My 4 Year Old Daughter Stutters - a LOT - Help!!

We went through this with my son when he was 2 1/2, and our ECFE teacher referred to it as "functional dysfluency." She described it like you did, where he had a "Ferrari brain and a Matchbox mouth." In other words, the latter couldn't keep up with all the thoughts running through the noggin! She explained that it's something that comes and goes for various reasons, and that in MOST cases, it would pass on its own. She also said not to focus too much on it, like saying "slow down," which actually frustrates them more. It did pass, and came back a year later for a couple weeks, and then we haven't seen it since. Here's a link with some signals for seeking further help. Good luck, I know it's frustrating!

http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:GUgS-ZLL0rEJ:www.lan...

My brother in law had the same problem when he was growing up. His mother just had patience- and when it was just too hard, she made him go to a quiet room to think about it and when he was ready, to come and tell her what he wanted to say. It worked for him. He then outgrew it as he was able to control his thinking process. Good Luck!

I'm a speech therapist, and another tip that we give parents is to model a slow, relaxed rate of speaking to her, and give her time to respond. So, when you are speaking to her, try to speak more slowly and relaxed----I know, easier said than done! Try not to draw attention to her stuttering, and try to create situations during which she has ample time to formulate her thoughts into sentences. I agree, sometimes kids who have so much to say and whose brains are working so quickly do tend to stutter. It's really a good sign that she's not stuttering at school where it actually might be a more high pressure situation. Keep an eye on it, and if her stuttering does start to increase in different environments, have her evaluated again. Hope that helps!

My son went through a phase where he stuttered, a lot! It even frustrated him. I have read in parenting magazines, that it is a phase. They know how to talk so well, their little mouths just cannot keep up. You know your daughter, unless it has been going on for more then a couple months I wouldn't worry too much. My son did it at 4 yrs old, I think it lasted a couple to a few months. Then all of sudden, it disappeared. Good Luck!

I understand how frustrating this can be. My daughter stuttered for several months when she was 3 years old. She had been an early & AVID talker, was very outgoing, & very intelligent, so it just broke my heart when she started struggling to bring out words! Plus, it drove me crazy, as I'm not a very patient person! But I was assured by a special needs teacher friend of mine that it was a perfectly normal stage of speech development. She told us to not stress about it, & to not bring attention to it, & that she would outgrow it. She did. In the meantime, I took it as a growth period for myself as well, to learn more patience & to focus more completely on her, so that she knew that she had my complete attention when she was speaking. If she got frustrated, we encouraged her to take a deep breath (while we did too!) & try again, or to 'sing' what she wanted to say (she never stuttered when singing).

My daughter is also very intelligent bright and stuttered from 2-5.5 year old. I brought it up with preschool and kindergarten and had her evaluated twice with a speech pathologist.

It was happening for many reasons:
She's thinking to quickly(she's bright)

I'm inpatient and rush her alot

Bad Habit (only happened around those she knew)

NEVER happened in school but happened non stop at home

My daughter outgrew it between kindergarten and first grade. I have family friends who hadn't seen her in months and they will say "OMG Bryana doens't stutter anymore" she just stopped one day and I didn't even realize it. I'm like ummm ya I guess so. They were like oh but she sounded so cute and I'm like no she didn't.

I was told to make eye contact with her when she stuttered and not to finish her sentences and to patient with her.

I guess when it's a real problem and I have a friend who's real bad they always do it and they start doing weird things with their hands. Like my friend taps her leg as she stutters like you would do to the beat of music.

I know my daughter sounds like your and there was no way we qualified for help or that we could recieve speech it's a "temporary" problem and they're not considered real stutter's. It did bother my daughter and started embarassing her. It taught me to be more patient.

I personally think it has alot to do with intelligence.. always seems like the bright smart kids stutter they're just to excited and their brains are racing.

My son went through a stuttering phase also. We took him to a speech therapist, it seemed to go away shortly after the visit. Why are you getting angry at her? If she's only doing it at home, is she feeling rushed or stressed there more than other places? Have patience! You might pretend you don't even notice it - if she sees you getting angry and it makes it worse, then it might be best to try to ignore it. Repeat back to her what she said without any stuttering. Sometimes breathing techniques can help stuttering. Deep breath, pauses in the sentence, etc. Instead of getting angry, get in "help mode". Get on her level, look her in the eye and let her know you have her undivided attention, then have her slow down a little and then tell you what she wants to say. Try to notice if she's getting stuck on certain sounds, like a word beginning with S. If so, make up a game where you have to name all the words you know starting with S - take turns saying a word.