My son is 3 years and 8 months. Sometimes when he talks, he gets stuck on a word. He'll say that word over and over again and then finally finish the sentence. Ex - I put a blanket on my bear, cuz, cuz, cuz, cuz, cuz he was cold. It happens MOST of time when he is tired or really excited, but it can happen pretty much any time of day. Other times, he'll talk just fine with no issues. He did this for awhile a few months ago, then it stopped for awhile. Now it has been back for the past month. Is this a true stuttering issue that we should address with a speech therapist - or perhaps just a phase that he'll grow out of?
I don't think it is stuttering. My kids have both done this when they were little.
It could be stuttering... or it could be that his brain needs to catch up with his mouth. My children went through it, and some of my grandchildren have done this. When we're grown up, we say, "I found the most gorgeous dress yesterday at... um..." little kids don't do the "ums" - thankfully - but they may repeat the same word over and over until the brain has gotten in gear. If that's the case, he'll grow out of it. Be patient!
A lot of kids stutter at very young ages and it is "usually" because their brains are faster than their mouths and there is a disconnect. I stuttered, my mom stuttered , my son stuttered up until around 3 ish and stopped. Could be a phase and since it is only when he is tired or excited it sounds that way to me. However, mother knows best, if you are concerned get him evaluated and put your worries to rest.
I had that problem myself! When I was younger, I would get really excited about something and stutter. My mom would just stop me mid-sentence, tell me to think about what I wanted to say, slow down, and say it. It worked! I still stutter a bit when I get excited (I'm 26 now), so I still take my mom's advice and slow it down.
I know a lot of people say it is totally normal. We just had an eval for our 2.5 year old who is stuttering. It might be. It might not be. I never like to assume that everything is fine and normal and like to play it safe. That's just me. I've read that stuttering that starts before 2.5 is more likely to be outgrown, stuttering that starts up after 3 or 3.5 may be less likely to be developmentally typical. With your son, it disappeared and came back so it's hard to tell which he falls under. And since it is mostly happening when he is tired or excited and not that often, I'd guess he'll be fine. Good luck.
My daughter did this also, now 8, and doesn't anymore. She actually has terrific speech for her age..so I wouldn't worry about it too much. He'll probably grow out of it. Especially since it happens more when he's visibly excited or tired...it might be the other times he is excited also, but not just as obvious..it's usually the mouth working faster than the brain
Your son is still very young. I would wait another month to see if he grows out of it. If he is still stuttering in a month, I'd talk to your pediatrician to see if he/she thinks speech therapy may be helpful. The good news is that stutters are fairly easy to correct, so if your son does have one, there's a great chance it can be fixed with speech therapy.
