My three year old daughter has started to stutter. It has been going on for about 3 weeks now. At first I thought she might have picked it up from a child a daycare but now its getting a little worse. Do I need to take her to a speech therapist or wait it out and see what happens? If you have any suggestions PLEASE help me put because she is starting to get a little frustrated when she talks. Thanks!!
My 3 year old started stuttering too and then one day she stopped. I think it is a phase that they go through.
its totally normal for kids to have moemnt os dysfluency at this age. You should simply ignore completly! Kepp good eye comtact and if she says somehting about it you act like its not a big deal, don't name it stuttering and don't tell her to slow down or start over or anything. If it doesn't go away in a month or so then call an slp and it also matters how often shes having the spells and how long they last. more than 5 episodes per hr and go ahead and call an slp now
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Dont stress over it and dont pressure your child about it either. Its something a lot of kids that age go through and most will eventually out grow it - Its simply because they are learning and absorbing so much and trying out so many new words and activities - that their brain is moving faster than their little mouth can keep up with - simply tell your little one to calm down and take their time... its okay - you have all day to hear what they want to tell you or show you - even if you dont - pretend that you do......
My daughter went through the EXACT same thing - and like you I thought something might be wrong.... but her pedi told me do the above and see how it goes.... she is now almost 6 and is donting wonderfully even though she still over-runs her mouth sometimes and does it again on occassions..... We simply giggle about it now - I tell her - slow down take a deep breath and lets sit down and you can tell me all about it.... SLOWLY!!!
Stuttering can be completely normal. Especially if it's something along the lines of.... "I-I-I-I-I-I-I I'm thirsty (where they say the word but they are processing what they want to say). If it is stuttering in the middle of a word. Like, I'm "hung-g-g-g-g-gry," that's considered a little more of a problem. I would give it sometime because stuttering can be a very normal part of development but if it goes on too long or gets really bad, go ahead and get the opinion of a speech therapist just to be on the safe side. My son and many of my kids friends went through a bout of studdering. My son did what I gave you in the first example, my best friend's son did what I mention in the second example. They both outgrew it.
My son started stuttering just before he turned 2 and continued until about 3 1/2. You should definitely stay on top of this, but it really could just be normal developmental 'stuttering'. Someone previously posted a website: www.stutteringhelp.org. Its a great source of information. Really there is no way to get over true stuttering. You can only help your child to deal with the stuttering. The tips on the website are really helpful (even if she is not a true stutterer). And its actually YOU that has to make the changes. And above all, don't tell her to slow down or make her aware of her stuttering as it really doesn't help. The good news is that she is at an age that her friends will likely not even notice her stuttering and it won't be an issue socially. My son was never teased and to this day he is not even aware that he ever stuttered. And don't feel that you have to do something today, but definitely keep watching for any additional signs. I would recommend contacting her pediatrician to get his/her opinion and maybe some resources. Hang in there. I know its stressful. But just keep focussing on how you can help her and know that you are doing all that you can.
My three year old boys have been stuttering on and off for over a year. One has now completely stopped. A lot of times children will stutter when their brains are concentrating on another, more difficult task (potty training, school, etc.) I follow the don't say anything approach. I just patiently wait for my son to finish his thought. He doesn't seem frustrated by it in the least.
Stuttering is not something they pick up from other children. It's usually cause from the brain going faster than the mouth. So it's normal for some stuttering while they are learning to really communicate.
Now if her stuttering continues talk to her pediatrician and see what they suggest. Personally I have had a mild stutter all my life. It usually happens when I'm tired and my brain is going faster than my mouth as I'm trying to communicate something. I've been lucky to not need speech therapy but I've known people with severe stutters and it really can hinder your life. So I would just keep an eye on it.
Just a fun fact, James Earl Jones had a severe stutter before getting into dramatic arts. Drama helped him over come his stutter. (Now to think the voice of Darth Vadar had a stutter? lol)
EDIT:
Here are some sites that may help you. Also have your daughter take a deep breath and think about what she wants to say before she says it, this should help with the frustration.
Call Brighton or an ECI (early childhood intervention program). They come out to evaluate your child. But I think if they are 3 yeard old, you can take them to your school (the public school she will attend) to get help with the speech therapist at school.
My kids have done the same thing. I just tell them "hold on, stop. think about what you want to say and then start again slowly." In all our cases it has corrected its self. I also think there is no harm in contacting your public heath department and just asking them for some ideas.
Good luck
E.
I have been dealing with the exact same thing with my 2 1/2 year old daughter. It started back in November, lasted about 2 weeks and went away. Then it came back after Christmas and has been pretty concerning since then. It keeps changing. Anyway, I just wanted to share this website that I have found very useful. It is:
http://www.stutteringhelp.org/
They have a lot of good information on there about normal disfluency versus actual stuttering and what the risk factors are. I printed out a sheet from there about talking to your child and stuck in on my fridge for a helpful reminder for me. I have called a speech therapist myself just to ask some questions. I am waiting for a return call. I'll let you know what she says. My daughter has definitely gotten frustrated by it. Just know that if it scares you a little, you are not alone. It is so difficult for me to hear because of that natural fear as a mom that it causes me to have. :P
Does the older one talk for her a lot? If so it could be she's trying to talk herself and is doing it so fast she can't get it out.
Hi BJ. My daughter started doing the same thing about age 2 or 3. I was talking about it to a friend of mine and she told me her daughter did the same thing and she found out it was because she was watching Dora the Explorer. You know how the song starts out...D D D D D Dora? Well, that is why our daughters were doing it. It didn't last for lone. Just something to think about. Good luck.
Talk with your pediatrician about it first before going to a specialist. My daughter (now 16) did the same thing and I was starting to panic. After checking her out, my Pedi told me that I had nothing to be concerned about - it's just that her brain was going to fast for her mouth to keep up. ... and now, ~ 13 years later, I can attest that THEY WERE RIGHT!!! We're lucky if we can get a word in edgewise!
But your pediatrician can make that initial assessment.
GOOD LUCK!
She is fine. My son started around 3 years old. Just like another mom said their mouth can't keep up with their brain. I at the time didn't know it was normal and called my local school system and spoke with the ST and she sent me some wonderful info on stuttering. You are actually not to point it out to them because some children can stop talking as much. Plus when you point out to them they start to notice it as a problem and can become frustrated. You are suppose to let themtake as much time as they need to express themselves and do not complete their sentences. I know this is different from what some of the other responses but this did come from the Speech Language Pathologist. My little guy grew out of it. We had a few set backs mainly when routines changed and during school breaks because his siblings where out of school then and he actually would almost stop stuttering then it was time for school to start up again and I felt like we were at square one again but it did eventually resolve itself. Hope this helps>
If your kid is getting frustrated then contact your local elementary school and have her evaluated. Don't wait, it could be nothing but if she needs speech therapy it is better to do it as soon as possible.
Good luck,
DH
A lot of kids stutter for a while. I've been told that it's really only concerning if it goes on for more than six months at a time, or if you have a familiy member who needed help to stop stuttering.
Is she starting to show a hand preference, by the way? No one really knows why, but lefties who are "encouraged" to use their right hands tend to be stutterers.
