Toddlers and Stuttering

My son stutters at times . . . we have had his hearing/speech tested and those tests came back fine, we have had him see a speech specialist and they said his speech was fine . . . what we have found is that if we really limit his sugar intake the stuttering disappears!

My daughter stuttered til right before kindergarten. She outgrew it never needed speech or anything. My personal opinion is that I think highly overly intelligent kids have this problem because they are so smart and they are thinking and going 100miles an hour and can' keep up their fast brains.

A.,

All my kids did this at one point, sometimes twice. For some it lasted longer than others. It's like their brain starts moving faster than their mouth can keep up. I think the longest I remember it lasting was 6 months. I wouldn't worry about it unless he can never, ever get out a word without stuttering or it goes on for more than 6 months to a year. It's totally normal. All my kids outgrew it and ended up in the gifted program at school. Don't be worried about it.

S.

Be assired A. that this is total normal. My sister had to remind me that niece did the same thing. My daughter, who will be 3 in March was stuttering quite a bit at 2 1/2 but it has slowly gotten better. She still stutters when she is excited but her doctor has assured me that it is just a phase that she will grow out of.

Ok I know how u feel ok my husnabd to this day stutters and he's 31 ok he started to stutter when he was 2 and so what I'm tryin to say is that just cause ur son is only 2.5 u should hav him checked just to make sure!! My husband don't stutter bad now he went threw all the hoops and had teacher apon teacher when he was younger and threw out school and it made it to where he don't really doit now unless he's excited or under a lot of presure. So good luck ill answer any questions that u hav so ask away dear!! By the way we have twin 3 year old boys and they do not stutter and my 22 month old daugjter dosent show signs of it yet either
Good luck and I'm here for u!!

Kids typically go through a stuttering stage between 2-5 years of age. It can just be part of their development...they are learning a lot of language at this time. Boys are more likely to stutter than girls. If your son just started to stutter I would wait a little while to see what happens with his speech. Really listen to see if he always stutters or if it is just sometimes (when he's excited or upset). If the stuttering happens all the time then I'd be more inclined to see a Speech Therapist for an evaluation. If it just happens once in awhile then I'd likely wait a few months to see if it improves. Of course, if you are concerned, go ahead and see a Speech Therapist right away because they can always give you suggestions on what to do to help your son's speech become smoother. I know if you are a fast talker, they recommend slowing down a little. They also recommend patiently waiting until your son finishes what he wants to say and then repeat it back to him (so he can hear how it should sound). Our son began stuttering when he was about 2 1/2 but his stuttering is very inconsistent. He can go several months without seeming to stutter at all and then he'll have several months of stuttering. So far we are just monitoring it...about the time I start to think we should have him assessed his speech usually smooths out! As others have suggested you can also check the web. There are several good websites including ASHA and a National Stuttering one. If you google stuttering they should come up.

If he is still stuttering, or if it returns, get help through The Stuttering Foundation at www.stutteringhelp.org.

Our son is 3 and is doing the same thing or he will repeat the first word or two several times before continuing with the thought. The one thing that I have been doing is I will notice that he seems to be getting frustrated and I will tell him to slow down and think about what he wants to say and then tell me. I then wait patiently while he slows down his brain enough to clearly tell me whatever it is. It usually will work for him.

I wouldn't worry, 2 yr olds stutter when they are trying to get their mouths around the next word/sound, or if they are trying to talk before the thought is finished forming in their little brains. It's part of the fun of listening to them learn to talk, he'll get it worked out.

That's perfectly normal. I woudln't give it a second thought of worry. My daughter went through that at about 2 1/2 as well. She's 4 now and speaks perfectly for her age. Their brains are developing rapidly at 2 ish and they can't get the words out as fast as their mind thinks and processes them. It's a normal phase.

Hi A.! I just made this same post a few months ago for my 2.5 year old daughter! :) I was worried because it would get so bad trying to get a word out that she'd cry! Ladies on here (and her doctor) assured me it was a normal phase and that it would pass. It sure did. It took about 2 weeks for most of it to go, and probably a full month before it was gone completely. But things are fine now and her vocab is amazing!

A few tips I got: 1) Don't try and say the word for your son... let him get it out no matter what. 2) When he's stuttering - if you're able (i.e. not driving or something) - get down on his level, look him in the eye and smile and be patient. Let him know its ok and you'll wait and are interested in what he has to say. Those two things really helped us!

If it goes on for more than a month there's no harm in taking him in to your ped to see what he/she thinks, but I'm betting you won't have to! :)

My daughter who will be 3 in March went through that this past fall. Actually she will still do it occasionally but at one point it was really bad - almost painful to listen to - I felt so bad. I did call her Dr and she said that it is totally normal - and if we still had concerns we could discuss at her 3 year appt. I also spoke to a friend whose son did the same thing and she was told not to acknowledge it and not to correct him. Which my dr confirmed. Let them finish what they're trying to say.

Hi A.,
My son,who is 4, also stutters. He has been stuttering for a while and will be going to get evaluated with out local school's speech therapist. I have done a lot of research on line and am now a member of the National Stuttering Society- and from what I've read and used it seems to be trial and error on what will work with your child. Of course patience is the key, and don't finish his sentences for him that will only add to his frustration -at least it did for my son. and I've read that if you do complete their sentences they won't learn to slow down to help correct the stutter and it could affect their self esteem. We also (we including his grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers and classmates) tell him to slow down and take his time so that he has to pause and reorganize his thoughts, which generally helps get the words out smoother. He also taught himself to clap out his words (like we were taught to clap out syllables in a word) and that has helped tremedously! He still stutters and it will be something that we will always have to work with I think, but I think that with some easy techniques and patience we'll get past it. I would talk to your dr if you are concerned about it, it might be too early to get him evaluated- I'm not realy sure what the age is on that, but it's worth looking into. Also go to the national stuttering society's webpage, they have great articles, and tips, and support groups in many areas and an annual convention.
I hope this helps, take care,
H.