longer and was more extreme. My daughter's came and went and would always get stuck on the first word. Others got stuck on the first main word they wanted to express, "I want to go to the st-st-st-st-st-ore and buy a toy." Don't panic at all. Give your doc a call though and let them know what's happening and they can reassure you that it's ok. They may be able to give you some other tips to help smooth things out while he goes through the process. Be sure others who are around him understand it's a temporary thing and not to focus on it and be patient as well. When they get more nervous they'll stutter more and just not talk at all out of fear of embarrassment.

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets

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Hi L.,

My daughter did the same around that age. I asked her day care teacher about it and she said it was perfectly normal and that she would grow out of it. She said it happens because the kids are trying to talk as fast as they are thinking and their mouths can't keep up with them. It really freaked my DH and I out because some days she was really bad and she wouldn't finish her sentences.

She went to preschool this year and I thought they would put her in a speech class to fix the problem but they were not concerned about it and she has grown out of it for the most part. She will occasionally stutter but it's usually when she is trying to talk fast.

I hope this eases your mind.

My son went through something similar when he was around that age. I think their minds just work faster than their mouths are able. He is 4 now and sometimes he still stumbles over words, but is much better. I would give it time, but it never hurts to ask the dr. their opinion.

Hi L.,

Have him assessed by a speech therapist.

Good luck. D.

L.,
I can certainly understand how you're feeling! My son will be 3 in two months and off and on for the last year (very sporadic and without pattern) he has been stuttering. It sounds terrible and breaks my heart, but all the research I have come across and every doctor I've asked said this is normal and it will come and go for awhile, and then disappear all together. He has good days and bad days - and we definitely hear more stuttering when he is tired, excited or upset. If I reprimand him for something and he knows I'm upset, he'll stutter more. Or if he is very excited and trying to tell a story quickly, he'll stutter more... same when he is very tired. Otherwise he speaks better than some 4-5 year olds, so we try not to worry.

Always remain patient with him, and never suggest to him that you're frustrated with him, or tired of waiting for him to "spit it out." You should treat it very calmly and almost ignore it. Sometimes my son will get frustrated at himself (which is sad to see) but I gently say, "thats ok, take a deep breath and try again." As long as I don't get upset, he is fine.

Good luck! (And make sure you tell other people around him the same thing - don't let them get upset or frustrated. It only takes a few times of somebody treating him "badly" for him to start to worry and make the stuttering worse.)