Sudden Stuttering/Disfluency in Toddler

I think all kids go through it. We would tell my oldest to relax and take a deep breath and it usually helped him get out what he needed to. Their thoughts want to come out and they have so much to say that they can't keep up and it trips them up. We haven't had this w/ my youngest yet but he was a late talker he often repeats the last sound in words drives me nuts but at least he's talking so I can't be too picky. We will do the same thing if he starts stuttering I expect it to come around age 3.

There is a normal period of dysfluency which occurs between the ages of 2-4. The types of errors being made can give you a clue as to whether or not you should be concerned. More concerning errors include initial sound repetitions or syllable repetitions as well as silent blocks where no sound comes out. Whole word repetitions are often not as concerning. Associated behaviors such as eye blinks, mouth movements, head movements or foot stomping may be something to be concerned about. If you are still worried, you should have her assessed be a speech-language pathologist who specializes or has an interest in stuttering/dysfluency.

My daughter had the same thing happen, at exactly the same age. We completely ignored it, giving her time to get her words out, and were careful not to correct her in any way. Once she got her words out, we would repeat what she'd said so that she knew we'd heard her. She never became self conscious about it, and it has already gone. It took about 3-4 weeks. I noticed that she suddenly began using more advanced language and sentences coincident with the stutter going away. I worried a little about the stutter at the time, but tried really hard not to, as it seemed completely normal and extremely common, from reading and talking to friends, pediatricians, etc. I suspect your daughter's situation is the same and it will resolve with some time. Good luck.

This is very common for 2 to 3 1/2 year olds. I'm a Day Care Provider (over 14 years) and witnessed this a few times. Within 6 months the stuttering stops. Their thoughts are coming faster than their speech or faster than they can put it into words. Try not to stop them and correct them, it'll just frustrate them and beak down their self-esteem. You'll notice it more when they are very excited about something. Or there are a lot of people around.

Hi, I just saw your request today. I'm going through the same thing with my son who is about to turn 3. I also asked a friend who works in Speech therapy. She related his stuttering to a "language explosion" and said that it is common for this age. He is also the youngest of three and I feel the stuttering has come about as a way of holding my attention because he gets anxious about losing it with all the kids talking at once. I find that it often comes and goes and that when we are alone or he is playing alone, he rarely stutters.

I hope this helps you. Don't worry, I'm sure things will work about. I, too, am relieved to see so many responses for you.

My daughter, like yours, was an early talker and was doing great until she started stuttering at age 3 1/2. We consulted her pediatrician and were told the same thing: that it is normal at this age to stutter, and to ignore it. Which we did, for a year. After a year, we decided that it was going on too long to be a phase and we were concerned it was becoming a habit, which we learned from our own research can happen. We also noticed increasing signs of anxiety and frustration on her part when she was having trouble saying what she wanted to say. Deep breaths, breaking eye contact with us, that sort of thing. Peers were starting to lose patience and interrupt her or walk away before she had finished what she wanted to say. At that point, we decided to have her evaluated by the speech and language pathologist at our local public preschool, and after her evaluation, she qualified for speech therapy. She had speech therapy twice a week for one school year and during that time also went to preschool there so the teacher could reinforce the strategies she was learning in speech therapy. She has made excellent progress. Our hope was that she could overcome her disfluency by kindergarten, and she pretty much did. She is now in kindergarten and she only goes to speech twice a month now, merely to reinforce and make sure she doesn't regress during this big transition to kindergarten. We couldn't be more pleased with her progress and I would recommend this course to you. Don't keep waiting and waiting like we did. We feel like we should have trusted our instincts and had her evaluated much sooner. My advice would be to watch her for the few months and look for signs that she is frustrated or anxious about speaking. If by the time she turns 3, it gets worse, or just doesn't get better, I would call the local public preschool and ask for an evaluation. When you call, keep in mind that you should approach this from the perspective that you are concerned that her disfluency will hinder her progress in an educational setting. It is your legal right to have her evaluated and the school MUST do it within 30 days of your request, and MUST get the results within 45 days of your request. Keep a written record of any interactions with the special education team at the preschool from your very first phone call. And don't get scared off by the idea that your child might need special education. It has worked wonders for so many children. Doing it early really is best. Good luck!

My daughter does the same thing. My Pediatrician says that it's not to be worried about just yet but did say that if it would make me feel better she'd recommend a speech specialist. The first time the stuttering started I freaked out, and then within a day after I called the doctor it went away. Then a while later I noticed she did it again. I sort of feel like it could have something to do with her growth spurts. I can almost see the wheels inside her head spinning when she's trying to get the words out. At the moment she does it every once and a while, not for days at a time, and certainly not every day. She'll be 3 in February, and I know that between 2 and 3 is a huge change in speech development.

I think it's normal from what people have been telling me. We're waiting until 3 to see if she is still doing it before we go to a specialist.

My son went through the same thing around that age. He was very good at speaking and expressing himself then all of a sudden he started to studder. Our Dr said it was normal and not to make a big deal out of it and embarass him. So when ever he did it we would say stop take a deep breath think about what your going to say and try again and usually it was fine the 2nd time around. I also called family members and close friend to ask them not to tease him about it or to make a big issue of it and to do the same thing we were doing when he did it in front of them. In a few months it went away as sudden as it came. I think they just have so much to say they get ahead of themselves. Good luck.

Hi,

I'm so glad you have this resource to help your anxiety about this, because children have a way of picking up on any anxiety in the ones they love the most.

In addition to noticing when she has less fluent utterances, I have a few other suggestions. At this age hildren mimic the rate and length of speech of those around them. So when she is having difficulty it will help to monitor your own rate of speech, slow it down to normal if it is rapid, and also to use sentences rather than speak to her in paragraphs. When the disfluencies disappear, you can go back to paragraphs and your usual rate of speech. It also is now recommended that you do not ask her to slow down or take a deep breath, because both call attention to her production. Just wait her out and don't interupt by offering words. Best of luck!

mine too, same age right now.

Hi A.,
It was very strange to read your request this morning, because I just had this discussion last night with my husband. My son, who will be 2 1/2 next month just started doing the same thing. He's not stuttering, but his fluency and pronunciation has taking a huge back slide. I would say this has happened over the past week. My husband eased my mind a bit by telling me that is most likely is due to his vocabulary increasing, and his need to express himself as quickly as possible. It makes sense, but like you, I am still a little concerned. Having a friend that is a speech pathologist is very fortunate, this is what she is trained in, I would take her advice to heart. I will be eagerly reading your responses to see what other experiences other mothers have had with their 2 1/2 year olds. Just know you're not alone!

my daughter did it as well.. I was told not to worry about it unless she had recently fallen or bumped her head...
also, i was told to use more expressive words around her b/c she is trying to get things out that she is not totally sure of...expand her vocabulary...and help her "slow down"..

What a coincidence to read this, when I am going in to have my son evaluated by a speech pathologist in his peditrician's office today! We had a similar experience, my son is just over 3 now and for the last 5 months has stuttered but didn't seem too bad and didn't bother him. I read that it is very common in children 2-5. He has a great vocabulary and loves to talk/sing, etc. But the last few weeks it seems to have gotten worse. There was a weekend that he really had trouble with quite a few words and was getting frustrated b/c he tried so hard but the word wouldn't come out. He then said, you say it. So I called the dr. and they said it is common but we could have him evaluated to see if he needs speech therapy. If he does then you have to go through the public school system b/c of his age, 3. We will see what they say. If you're interested I can follow up with you on my appointment today. I'm very interested to see what they say. I just feel that if it is something, I'd rather start now to help him so he can hopefully overcome it. I do have family history, my mom stutters, even though they don't know why it happens or starts. But have read that don't stop them or make it a big deal. Just be patience and when it happens, try to use a slow soothing voice. I wish you luck and am glad that you know someone in the field. That is helpful to seek her advice as time goes on.