Child Stuttering

It comes and goes with my son. Lately, when he starts to stutter, he gets so frustrated he says, "MOM! I can't say words!" Which is funny because he can say that sentence! He just can't get his thoughts out fast enough. His pediatrician once told me that true stuttering to "worry" about is when they repeat the first sound out a word and can't seem to get the word out, as opposed to repeating a whole word or syllable. For example, my son will say, "Hey mom, hey mom, hey mom, hey mom........" and struggle to get out what he wants to say, as opposed to saying, "m-m-m-m-m-mom", which is when I would worry.

You will need to get a referral to a pediatric speech therapist. Your pediatrician should be able to do this.

Hi J.,
I am a speech pathologist. Your dtr is going through what is called developmental disfluency. True stuttering usually doesn't happen until about age 5. Because she is developing so much vocabulary, grammar, syntax, etc. the fluency component of speech breaks down temporarily. It is very important for you to completely ignore her disfluency. Don't tell her to slow down, start over, or finish her sentence for her. If she becomes aware that her fluency is distracting from her message it could develop into a true stutter. Instruct all adults who spend time with her to completely ignore the disfluency and just model slow, "easy" speech. Hope this helps, I know it can be a little scary, one of my daughters did it too!

My own son went through this when he was just over 2 years old and I was devastated wondering what was going on until I spoke to his daycare director. She explained most kids go through this around this age and it is because they are thinking so much faster than they can get the words out. It was mostly the "I" and "the". But we just listened patiently for him to say what he needed to say and to be honest I didn't think about again until your question and I realized he hasn't done it in about 8 months. So I would give her a month or two and then if you are still concerned, ask your pediatrician.

Very common. My son was an early talker too and did this around the same time as your daughter. It lasted on and off for about 6 months. My ped told me it is common with kids who have good verbal skills because their brains are working faster than they can keep up with. If it lasts more than 6 or so months I would check into if further.

This is probably nothing, but I would have her checked out by your pediatrician. All kids do stutter at times, but this sounds a little more severe. Best wishes.

My 2 year old just did this about a month ago. It came on all of a sudden and lasted about 3 weeks. I called the doctor. He told me it isn't true stuttering it is more of a disfluency b/c their mind is working faster than their mouth.

Oh, I know the panic. It's awful seeing their sweet little faces struggling with a word or several words.. and then you worry they'll get discouraged! This happened briefly not to my own son but it did happen to a friend of mine's daughter. She just let her try and say the words, didn;t jump in to help right away. And she remained calm and smiled encouragingly and was careful not to stress (i.e. show it in her face or her voice) since kids are so extra sensitive to that. It seemed to help and after some encouragement the stuttering subsided.. it was several weeks though.

Try that.. but if it drags on a bit longer I'd say check out a pathologist too. Doesn;t mean a big commitment necessarily.. plenty of times they resolve the issues within a small number of visits, too. Depends on a lot of factors how long it takes having that in your back pocket allays the pressure on you as a mom. This happened to my brother when he was little too (before I came along.. and he had other speech issues briefly as well but I think that coincided with stressors at home like my parents getting divorced, etc. It was resolved within a year 100% from what I know. Best thing: don;t panic and don't get ahead of yourself worrying yet. Stumbling along the way seems more common than not when kids are learning.. hang in there and good luck!

Relax. Her little mind is moving faster than her mouth can. Just about all kids go through this.

you've already gotten lots of good responses. My daughter (2.5yrs old) started doing the same thing not too long ago, come to think of it, I haven't herd her do it in a while. I wasn't concerned, It seemed to happen when she was trying to string along A LOT of words. I think her little mind was moving faster than her tongue! I would think what your daughter is doing is totally normal! Encourage her conversation and have fun with her!

My oldest son did the same thing. My ped. said if it lasted more than 2-3 weeks, then we might want to get it checked out, or if he did it ALL the time. It went away, came back a few months later, then went away again. Came back, and I made an apt. to have him evaluated. It went away the day before the apt, and hasn't come back. I wouldn't worry now, but do keep an eye on it and make an apt. if you feel it is getting worse or not going away. I think it's very common.

Stuttering is very common for early talkers. It usually comes between 2.5-3.5 yrs. Stuttering is normal at this stage. When she stutters, look he in the eye and wait till she gets out her thoughts. DO NOT EVER say slow down, take a deep breath, or finish her sentence before she does. It will disappear the same way it came on. ALso when you read to her slow down YOUR speed and rhythm. There is also a tapping method you can use for Fear Paralysis Reflex that is extremely simple and works in a few times. Let me know if I can teach it to you. Other then that, just wait it out a few months.