I have been so proud of how verbal my 2 year old is! He has been more verbal than a lot of kids in his class, and all of a sudden (literally from Thursday to Friday,) he has started to stutter---bad. M-m-m-mommy I - I -I- I want a pancake. Of course I did what I'm not supposed to do and googled it and totally freaked out. Half of the websites say to call the pediatrician immediatley for evaluation for early intervention and half say its normal and to let it go 6 months and check for improvement. If it was every couple of days this happened I would let it go, but since Friday, it has become worse and worse, and I am pretty sure he is aware of the fact that his mouth is not catching up with what his brain wants to say.
Are there any moms out there who have experienced this? Any comforting advice? I think I am going to go ahead and call the doctor anyway, but I would certainly love any stories or experiences anyone has.
Thanks!
Thank you all! We DID end up going to the ped yesterday and he was reassuring. He said he gets calls 2-3 times per week about this type of stuttering , about my son's age. My son talked to the doc and he did stutter, but was able to get through sentences. He recommended giving it 6 weeks. If it gets worse or stays just as it is, we may start a bit of speech therapy, but his guess is that it will get better quickly and even go away. I will keep you posted.
My sister is a speech pathologist and had mentioned to me before about stuttering in children. She suggested having the child SING what they want to say-- it may help him get out what he wants to say. Good luck!
Hello A.
I went through this with my daughter starting when she was about a year ago. She was always ahead with her vocabulary and all of a sudden began stuttering, I too freaked out until I ran across the Morning Show and coincidentally they were talking about the same issue with a Peditrician and a caller, the Dr. said it's probably just an issue like you said, the brain working faster than they can get the words out and would most likely go away in time. My daughter's stuttering also got worse, sometimes very bad for a few days, maybe even a week and then she would go for a week maybe 2 with no problem at all. So don't fret, if he begins to get aggravated, tell him to take a deep breath and try again. Best of Luck!
Yes,make a call to the doctor to ease your mind. There may be his best playmate at school that stutter and children do mimic other children.also just ask him to slow down when he's talking and this will help. Please don't excite him about it. I'm sure he'll be fine.
Calm down. I would not worry at this point. It is totally normal for kids around his age to think faster than they can speak. If you stress him out about it and focus on it there may become a problem. Do not make a big deal out of it. Just be patient and let him get it out do not correct him or stress him out about it. It is normal. If he has great language skills already he will catch up to his brain in no time.
Good luck
Oddly enough, i just read an article about this the other day. It said that temporary stuttering can be completely normal as the mouth has trouble catching up with the brain! I know that it must be very worrisome and i myself would seek a doctor just for comfort's sake. As hard as it may be, try not to worry. The article also mentioned not making a big deal out of it with the child because that could make them self conscious and make the situation worse. I pray for your sake that it is a brief stage. I know how panic and fear can take over when there is a problem. Like i said earlier, go to the doctor, if for no other reason than to make yourself feel better.
Best of luck & god bless!!
A. - My son started doing that too at about the same age. To me it seemed more like his brain was working too fast for his month. So when he'd start that 'I-I-I-I' thing, I'd get down on his level and ask him to speak slowly and tell me what he wanted. My husband would do the same. He quit doing it a couple of months later. It might be worth bringing up at your next Dr. appt and remember that if he has a real stuttering problem, there are terrific speech pathologists out there. Also,when he gets school age, he can be tested and the public school system will cover speech sessions with a professional.
Hi A.,
My son did this, too, for a short while when he was about that age. It didn't really bother me so much, because I knew he was playing with other kids at his mothers' day out and thought maybe he was trying to emulate one of them. The other thing was, he needed time to think of what he wanted to say, and would do it out of habit..."I want...I want...I want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich." For him it was just a conversational gambit. It passed. But I would still get your son checked out if it worries you. Does he play with other kids that might do that?
C.
When my daughter was in preschool and had just turned 3 she started stuttering. The only person she was around that stuttered was a student in her class. I had learned in an experiment from college on stuttering that it was contagious.
I was frustrated b/c my daughter spoke well and I was working so hard with her. We didn't start having any problems until I decided to pursue My career and let others raise my daughter. I quickly realized that I would rather be there for my child full time and my husband and pulled her out of day care. After abt a month the stuttering stopped as well. Good luck to you. You really don't have much control of the situation though when you aren't there to see what is going on full time I realized. Good luck to you. I don't know your full story so mine might not even relate.
Hi A.,
My son did the same thing several (3-4) times. It really seemed to be during his growth spurts, when his language was improving quickly. Since I'm a pediatric physical therapist, I immediately consulted my friend, who is a speech therapist and stuttering expert. She said kids who start stuttering before age 4-5 almost always grow out of it. Google "developmental stuttering" and you should find lots of info about it. Boys are much more likely to stutter (developmentally) than girls. My friend's advice to me was not to make a big deal about it, especially in front of him, but to monitor it. I tried to ignore it when it happened and to let him get the word out himself, but at times he would get SOOOOO frustrated that I would go ahead and finish the word for him. It was heartbreaking to me to watch him struggle, but he always came out of it in a month or so. My son is now 3 1/2 and hasn't stuttered since about the time he turned 3. Chances are very good your son will outgrow it. The stuttering most people worry about is the stuttering that starts after age 4-5, which can require help. I hope this helps!
Our granddaughter did the same thing. We got her to slow down when she would talk. We also got her prayed for. She no longer does this. She only did this for a short time.
This is normal for his age. Both my oldest daughter and my friend's son went through the same thing. They were both early and advanced in their language skills. Their little mouths have trouble keeping up with their brains. It didn't last long for either one of us. Our children are the same age and started at about the same time. She had already spoken to the doctor when I voiced my concerns to her and she calmed me down.
We have four kids. One is just starting to talk but all of the others went through the stuttering phasse. It is very normal. I just think that their minds really do work faster than their mouths at times. It was short lived and then it stopped. Hope that helps!
Hang in there! My husband has suffered with a stutter his whole life (better now, thank goodness, but still there). He had a horrible experience as a child (small town, no speech therapist, teasing from a step-parent). Don't rush to worry, but do watch and be ready to act.
Early intervention makes a world of difference. If this persists, DO NOT hesitate to take him to therapy. The sooner, the better. And remember, whatever you do do not react with alarm (this only makes the stutter worse due to nervousness) and do not finish his words/sentences for him (no matter how long it takes). Saying things for him increases feelings of frustration and shame, and only makes the problem worse. Good luck to you!
Hey A.! Well I don't know if it is normal or not. But please do call the doctor for I personally know that it is very embarrassing to be stuttering. I did it myself. I was in school with stuttering and all the kids made fun of me and I hated it. So the faster and the earlier you get help for him, the better. I hope that it helps cause kids can be cruel. I wish you all the luck.
L.
My son did the same thing at the same age. All of a sudden I noticed him stuttering the first words of his sentence. Eventually after about a month or two it just went away. He no longer stutters at all, just like before. Call your child's doctor if you feel it is a problem, but be patient it may just go away on it's own.
L.
I really think that this is normal. My son will be 3 in July. He can read small words and is very very smart. He does this, too, and it worried me at first, but I spoke to my pediatrician and he said it is normal. I was still skeptical until I visited some friends with a 4-year-old and she did it too. He does not always stutter, but he does from time to time and I really don't think it is anything to worry about.
A.,
Don't sweat it! I think just about all the kids in my daughter's little circle did that (some more than others). My understanding is that it's just what you thought--the mouth can't keep up with the brain for a while. Trust me, that mouth'll get really fast soon enough. ;)
L.
Fear not! Even in the worst-case scenario in which your kid becomes a chronic stutterer, you can fix it later with hypnosis, when he's old enough to be hypnotized (age 4? 5?) Just teach him confidence in spite of it and be very reassuring and he'll do just fine till then.
L.
My daughter started the same thing about that age. It is exactly what you said. Their little brains are going so fast, their mouths can't keep up. My daughter's stuttering has improved some now, she is 3.5, but she stil has moments that she can't seem to get it all out. I just tell her to stop slow down and slowly tell me what she is thinking.
This sounds exactly how my daughter did at age 2. She started talking at 6 months, so I was so worried when she started stuttering. I had to take speech at age 5, so I sure thought she'd have to also. My husband kept telling me that her brain is just working harder than her mouth. She is just thinking of all things she wants to say, but just can't spit it out how she wants. Sure enough - she did stop. I can't remember how long it lasted (seemed like 4ever), but she went to PreK this past year and did great! She'll start kindergarten in August.
Hope this helps!!
Good Luck, Sydne
