2 1/2 Year Old Just Started Stuttering

I have a friend that had two kids that stuttered. The older one at about age 7-8 ended up having a brain tumor and is fine now...in fact graduating from college. The second one (after all the tests) decided that everyone was talking to fast at home and the daughter couldn't keep up. So they suggested everyone slow down and speak slow and clear. (she was the youngest of 6 kids with everyone much older than her) Within a few months it cleared up.

I don't have any advice, but my 2 1/2 year old is doing the same thing. If you here anything I would love to see what the feedback is on this subject. Thank you.

B.

If it just started I think it is normal. I worried as my son would do the same thing, it actually lasted several few months! I freaked as sometimes he got stuck on something he was saying and stuttered through it. I think it is normal when they first start talking full sentences.
It never hurts to talk to your Pediatrician so if it is something then you can intervene early.
I think it is a brain, mouth connection and trying to form sentences and words and making the connection.
My daughter spent a year going "um um" before she said something when she first started talking.

My mom is a speech therapist and my 2 1/2 year old is doing the same thing. She said it is totally normal for them to do this. No need to worry!

Hi, J.! Good news for you: my daughter did the same thing at about the same age (just a couple months younger). I remember the stuttering being mostly associated with certain sounds--lots of w's: "W-w-w-w-w-what are you doing?" I asked our pediatrician about it, and here's the advice she gave us:

"At her age I am not too concerned about the stuttering, but I do think there are some things you can do to help her grow out of it. Look over the following information about stuttering and let me know if you have any further concerns.

Speech Problems: Normal vs. Stuttering
What is the difference between true stuttering and normal speech problems?
As children learn to speak they may naturally have some difficulty. Usually these problems are transient and part of your child's normal development. However, sometimes children will develop a more serious problem such as true stuttering.

Normal Speech Problems

Articulation: When your child does not pronounce words correctly or clearly while he is learning to speak, it is called normal dysarthria. Normal dysarthria occurs between the ages of 1 and 4 years. Children may say many words that their parents and others can't understand. The cause of normal dysarthria is usually inherited. About 70% of children have the ability to pronounce words clearly from the time they start to speak. The other 30% have many words that their parents and others can't understand. Normal dysarthria is not a brief phase but instead shows very gradual improvement over several years as a child develops. The speech of at least 90% of the children who have dysarthria becomes completely understandable by age 4. The speech of 96% of these children becomes completely understandable by age 5 or 6.
Fluency: Normally, speech is fluid with words flowing smoothly as your child speaks. Normal dysfluency, also called pseudostuttering, is the occasional repeating of sounds or syllables that children make when they are learning to speak between 18 months and 5 years of age. It occurs in many children. Normal dysfluency occurs because the mind is able to think of words faster than the tongue can make them. It increases when the child is tired or overexcited. Normal dysfluency only lasts for 2 or 3 months if handled correctly.

True stuttering

True stuttering (stammering) occurs in only 1% of children. Stuttering is 4 times more likely in boys than in girls. In most cases, true stuttering is an inherited problem. It can also occur when a child with normal dysfluency or normal dysarthria is pressured to improve and becomes sensitive about the problem. The child may begin to anticipate speaking poorly and struggle to correct it. The child becomes tense when he speaks, and the more he attempts to control his speech, the worse it becomes. True stuttering will become worse and persist into adulthood, without treatment.

Some characteristics of true stuttering include:

frequent repetitions of sounds, syllables, or short words
frequent hesitations and pauses in speech
absence of smooth speech flow
tense facial expressions or facial tics
a fear of talking.

How can I help my child?
The following recommendations should prevent dysfluency or dysarthria from developing into stuttering.

Encourage conversation. Sit down and talk with your child at least once a day. Keep the subject matter pleasant and enjoyable. Avoid asking for verbal performance or reciting. Keep speaking time low-key and fun.
Help your child relax when stuttering occurs. Mild stuttering that's not causing your child any discomfort should be ignored. When your child is having trouble speaking, however, say something reassuring such as "Don't worry, I can understand you." If your child asks you about his stuttering, reassure him that, "Your speech will get easier and someday the stuttering will be gone."
Don't correct your child's speech. Avoid expressing any disapproval, such as by saying, "Stop that stuttering" or "Think before you speak." Remember that this is your child's normal speech for his age and is not controllable. Do not try to improve your child's grammar or pronunciation. Also avoid praise for good speech because it implies that your child's previous speech wasn't up to standard.
Don't interrupt your child's speech. Give your child ample time to finish what he is saying. Don't complete sentences for him. Don't allow siblings to interrupt one another.
Don't ask your child to repeat himself or start over. If possible, guess at the message. Listen very closely when your child is speaking. Only if you don't understand a comment that appears to be important should you ask your child to restate it.
Don't ask your child to practice a certain word or sound. This just makes the child more self-conscious about his speech.
Don't ask your child to slow down when he speaks. Try to convey to your child that you have plenty of time and are not in a hurry. Model a slow relaxed rate of speech. A rushed type of speech is a temporary phase that can't be changed by orders from the parent.
Don't label your child. Labels tend to become self-fulfilling prophecies. Don't discuss your child's speech problems in his presence.
Ask other adults not to correct your child's speech. Share these guidelines with babysitters, teachers, relatives, neighbors, and visitors. Don't allow siblings to tease or imitate your child's stuttering.
Help your child relax and feel accepted in general. Try to increase the hours of fun and play your child has each day. Try to slow down the pace of your family life. If there are any areas in which you have been applying strict discipline, back off.

When should I call my child's healthcare provider or speech therapist?
Call during office hours if:

Your child has true stuttering.
Your child stutters after age 5.
Your child has facial grimacing or tics associated with his speech.
Your child has become self-conscious or fearful about his speech.
The dysfluency doesn't improve after trying the above suggestions for 2 months.
Your child's speech is delayed (no words by 18 months or no sentences by 2-and-1/2 years).
Speech is more than 50% unintelligible to others and your child is over age 2.
Speech is more than 25% unintelligible to others and your child is over age 3.
Speech is more than 10% unintelligible to others and your child is over age 4.
Speech is 10% unintelligible to others and your child is over age 4.
You have other questions or concerns."

We just stayed consistent with her advice, let her preschool know how we were handling it and asked them to do the same, and the stuttering went away.
Good luck!
S.

I would watch it but not worry about it, all of mine did it for a good year after they started talking, thier brains just move a hundred times faster then thier mouths.

My daughter did this for a while. Seemed like it was going to be an issue, but noticed it wasn't something that was on going. She normally did this when she was excited and had alot to say and would stutter trying to think about all the things she wants to say. I just try and correct her and tell her to calm down and then she's fine. I think it's just a phase. Nothing to worry about, as looking at the other posts, seems like it's something normal.

I work on the school bus and I see a lot of this. They get so excited that their brain can not keep up. You might want to call and talk to a speech therapist. You could also ask a pre-school teacher from a local school or small group kindergaten teachers are excellent. I would not place too much emphasis on it. Talking to her a lot and reading books to her might help.

My daughter stuttered off and on for probably a year & a half - maybe 2 years. She is now 5 & it has worn off. I just took my 3 yr. old in for his well child check up & they just happened to give me some info on stuttering. They recommend that you just ignore the problem - don't point it out & don't correct her. It recommends talking to her a little slower. It says that 1 in 20 children stutter at this age and that it is a normal thing - it shows up most when a child is ill, tired or anxious. It also says to remember to praise them for all the other things they do correctly. It then says that if the stuttering lasts longer than 2-3 months or if the child begins to show signs of tension, anxiety and self consciousness to contact the pediatrician. When I discussed my daughter's case with my doctor, he wasn't concerned. We did nothing but follow these recommendations & it resolved on it's own. Your daughter is probably just fine, but if you're concerned, it never hurts to contact your doctor.

HI. I'm a speech therapist. We see this kind of thing every ow and then. I can tell you that statistically, most kids (especially girls) outgrow this on their own without the need for any speech therapy. Unless it is happening every time she tries to talk and she is having severe blocks (can't get past the first sound of words), I would not worry about it too much. Pointing it out to her at this age may just exacerbate the problem. We know that stress and change of environments can also exacerbate the problem.
At this point, probably the best thing to do would be to be patient, not mention it to her, and wait it out for a few months. More than likely, the problem will take care of itself. Best of luck!

My little girl stuttered for about 9 months as well, around age 3. It got progressively worse as time went on and then it peaked and got better and better, and now she never does it at all. It seemed to me that she just had so uch to say and was so excited that she kept tripping over her words. We just did our best not to rush her or finish her sentences, and would try to give her our full attention when she was speaking, that way she felt less rushed. Sometimes we would remind her to "slow down, it's ok, we are listening, go ahead..." I would just pay close attention to whether it seems like what I am describing, and maybe just bring it up at her next pediatric checkup.

This is what we did with our son when he stuttered. We just told him to slow down and start over or say again. Be patient is the best thing you can do. Most kids go through this and it is usually a stage...my son only stuttered for about 2 months. Good luck and know you are not alone!

It's extremely normal and may continue until she is 4 or 5. After that, your doctor can help you figure out if it's a serious problem or not and help you find a speech therapist if one is needed. As for now, it might be a little bit annoying, but try to be very patient with her as she tries to say what she wants to say. But for now, it's very normal.

Jamie,

I wouldn't worry about it quite yet. He may be sorting too quickly through all the great new words he can say and his brain may be going faster than his tongue can keep up! This was a challenge for my nephew (he's now 13 and speaks quite well... too frequently in fact!! ;) ) Ask your doctor about it age development wise he/she would know for sure. But I think there isn't too much to fear even with stuttering for a couple of months. Make sure when he talks to you that you are fully attentive and he doesn't feel rushed, but feels completely understood. Stuttering can cause parents to finish sentences which I've heard is not a good thing... you DO know exactly what he's going to say, but let him get it out, he'll feel better about talking.

Hope that helps!

V.

PS I've got a lifetime friend (since kindergarten) that has stuttered his whole life, and he's done pretty good for himself, even with a stutter. He manages it better now that he's almost 30, but it is still there a little! It is survivable!

For what it's worth... my son stuttered for about 3 months just after turning four, and it did resolve on its own. The one thing I did teach him to do was stop, take a deep breath, and try again, because he would get really frustrated and dissolve into tears if he didn't "reset". I think in his case the stutter was caused by wanting to say everything on his mind at once.

My kids all went through this. They just can't talk as fast as they are thinking and they get all flustered. Or they hadn't completely thought it through and are trying to think of how to say it while they are trying to say it and it comes out as a stutter. I would tell them to stop, think about what they are going to say, then tell me. (Harder when she's 2 1/2 though).
Don't try to finish her sentances. Listen patiently. Once she has said her idea, you can restate it to clarify ("you mean ..... right?") It also models the correct way to say it.
I wouldn't worry too much yet. She's still developing her speech. Mention it to the Dr. at your next appointment if she hasn't grown out of it, and he can listen to her and advise you.

A 2.5 year old can also be simply going through disfluency where she is learning so many new words that they 'stutter' when trying to use the correct one. www.stutteringhelp.org can help you out quite a bit.

My son started stuttering at 21 months, especially when he got really excited about something. It's been three months and the stuttering is starting to taper off, but he stuttered a lot for about 2 months (especially during the holidays, as there was lots of excitement going on). We just let him take his time, and don't make a big deal out of it.

My pediatrician said the same as several of the other posts -- that some kids start stuttering when their thoughts become complicated enough to get ahead of their mouth. My ped said it typically happens around age 3. My son is about a year ahead verbally (he was talking in sentences at 15 months) -- so it can happen earlier or later, depending on where the child is in their speech development.

I would not panic just yet. I found with my children that their minds were racing quicker than they could get out the words.

K.

My daughter (now 3 1/2) stuttered for almost 9 months. It would come and go...her pediatrician said it was just that time in her life when her brain processes information faster than she is able to speak it. We were concerned, but if it comes and goes and doesn't happen Every time she speaks, then its not a big deal. The best thing you can do is to listen and not try to get her to "spit" it out or speak faster. Don't acknowledge the stutter and it will dissapper. If you acknowledge it, she might think that it is a way to get attention.

Hi J. - if you are concerned, you could have her speech tested for free through the ChildFind Program through the state dept of education. Below is a link to their website and another link to the directory of offices. You would call the one in your school district. They are extremely helpful and friendly.

My son has been receiving weekly speech therapy in our home since he was 2 and is progressing rapidly with their help.

http://www.cde.state.co.us/early/CFPreResources.htm

http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdesped/download/pdf/CF_Direct...

My niece just started doing this, she is 33 months old. My sons speech therapist heard her doing it and said it is very nowmal. It peaks between 2 1/2 and 3. It is like she is trying to talk faster than she can get the words out and gets stuck on one word.