Stuttering - Shawnee, KS

My son did the same thing at that age. I asked my pediatrician what to do. He said to listen to what my son was saying, looking straight at him. Don't act like anything's wrong, or like he's having any trouble at all. Just answer him, as if he hadn't stuttered at all, after he finishes. Well, he stopped stuttering. I don't recall how long it took. But as much as I wanted to cry, watching him struggle to get the words out, I did what the doctor said. He's 31 now, and doesn't stutter at all. I think it's just a stage they go through, but don't call attention to it in any way. He'll come through it okay. Now, my grandson is going through it. :o) The circle of life.

Lots of kids do this right about this age. Their brain is just working faster than their mouth. They're just thinking faster than they can talk. As long as you're not noticing any other changes in him, I wouldn't worry abou tit. If you just ignore it, it should go away within a few months. The more attention you draw to it, the worse it will get.

Very common development and it is related to how fast their thoughts are moving and the process needed to slow it down to "spit it out" gets muddled somewhere along the road. My youngest son has incidents of this - even just last night. If he is pointing to his mouth and laughing - join him. Sometimes we have fun with it, sometimes try to slow down, patience and understanding always - they can't help it but just another cute developmental milestone - enjoy!! :)

R., my son is 2 also and i honestly think that sometimes their little brains are moving so fast their mouths can't keep up. think of all he has learned in just two and a half years! it's bound to be overwhelming. my son does stutter occasionally too, and i can see the little wheels in his head turning - sometimes it's obvious he can't remember the word he's looking for (sometimes he'll even call something a word it obviously isn't- a few days after he learned the word alligator, he was trying to tell me what it was, and just called it a cat, even though he had known cat for almost a year at that point), sometimes i think he just can't quite sort out what he's trying to say. (he may want to ask me to play blocks with him, but can't figure out how to put it together, so with a little hesitation, he finally asks "mommy, want play blocks you me!") i honestly would not be worried. just have patience! it will become an actual problem if you get frustrated and push him. once he spits it out, repeat what he was trying to say so that he hears it all run together correctly. (in the previous situation, i would repeat to my son, "oh you want mommy to play blocks with you?") i honestly think they're just learning how to put it all together. i occasionally stutter myself - and i know when it happens, it's always because either A. i'm exhausted and need SLEEP, or B. i'm super-stressed out or overwhelmed by something. when it happens to you, it's painfully clear why. your brain is just not keeping up. just have patience, the more patience you have the quicker he'll get past it!

From my experience, you have nothing to worry about. My five year old son has had two or three similar spells in the last three years, each lasting several weeks. I just wouldn't draw attention to it. I'm sure it will go away before you know it!

My little boy did the SAME thing just before he turned 2 and it lasted on and off for 3 months maybe. I called everyone--doctor, parents as teachers, and 3 speech thearapists!! I know that is extreme, I just couldn't believe my little guy was struggling speaking when he had spoken so early and so well. They all said most likely a developmental phase and to look at him while he was speaking and just listen. My husband and I began to notice that it would occur for a week or two when he was gaining new skills, for example, he would stutter really bad and then start telling us what letter everything started with. I hope this helps--I would watch it but not worry!

Hi R., my name is A.. My son started stuttering when he has about 3 he is now 6 and has pretty much almost ended the stuttering. Once he began kindergarten it pretty much stopped. I don't know if it was the other kids or he is not as wound up.... gertting all his excitment out there...

I strongly encourage you not to get upset when he does this. It will really get to him. This is a perfectly normal developmental stage. It shows his mind has taken a leap that his verbal skills cannot match, and he will grow out of it in time. The best thing to do is ignore it, or he could develop a real, lasting stutter.

I agree with several of the ladies. It is a developemental thing. His brain is working faster than his mouth. If it is not bothering him then don't let it bother you. You don't want him to have a complex over it. It will fix itself when his language skills develope more. Good luck and God Bless.

I had completely forgotten about my son (now 16) going through this phase until I read your question. He was speaking well and then began stuttering about the same age your son is. I think you're doing right by just reminding him to slow down and repeating back to him. It was a bit frustrating for me at times, especially if I was busy doing something when he came to me (like making dinner or doing my homework...I was in college at the time). But I didn't show frustration with him and he didn't even seem to notice he was doing it. He did grow out of the stage fairly quickly...within a month or two.

My niece did/does this still sometimes. I think, when they are that young, it's more of a matter of they are thinking faster than they can talk. Their little brain is running so fast, and their mouth can't keep up. Your son expressed that himself, pretty much, when he pointed to his mouth and laughed. Like, this darn mouth won't say what I'm thinking. Anyways, this of course is just my personal opinion from some experience with children. By no means is this a professional opinion. If you are truly concerned, ask at his next check up.

You are his mom and if you think something is wrong it is your right to ask for help. My daughter is almost 4. Sometimes when she is asking me something she will repeat the same three words until she actually spits out what she is trying to say. Example, Mom where is my, where is my, where is my doll. Which I was kinda concerned about but my friend has a son the same age and he does the same thing. She doesnt actually stutter on one word though. If you are concerned I would check into it. If there is a speech or any other problem I would start working on it now before it gets worse. My baby had to have physical therapy for his neck muscle and the therapist said it was so good that I caught it early so it could be corrected before it got worse or it was too late. It wont hurt to get it checked out. And something tells me if it almost brought you to tears you know inside something may not be right. It could be normal for his age but better safe then sorry. Good luck!

Hi, R.. I went through exactly the same thing with my son who is now 4. He spoke perfectly and then went through a time of stuttering. I have a friend who is a speech pathologist who said they almost always self-correct and that it's completely normal. She was right - my son went back to speaking without the stutter and has been fine since. I think sometimes it was because he was in a hurry or trying to interrupt his sister :-)

Good luck!
S.

p.s. I'm thinking the stuttering phase lasted about 6 months or so.

Do you know any other sudden problems with his motor skills? If so, I would make an appointment just to make sure there isn't something else going on.

If not, I wouldn't worry too much. Try not to finish anything for him, let him work it out. It could be his mind is thinking faster than his mouth. Give it sometime and if you don't see it improving make an appt with his doctor.

Has anything changed in the household or he nervous for some reason. My mom has a friend that has a son her son did the same thing studders when he is nervous, or if he talks fast. Just do what your doing and have him talk slow when he starts to studder. It may pass if your really concerned I would call the peditrician for piece of mind.

R. -

You have already gotten some great 'real-world' advice so far from all of the Mommies here.

Here's my take... I am a speech-language pathologist and this is a normal developmental stage your little one is going through. The kind of errors you say he uses are called part-word repetitions (wa, wa, wa, water) and are very common for this age. This is not to say he will or will not grow out of it, but at this stage, it's best to play the wait-and-see approach.

You may be wondering 'why' this all of a sudden started happening and there are a few theories on the subject, many which point to our capacity for receptive language (the words we understand) vs. our capacity for expressive language (the words we use). At this stage, little ones are learning many words every day and sometimes when picking the 'right' word to say/use, they get stuck.... kind of like a bottleneck in a traffic jam.

There are things you and your family can do to help him that can help prevent a problem from developing:
1.) Do not interrupt him and ask him to slow down. Instead, try to keep a blank face (not a sad/pity face) and wait for him to finish his thought/sentence - then repeat it for him in a controlled, calm way. You may even ask him to repeat what he just said. It sounds like you are already doing this...
EXAMPLE: Child - Mom, can I have wa-, wa-, wa-, wa-, wa-, water? Mom - Oh, 'can you have water'. Sure! Can you ask me again?...
2.) Monitor your own speech rate to your child. Is your house busy, busy, busy - go, go, go? Do you talk the same way? If so, take a step back and slow yourself down, especially when speaking with your little one.
3.) Do not call it stuttering or talk about it in front of him. They have ears and they work well - once you label it 'stuttering', it can start affecting a child's self esteem whether it's a problem or not. When he points it out (like in your example) and laughs, laugh with him. You can saw something like, "Your mouth got a little bumpy, didn't it?". But don't make a big deal out of it.
4.) Try not to be the 'speech police', correcting every disfluent infraction you hear. As 'bumpy' as it is to you, he has something important to say! Choose your moments of smooth modeling when the time is right.

If, after 6 months his speech gets worse, if he starts to have facial grimaces/strained speech, or if his disfluencies change (prolonged first sound "wwwwwwwww, water") seek a speech evaluation from your local school district. By then he will be 3 years of age and would qualify for services if he is found eligible. At the very least, your school would be a good first step.

TRY not to worry, or at least don't let HIM know you worry about his speech:)

I hope this helps!

-J

My daughter had issues with speech disfluency. First, and foremost, when your son become unfluent, don't say or do anything! Don't mention it in any way. Just wait. Keep your body language and facial expressions the same. It may very well be a stage. Remember that this is the age that a child realizes that they are separate individuals. They are becoming very self aware. He talked to communicate but now he is aware that he talks to communicate.
My advice is to keep on eye on it, look for patterns. My daughter was worst when trying to talk to me, I'm the one she wanted to please.
We did have a speech pathologist watch her at school, etc. and gave us some recommendations. She did eventually "outgrow" it.

You can check out this website www.stutteringhelp.org and get some more info on stuttering. It is developmental with most kids, but keep an eye on it for 6 months and seek help if there's no improvements or it worsens. You can always contact your school district, or the Wichita State University speech and hearing clinic. The other advice people have given is good, especially giving your child time to speak and not to finish his sentences. Repeating is good too since it helps you to clarify and gives him a chance to repeat again more smoothly. It's also OK to say that sometimes it's hard to talk. We all have moments of disfluency when we talk. Remember, he's learning more words and it can be hard to get his mouth to work with all that he's thinking he wants to say. I've been there with my son, and it's hard to watch them struggle. You're in my thoughts.

Hi R., My brother stuttered when he was little and did until he was in upper-grade school (like 5th grade or so). We would do it when he was excited about something or it was something he really wanted, or just something he was really intrested in. So lots of times he would do it while asking questions. The doctors told my mother that basicly his mind was working faster than his mouth could. We could tell him to slow down and try again and then he'd be fine. Even now at 19 he will still sometimes do it if he's really excited or upset about something. Talk to your doctor about it and for now do what you are doing and tell your little guy to slow down so his brain and mouth can catch up to each other!

If this is someting that happened suddenly I would take him to the doctor ASAP. To rule out a Neurological problem.

Hi R.. My daughter (Lydia; age 3.5 now) goes through stages of stuttering, and I've talked to her doctor about it several times. Most times, we have linked it to stress/change/excitement. For example, she was stuttering the month of October (before Halloween), but once the holiday was over, she was fine. I don't think she was scared about the holiday, but we talked about it so much, that the anticipation must have thrown her off a bit. Too much excitement, I guess. She did the same thing on vacation this year. We travel with friends of ours who have two girls around the same age as Lydia. We see them often, so the girls are good friends. Lydia stuttered the entire vacation, and then out of no where, her stuttering disappeared on the drive home. Our doctor said it was probably competition to get her words out before the other girls.

Regardless, I would try to not to worry too much about it. Lydia started this around age 2, still stutters here and there, but speaks very well otherwise. Our doctor said not to finish her sentences. To just let her get it out and not to make a fuss about it.

I hope this helps! -A.

R.,
my nephew went through that and we just ignored it. He eventually quit so I suppose you could try that approach? It took a while for him to quit, so be patient and don't make a big deal in front of him. Good luck
J.

I live in Olathe, and I have heard from friends that you can call the school district and get your child set up with speech at around the age of 3 to help with forming words correctly. I know he was speaking well a month ago, but maybe something else could be the issue that they could figure out.

It's just a developmental stage.
Just try to not show any impatience as you wait for him to "spit it out", and you are doing the right thing when you calmly repeat it back to him, and he repeats the phrase to you perfectly.
These little guys' brains are learning so much so fast that sometimes their little bodies can't keep up, including their little mouths !
You are right that it is bothering you more than it bothers him.
He'll get over this, though it may take a few years.
My 6-year-old granddaughter and my 5-year-old grandson still do this when they get excited.
It'll pass.
:o)

Good Morning R., I stuttered for a while as a child, as did our eldest son. I did what you do and ask him to slow down just a little and take his time. When I would remind him he did good. He did it most of the time when he got excited or thought he was in trouble.

If you are really concerned then have him checked out by his Dr. I think it will pass but you need some peace over the situation also.

God Bless you
K. Nana of 5

I had my daughter tested thru the school system. They said it's a common phase kids go thru. For my daughter she's not bad enough to need any special help or at least yet. But you should contact your local school dist and get him tested to see. If he needs help it will be provided to him by the state at no cost to you.

For my daughter she more or less says uhhh uhhh over & over till she can find the word she's looking for. She has a large vocabulary and it doesn't bother her and I just wait for her to process and give her time. It's best not to freak out over it IMO.

Hope this helps.

L.

Hi R. - I am a spech & language therapist. This kind of difficulty with getting thoughts into words is a stage called "Normal non-fluency" and is perfectly natural. He is just filling space to maintain your attention while he is trying to formulat his thoughts into words. His mind is going facter than his words. So what do you do? Absolutely nothing. Please do not refer to it as stuttering. He will think there is something wrong with him. Please do not try to tell him to "take a breath" "calm down" or repeat it. Just be sure he knows that you are listening, and are patient to find out what he wants to say. Be very natural - don't push him. Just give him the time to formulate his thoughts As he gets his mouth and words co-ordinated it will just disaspate. Sincerely, G.

Hi R.,
Do you Participate in Parents as Teachers? It is a wonderful program where Teachers come to your home and work with you and your child. I thought that my daughter had a speech problem and the home educator agreed with me and we got her into district speech therapy at age 3. When normally they don't even screen for these things until 3 1/2. I would sign up for that they come to your home once a month and keep you up to date on the developmental stages of your child. If you are already a part of parents as teachers I encourage you to talk to the home educator and always your child's pediatrician. Good luck!
M.
website is www.parentsasteachers.org

is it just with w's? If it continues, you can start him on speech therapy when he is 3 at your local school district in the preschool program. I don't know if your school district has a program like that but a lot of them do now and is a common problem with many kids and usually with some speech therapy he will be talking better within weeks or months depending how bad it is. Just a suggestion to check into.