Need Advice on Stuttering

My son who is almost 5 stutters but only the first word in the sentence. I have a friend who is a speech therapist and she said that it is common in this age because their brains are thinking faster than their mouth will spit out. The few things she did say was never interrupt them when they speak just let them work through the word, never try to finish the sentence and never tell them to slow down. Just let them do it all on their own and eventually they will get it. Also she told us to start talking a bit slower because if we are fast talkers that's what he is trying to copy. Don't worry, they are so young and have so much on that little brain of theirs that it's gong to take some time to get it out. I would say if it's the same by kindergarden then look into therapy.
Good luck

I had seen this on tv not too long ago. But when the brain hears itself talk it disrupts the urge to studder.
also here is a site from other concerned parents.
http://parents.berkeley.edu/advice/worries/stuttering.html

Hi, I initally posted this response in November. I just retrieved it from the archives and pasted it here.

Let me assure you that EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE OK.
First of all, my daughter did the exact same thing. Prior to her third birthday, she had a fantastic vocabulary. She was a great, clear speaker and people would marvel at her speaking abilities. A couple of weeks after her third birthday, we were talking and she stumbled on a question. It went something like this "WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWHHHHHHHHAAATTTTTTTT, WWWWWWWWWHHHHHHHHAAAAAA, (pause) Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhht, Momma, something is wrong with my mouth." I was initially alarmed and I looked into her mouth and I told her that everything was ok and it was fine. Later, when she was talking with my husband, she stumbled over her w again. It was the first word in her sentence and she could not get through it.
A week later, the stuttering over the W's turned into he W's, L's, and M's. I then started making phone calls. First, I called my friend who is a pre k teacher. She told me that it was common and that I should ignore it and that I should NOT DRAW ATTENTION TO THE PROBLEM. She said that I should not make her feel self conscious & to bepatient. She also said that I should give it three months and that if it does not clear up that I should consider taking her in to a speech therapist. But,she told me that I should not worry but that this could get worse before it gets better.
A week later, my daughter and I had a day where she could not speak at all. Every word was a struggle and I was HEARTSICK! She could not communicate one thought clearly. EVERY WORD WAS LIKE THIS, "Maaaaammmmmmmmmmmm IIIIIIIIIII waaaaannnnn tottoooottoooo...... ." Then she would give up. It was that day when I called a speech therapist. She called me back and told me about the same information my friend gave me. She also added a few things. She said that I should NOT tell her to slow down. She said that I should not make her repeat words and "test" her. She said that I should not finish her sentences for her. She also said that I should speak slowly and model good speech fluency. The therapist I was speaking to was a true stutterer. She told me that when she was younger she could remember people telling her to slow down and repeat sentences. She said that was a no, no. Also, she told me that when my baby has a bad speech day, because every day it changes, some good , some bad, to do some non speech things; drawing, reading to her, watching a movie.
Ok, I did all of these things and i called my uncle who is a doctor and he said the same thing. He also told me to look for more things like, does she make faces when trying to talk? Like the facial muscles do not want to cooperate. My baby did not BUT she was making faces when trying to talk, but not straining faces. Just frusterated faces. He also told me that stuttering which happens at this stage/ age is usually not permanant. Statistics show that stuttering is mainly a male issue and it hits earlier in years.
Ok, here it is in November and my daughter hardly stutters. Now, it is maybe one stutter a day. It is not noticable and I am no longer crying about it. So,my advise to you is this and I wish I would have done this but I did not because of all the professional advise I received. I would have done everything the exact same except i would have said to my daughter that I understand she is having a problem with her speech but that it will be alright and that it is normal and it will be better. Instead, I did not say anything about it and I acted like I did not notice her stutter. I think my daughter was stressed out about her speech because she started touching her mouth when she was speaking and only now is she getting away from that. If you want to talk, call me at ###-###-####. L.

This posting was in November. Now it is Feb. and she does not stutter at all. The whole stuttering experience, from start to finish, was approx. 5 months. I saw a huge improvement in her fluency after 2 months. Please, seriously, call me and I can explain more to you. Your baby girl will be fine. What she has is a simple speech disfluency, it is just heartbreaking now. When I was going through this I wanted to talk to anyone who could offer help. Good Luck!

My daughter was about your daughters age, maybe a little younger, when she went through her stuttering phase. My daughters was short lived and it was only the w or wh words. It started out slow and then was very bad for a month or so. It did go away by itself. I think her little mind was just going faster than her mouth, but it is frustrating. The only things I really did, was when ever she had something to ask me, I would crouch down so I was eye level with her and had her ask me when she had my full attention. I don't know if it helped or not, but it did take some of the frustration out of it for her. I would talk to your doctor, esp. if it is all words she has problems with. Good luck!

Hi Patty,
My name is N. and i am a registered Speech and Language Pathologist. My recommendation to you is to contact a Speech Therapist in your area and request an evaluation. Early intervention is key to success with fluency issues. A qualified Speech Therapist will help you work with your child. The key ingredient at this age is parent training. If a doctor tells you she'll grow out of it please insist that she sees a therapist. I just moved to this area recently therefore i am not sure about the clinics in your area. You can also visit the stuttering foundation of america website for more information. For immediate direction look under the title 7 ways to help the child who stutters. This will get you on the right tract.
The Website may also help you pick a therapist that is right for you. Definitely check it out and spend time navigating the website for all the information pertinent to you and and your child. The Stuttering Foundation of America is an excellent non for profit organization.
Good luck and thanks for sharing your concerns about your child.
Sincerely,
N.

My son Jack who is now 3 started stuttering, he was already in speech therapy so I asked his therapist and she told me it was normal. They have so much going through there head at one time it is hard for them to spit it out. If it gets worse I would be concerned but if she just started it may just be a fase. I know it's hard to cope with now but it might straiten itself out. I went through First Steps in Indiana. They are wonderful with Kids. I have 3 boys, 5,3, & 9 months. The 2 older ones have speech delay.

I wouldn't get too worried about it yet. My 3 year old son went through a period where he was stuttering too. It lasted about a month or so and then disappeared as quickly as it started. My son would get very frustrated that he couldn't get the words out and we'd try to help him by finishing his sentences or asking him to point out what he wanted and also asking him to slow down and take a breath. I don't think it was anything that we did that got him to start talking regularly again. He will still occasionally get hung up on a word when he's excited and trying to talk too fast but the stuttering is all gone.

Hi, Patty!
As a veteran mom, I can tell you that my little stuttering guy has grown into a big 14-year-old who wins debates and stars in the school plays. So take a deep breath. You are a great mother to worry about this, but my instinct is that your instincts are right on target: probably just a phase, as she rushes to give form to all the wonderful thoughts tumbling around in her busy little head.

For help: call your school district first - that's what you're paying taxes for. They may have speech pathologists on staff who can do an evaluation. and there may be early-childhood intervention programs available at no charge. If that turns into a dead end, call the quality preschools and/or Montessori academies in your area. They will know about good speech therapists for you nearby, once you describe your daughter and this issue. You can also call your pediatrician's office for referral to speech therapists...see if the same name(s) keep popping up. Then when you go in for her regular check-up, you can discuss your findings with the doctor. Do have him/her check to see if there is fluid in ears, inflammation in throat, anything that might make speech/hearing tough...you never know.

Here is one piece of advice that is totally from my personal experience, and without any scientific backing: slow down the pace of your daughter's existence. Gradually scale down on fast-paced shows like Sesame Street, and let her watch more restful, quiet things. Same for books. Activities like big playgroups might be something you'll want to scale back on for now, too. Has she just started potty training? maybe be a bit more laid back on that program.

Again, remember to breathe!
Yours in mom-hood,
A. Marie

HI! I am also a speech therapist and I agree with what has already been written - when the child begins to stutter it is usually nothing to worry about because a lot of kids do so between ages 3-5. What you should be concerned about is when they seem to have secondary characteristics: facial grimaces, eye blinking, avoiding talking, etc. Slow everything down for her and get down to her level giving her your full attention to take the stress off of her; never ask her to slow down or calm down, etc. If things don't improve just call the school district and have her evaluated. Good luck!

My sons did this as well at that age. Their brains were working overtime and their mouths didn't have a chance to catch up. If this is really bothering you, see your ped. he or she will recommend something.

My son is 3 and began to stutter also. I am a teacher and talked to the speech therapist at school and she told me not to tell him to slow down and just slow things down in your home. Things as little as walking slower and not being in a rush. If you have a loud house quiet it down. She told me that most kids grow out of it if it does not run in your family. It is a language thing and all of the words they learn at this point is beyond belief and they just can't get them all out. I have noticed a huge difference with him. Basically she said just ignore it and wait for him to get out what he wants to say. Also, when your child is 3 years old if you want to have them tested to see if something is wrong the public school district has to do it by law if you request it. They also will provide services to your child. Good luck and I'm sure she will be fine. Hope this helps..

Hi there,

I have 3 1/2 year old twin girls and one of my daughter's has been seeing a speech therapist since she was born. Her sister started stuttering a few months ago. I brought this to the therapist's attention and she said a lot of kids go through this at this age because they have so much info going through their little noggins that sometimes their brain goes faster than their mouths can. =) I would still bring it up to your dr but I don't think you have anything to worry about.

I swear that what you wrote I could have written except that my daughter will be 4 in March. This all started in the last month and I was going to wait a bit longer until it became a real concern for me. She has problems with the letter s and w and a few others. I'm not too sure what to think of it.