My DD is almost 3 and she's been talking since she was 1. She has a pretty wide vocabulary and has never had trouble expressing herself, but within the last 3 weeks I have noticed that every time she starts a sentence with "I" it comes out "IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII" and then she finally follows with "want to go outside" It doesn't seem to matter if she feels rushed or not.
I brought it up to my husband yesterday afternoon and he seems to think that she is mimicking her best friend. The other little girl is 4 and our kids are around each other a couple times a week. I have noticed that the other little girl vocabulary its not that its not as advanced as my daughters I would just say that she is really hard to understand. To me she pronounces things like a 12-18 month old who is just learning to talk. But I have not noticed the other little girl stuttering on her words.
Is this just a phase shes going through or is she developing a stutter? Could it be like my husband suggests and she is just mimicking the way her best friend or as she calls her "sista" talks?
Thanks in advance :)
Thanks for all the helpful advice! Good to know its part of her development My son never did it so it was catching me off guard. My husband and I have ignored it thus far so we will continue to do so :)
R K. Thanks so much for your advice, I have been told on multiple occasions that I tend to speak in rapid fire form so I will try and remember to slow it down a little when I'm talking to her.
Happy Weekend!
I am a speech pathologist and I think it's nothing to worry about. Both of my boys went through a period of "normal" dysfluncies. My second son actually stuttered quite a lot for a short time. He was an early talker using full sentences by 20 months. He brain was working faster than his mouth. It was hard for me to listen too but I just ignored and it went away. I didn't want to reinforce it by calling attention to it.
It's not "sista" talk. It's normal. She's thinking faster than she can talk. The "IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII" gives her time to think. She wasn't like that before because she wasn't using higher level thought process and now she is. Be patient with her. This isn't actually stuttering, so you don't have to worry about that.
It's great that she is so verbal. Read to her a lot - that will help her.
I wouldn't worry...
All three of my kiddos did that. Their little brains were going faster than their lips could keep up with..then add excitement into the mix and you get alot of repeating the first word..or syllables.
I just tell my kids to slow down or stop then start back up again. It helps with writing too. They are so excited with tons of ideas and adjectives..but it takes some time to map out and formulate a paragraph or story.
Be patient..keep reading to her and asking questions.
Her repetition of IIII is not intentional. She probably is not aware of it. It's just a matter of her little brain processing more complex thoughts faster than she is capable of organizing into her language. This is typical development for her age.
Please don't call attention to it and stop any one else from commenting on it. When she speaks, attend only to what she is communicating , not how it comes out. When she is done speaking, just keep the conversation going.
And finally, this may or might not apply to you, but, it can be helpful to slow down your own rate of speech and shorten your messages, if you find that you naturally speak quickly and in run-on sentences. (Like me!!!) When I would use my natural rate and complexity of language, my child would have many more repetitions. Easy back a bit on my rapid fire and run-on style was quite helpful. (I did not speak slowly or briefly, I just stopped being quite so verbose!) All my best.
Just a phase. I think all three yr olds and 4 yr olds o this. They aren't really concentrating on what they are trying to say. They are distracted and whatever comes out first is repeated till they can form their whole thought.
It's a normal stage kids go through. Try to not draw attention to it.
I agree that this is just a stage and to ignore it. Here is a web site that talks about stuttering and when to be concerned. http://www.webmd.com/parenting/stuttering
On the one hand, she could be mimicking. On the other hand, it is also very normal at this age. Their little brains are working faster than their mouths and it can cause mild stuttering like this. My son and several of his friends went through it as well at around your daughter's age and have since stopped. Be patient with her when she's trying to get the words out and don't finish the sentence for her, which is sometimes what we want to do, but won't be beneficial for her. Just wait patiently while she gets it out and the phase will soon be over.
Best,
S.
Definitely talk to your doctor if you are concerned. However my son always had a big vocabulary for his age and he always wanted to make sure he was using the correct word and sometimes it came out as sort of stuttering. The doctor said his brain was working faster than his mouth. This could be what your daughter is doing. He did this for a couple of years then it went away. Your husband could be right that she is copying someone. You can ask her and see what she says and meanwhile check with the doctor. Hope this helps.
Nothing to worry about.
That's actually a STAMMER not a stutter (she's repeating a word or syllable, not getting stuck on a consonant sound like "I want to hold the bbbbbbbbbabbbbbbbby.") and it's very normal at this age.
I'd guess that she isn't mimicking her friend since you mention the friend doesn't do THIS with her speech. She just happens to have a friend with a speech issue and is now showing a VERY NORMAL age-typical speech thing of her OWN.
She may not seem rushed to you, but her THOUGHT is likely getting ahead of her speech, so she's stammering as she gets it all back in sync.
HTH
T.
