Almost Three Year Old Is Stuttering

I would have a speech evaluation done this is very common in boys his age. My son had the same problem, he started speech therapy when he was 3 now he is 6 and you can't even notice.

Im majoring in speech pathology, and last semester we learned that EVERY child goes through a stage(about 6 weeks) where stuttering is completely normal. We also learned that if you bring attention to it, it is more likely to become a bigger problem because it makes the child nervous if you point it out. So just ignore it for now.

My son does the same as Amber W's. He stutters the first word of a sentence. He doesn't do it all the time, but it comes and goes. It usually only lasts for less than a week. I'm starting to think it might also coordinate with growth spurts. Whatever the case, it always worries me when it comes back, but I have to remember it's probably nothing. My speech therapist friend told me it's common for boys to do this especially and that stuttering that starts before age 4 usually goes away on it's own. Try not to worry and give it a little time to go away.

My son did the same thing around that age. I was also concerned and being I worked in the school system had access to a speach therapist. She said it is completly normal. She said what happens at this age is their brain is going faster than their mouth. They cannot get the words out as fast as what their brain is telling them to and that causes stuttering. My son is now 4 and has completly outgrown it as she said he would. She said by the time he is 5 if he has not outgrown it, then it may be a concern and I should get it checked. I would not worry about it right now. Just wait to see what happens. Also, dont bring it to his attention that he is doing it. The therapist said to just ignore it and it shall go away on its own. If you acknowledge it, then he will, being he is getting attention for it, continue it.

How normal is it? Very. Most of the moms responding said to wait it out and I agree. But, I want to say a little about how you might want to wait - as in patiently listening with your full attention, and without drawing any attention to the stuttering, or finishing his sentences for him. I come from a family of mild stutterers (and interrupters) and I think (unprofessional opinion) that most of it starts at this age when attention is drawn to the 'problem' and the child becomes self-conscious or anxious about speaking so he or she might have more difficulty outgrowing it. The other thing that happens, especially if you finish sentences, is that even if we cannot get a word out, we still want to make some sound (umm, err) so listeners know we still want to speak and we want them to continue listening. If you listen patiently perhaps it will be easier for him to outgrow it. Hope this is helpful.
S.

Hi! The same thing happened to my now 4 year old when he was two. I took him to the doctor and they told me to just wait it out. It's very normal and it usually lasts just a little while. After about a month it stopped. My two year old little girl did the same thing and she has stopped as well. Good luck!

Hi Kourtney,

It's normal!! My daughter did this too!! I worried she would stutter b/c me and my husband did it and went thru therapy when we were little. She is 4 now and doesn't do it anymore.
Good Luck, D'Anne

My son will be 4 in october and he does the same thing. His is taking a breath in the middle of a word and then not catching up with what he is saying. My neice is 7 and she still does the sam thing. What I am getting at is since he is just speaking in full sentences he is still able to be worked with b4 it sets in. My son never did it until maybe 2 months ago and hes been talking a while. My neice was never worked with on her speech and it gets worse. So I dont believe its anything to worry about give him time and when he studders stop him and tell him to slow down and think about what he wants to say. Hope this helps.
D.

Hey Kourtney,

I also have a little boy about to turn 3. I too went through the "stuttering". Except not with him...my 4 year old daughter. I was deeply concerned because she has a great- uncle who stutters. She is always busy and has a lot to say. When she & I would talk one on one, it was normal. When she became excited and tried speaking, she would stutter. What was happening to her was that she was thinking faster than she could get it out. We worked with her by making her slow down her words and take her time speaking. After 3 months or so, no more stuttering. She's now 5 and about to start kindergarten with a perfect dialouge. If your son started stuttering all of a sudden at a birthday party, he was probably extremly excited and a bit over whelmed with all that was going on. He's just getting started at talking like a big boy, it will probably take some practice to get it perfect. The little one's are easy to excite. Don't you love it. Good luck!

Hi Kourtney,

Both my son and my grandson stuttered something terrible from about age 3 until they were almost 5. I don't remember my daughter doing it but that was 22+ years ago. I don't think you have anything to worry about but if it's really bad I'd suggest you take him to a speech specialist.

W. Q.

We had a bout with stuttering at one point too. I think it was around age 3. It wasn't constant, but was VERY pronounced when it happened. (to the point we thought there was something wrong with our daughter's brain) The problem DD had wasn't with certain sounds, but was more a problem of zoning out and repeating words over and over (example: I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I need a drink. or We, We, We, We, We, We, We, need to go to bed.) We watched it for a few weeks and it went away. When it would happen, I would stop whatever I was doing, get down on her level and give her my full attention -- sometimes with some soft reassurance. We were told that it could've been the result of extreme stress or just a "phase". (we had family issues at the time and I'm sure she was exposed to more of it than she should have been exposed to.) Keep a close eye on it for a couple of weeks. See if you can figure out any patterns, then talk to a medical provider. It happened to us, but I don't actually know how common it is. Good luck!

Whatever you do, DO NOT tell him to slow down or think about what he is trying to say when the stuttering occurs. Make him as unaware of it as possible. My son, at about that age, would stutter when he was excited or anxious about things. His doctor said they are taking in so much info and sometimes trying to get it all out is difficult when they are excited.

i stuttered when i was a child i remember when i was in 3rd grade having a stutter. and the kids did make fun of me. but i remember that i had to slow down and think about what i was saying then say it because my brian was running fast and when it would come out my mouth couldnt keep up. i hope i explained it clearly. but i just made myself think first then speak than it became a habit. and it went away. good luck.

Very normal. When he is excited, his words come to his head faster than he can get them out of his mouth. Just encourage him to take his time and be patient when you listen to him.

Hi Kourtney,

I would say it's very normal for little ones that age to stutter. They get so excited sometimes that can't speak as fast as they feel and end up tripping over their words.

God Bless and thoroughly enjoy your son...they grow up in the blink of an eye.

~V~

My son did the same exact thing at about the same age. He is now five and has outgrown it. It was just a phase that we went through for a while. His stuttering was getting pretty bad. We always encouraged him to slow down and talk slowly. He has one brother and one sister to try to talk over, lol. By the time he was about 4 he had outgrown it. We have had no problems since. Just give it time. You might ask about it in your next well child check-up, but I don't think it is anything to worry about unless it continues when he gets older.

My sister is a speech therapist and I have worked closely with therapist with my students. I've heard my sister say that some toddlers go through a stuttering phase as they think faster than they can speak when they get excited. I would not make a big commotion of correcting him and making him think he's doing something wrong. If you think there is still a problem talk to your pediatrician. He/she can reassure you about this.

Being I have 2 children with speech impediments, I know a little of what to do. First you need to bring this to your doctor's attention. Right now he's in that age frame where he is almost too old for early steps and too young for the school system, so if you think you can wait a couple of more months, go ahead and contact pupil appraisal in your school district and he will be tested there on site for everything (just incase) and they will set you up with a speech therapist that will come to your home or daycare facility until he starts school! It's really a simple process it just takes time.

Kourtney,
I spent 25 years as a Speech Pathologist. Most of that time was with 3-4 year old children. Your son sounds very normal. His brain is working faster than his mouth can work. The best thing that you can do is to try to ignore it. I know this is hard to do, but the least amount of attention drawn to it the better it will be for him. Hopefully this will go away as quickly as it came. Another tip is to slow your speech when you are talking to him. This gives him a model to slow his speech. If you decide that you need professional assistance, call ###-###-#### to make an appointment with the Tri-District Early Childhood Program. They will screen him for free. It is the responsibility of your local school district.
D. B.

It's normal. My 3 year old does it sometimes too. Her doctor says it's normal. Also normal is reverting to baby talk and gibberish which I find completely irritating but her doctor said to ignore it.:)Just thought I'd throw that in also