A few weeks ago, my youngest one (he turned 3 in May) started stuttering. At first it was cute, but now it's getting a little bit annoying because he gets so annoyed by it. I'm not worried about it, because it seems clear to me that it's part of the disequilibrium phase Ames & Ilg talk about in their 2-year-old and 3-year-old books. It came out of nowhere, and is happening simultaneously with a huge growth spurt (I think he's grown 2 inches in the past two weeks) and a bunch of new skills and a cranky, brittle stage.
Once again, it appears I'm not the only one. Kathy writes:
"My almost 2 ½ year old son has been a really good talker for the last 4 months or so. Vocabulary was going well and he was easy to understand. Then he started stuttering a week and a half ago. He’d just gone through a growth spurt and then began sleeping 5 hours straight and even through the night on occasion (something new for us, and I have no idea if it is related to the stuttering). Then about a week later the stuttering started. At first it was him repeating the word “you” at the beginning of the sentence. Then it was a few more words at the start of sentences. Now it’s all through his speech. We corrected the first couple of days, then found out not to do that, just be patient and talk slowly yourself. The doctor didn’t seem concerned at this point, and said if he is still having trouble at three, then they will review it then.
Is it really that normal? He gets so frustrated, and even will hold his chin like he’s trying to stop himself from stuttering. It is really hard to watch. There are times when he will even break down and say he can’t do it. I am looking for any tips on what to do and or expect from this."
It's so normal, but so frustrating, isn't it? To reassure you, it is all about the growth spurts and developmental things. He'll be really smooth at some times and then jerky and clumsy at others. The stuttering is part of that.
I wish I knew what to do to help him. My guy's old enough that he can still make himself understood past the stuttering, but with such a new talker it's a different ballgame. Does anyone have any tips for Kathy to help her and her son get past this phase? I've just been ignoring it, but it also isn't as cumbersome for my not-so-little guy.
My four-year-old has just started something like this, too. Not true stuttering, but the kind of talking where I, the ever "patient" mother, have to bite my tongue to keep myself from saying, "what? WHAT? Spit it out!!!" Somehow I don't expect that to help Kathy, though.
I have a 2 1/2 year old, too, and I think in this situation I'd be inclined to not just ignore it if he's really obviously having trouble, but be sort of blandly encouraging. "It's OK, bud, just slow down [or take a deep breath, or tell me later, or whatever seemed comforting]"
Something I learned here from Moxie, though, is that if you Mommy-sense is telling you that this is NOT normal, you should press for some intervention or help. So your pediatrician is not worried -- you could say, "well, I'M worried; what can I do to get more information?"
Posted by: Jan | June 12, 2008 at 11:05 AM
I am totally showing my age, but I remember "Gomer Pyle" or Jim Nabors was a stutterer unless he sang. How about encouraging your child to sing and even "talk" by singing. I do that with my son a lot using real songs for starters: "It's too darn hot..."
We don't do it for stuttering reasons but just because it's kind of fun to sing-song random chit chat.
I think some other things to do is help create a calm, patient atmosphere, encourage speaking slowly, read slowly outloud and show by example that just a few words or even gestures suffice to make oneself understood.
Posted by: Geeks in Rome | June 12, 2008 at 11:13 AM
When this happens in our house (and it has, to a lesser degree than what is described) I notice it's when Alex has had a huge mental developmental leap and he cannot get the ideas formulated fast enough into words, so he'll get stuck on one word and say it over and over and over again while his brain is working on the rest of the idea.
For me, if it were the repetition of a word (you....you......you......you.....want to go play?) I wouldn't worry, but if it's the repetition of a sound (y....y.....y...y......you want to go play?) in a word that he clearly knows and uses all the time, I'd maybe push for a speech consult.
Posted by: Julie | June 12, 2008 at 11:20 AM
My understanding from a speech pathologist I work with is that if the child is frustrated by the stuttering then there is a problem. So agreeing with @Jan in that if you are concerned speak to your pediatrician again to see if you can get a speech evaluation or at least some tips to help the little guy out.
Posted by: nancy | June 12, 2008 at 11:20 AM
also...in most states by the time a child is between 3 and 4, any special services go through your local school district. Make some calls to find out if your child is within their early intervention age range. It's free.
Posted by: Julie | June 12, 2008 at 11:22 AM
I've heard that it may help if they take a sip of water or chew on something when the stuttering starts. It's kind of like hiccups, where the muscles and nerves need to be reset.
Posted by: liz | June 12, 2008 at 11:59 AM
My boys are 3 and one tends to stutter (the other will very rarely but not enough to be representative of the example above). The one that does stutter is a bit shier (sp??) and was my less verbal twin. He tends to stutter more when he is sooo excited and wants to tell me something and it can't get out fast enough. We just stop everything and I look at him and smile and just wait for him to get the whole thing out (stutter and all). It seems to help - sometimes he looks at me a bit sheepishly when it is happening because he notices it is happening and he can't "get to the words" he needs when he needs them. I've noticed it has improved some and also after that phase and now the slight improvement, his speach is actually clearer than it was before he started stuttering. He still does the stuttering from time to time but it isn't nearly as frequently.
I've read somewhere that you aren't supposed to tell the stutter to slow down or really acknowledge it but just patiently let them say what they need to say. Seems to work so far on my one boy.
I remember reading in the 3-yr old development book (I think it is the same one Moxie mentions in her reply) that stuttering tends to start in the 3 yr phase as they go through a period of seconding guessing their confidence. I also remember from those books that the 1/2 years (2 1/2 - 3, 3 1/2 - 4) are the hardest transition periods for the kids so perhaps that is part of your child's transition to 3? Just a very random thought.
Posted by: Maureen | June 12, 2008 at 12:04 PM
I can speak from the parenting side of things, not the speech pathology side of things.
Moxie is correct regarding the disequilibrium phase of a child's development, I love Ames & Ilg. Sometimes the brain is growing at such a fast rate that something gets left behind for a few weeks, smooth speech in this instance. And as the child moves through the stage things will even out. For some children it manifests as potty regression. For some children nothing at all happens.
I whole heartedly agree with Jan, go with your mommy sense, the most powerful thing we have as moms. If this feels like a "Thing" then insist you get a consult.
Otherwise, I would try looking at the timing of his stuttering to see if anything clicks there. Has the child's environment changed? Is there a new stress in his world? Is there a new stress in your world? If so, then it's time to look at things through his eyes and see what you see.
If your automatic reaction is, yes we have ... in our lives, then it's time to find out how it's impacting your child.
Start by supporting the stuttering, and not making it a big deal or any more frustrating than it already is. Singing is a GREAT way to relax the vocal cords.
I'm recording new seminars this week, and I almost blew out my vocal chords. Making raspberry sounds with my lips and at the same time making a sound that goes up and down the music scales has been the answer for me. You could have a child hum a favorite song as they make a raspberry sound. If he's frustrated or fearful about talking have him do a raspberry song just before he speaks. I'm amazed at how much the raspberry and humming sounds have relaxed my vocal chords, lips and tongue.
The idea here is to give the child something else to focus on as he stutters, there by empowering him to be part of the solution versus becoming fearful and frustrated and uncomfortable with talking.
It couldn't hurt to do while you are assessing whether or not you need outside help. Good luck.
Posted by: Sharon aka Mommie Mentor | June 12, 2008 at 12:21 PM
The rules of thumb I was given:
1) If it lasts longer than 6 weeks, call for an assessment - it's reasonably likely that it may go away by the time that you have the appointment, but if it doesn't, you don't want to be waiting even longer. And it still may be valuable to go in and do the assessment - even if not for this child. I didn't realize that B had sensory issues until G was assessed for them. Then it was, oh, DUH! Also, sometimes the obvious signs are so obvious because there is a more subtle issue already present, and the 'phase stuttering' therefore is worse - the stutter might still go away, but an underlying issue might still exist. The SLP will be able to figure that out fairly quickly.
2) Stuttering on single sounds is an issue - it's more than just the toddler version of 'um/uh' while your brain tries to fetch the proper word (which is what the whole-word stuttering is closest to). Again, call. Again, it might go away before then.
3) Frustration is a cue, but some kids are very easily frustrated when something functions poorly during disregulation phases. For us, that one shows up both when there is an underlying physiological/neurological (etc) problem, AND when there's a high degree of skill to start with that is then lost down to the usual level of disorder during a phase. It's a long fall. For example, M is incredibly dexterous with small motor activity. But during phase shifts like this, she'll lose coordination. It disturbs her intensely that she's lost what was soooo easy before, and she becomes frustrated really easily.
4) Lack of frustration isn't a free ticket. Mr B had a speech delay significant enough to get into Early Intervention (articulation delay). The stuttering didn't much bother him. Neither did most of the articulation issues. It was ONLY when he was unable to communicate his point that he got frustrated, and since he was creative and expressive in many ways, he just got around the issue by grunting, making faces, pointing, gesticulating, etc., along with the attempt to communicate. It was just part of his assumption that all of that was challenging, the stuttering was just more of the same.
5) If there is any physical movement or tick, head shaking, head turning, or other gesturing associated with the stutter, that's a big red flag.
And my personal experience:
a) REALLY swallow and suppress any discomfort or need for them to speed up, spit it out, etc. They're sensitive to just the body language saying 'I'm waiting, I'm trying to understand, I can't understand, I'm waiting ... waiting... still waiting!' I had to stop and kind of clear my mind for a moment, and then say something like, 'I'm sorry, I wasn't paying enough attention. Now I am. You were saying?' Usually that also broke the pattern, because if they were at all annoyed by the stuttering, they were now annoyed at ME for not LISTENING. (oy, but hey, use what ya got). For B this wasn't as much a big deal because again, he was used to the whole 'effort required' thing, but for M and for G (not an issue with R, I think she barely stuttered at all at this stage), my kind of 'on the edge of my seat waiting to hear what they're saying' thing made everything worse, even if I said nothing. I just had to pretend the clock stopped, we were in no rush at all (regardless of situation), and give them my attention. Sometimes the next go was better, sometimes worse, usually around the same.
b) Hard to not worry, plus Worry is a goad to information and action. Maybe it is my mindset, but I like to have a level-set if I'm worried. I can't callibrate my intuition properly if I don't CHECK, and not just with a bunch of us (which is valuable for the 'okay, happens to a lot of people, I'm not alone' side) but also with a professional (which is valuable for in MY child's case, what EXACTLY is going on - since we're not SLPs and we're not doing an in-person assessment). I know far too many stories of people who decided to not go check 'because mom says he'll grow out of it' and 'besides, uncle frank stuttered, and he's fine (can't see any distress he might have suffered back then, at least)' and so forth. Okay, so I'm one of them - KNEW something was wrong with how G approached food. KNEW there was something more to the picky eating than just picky eating. And let family, friends, strangers, the internet, and even the family doctor convince me that nothing was wrong. So instead of getting feeding therapy at 2 1/2, he was over 5 before he got it, and it was EN.TRENCHED behaviorally. Cr*p. That totally sucks. (so, um, 'don't be me', I guess). Trust your instinct enough to check rather than dismiss the concern without checking. It's a good habit to be in (again, tied back into the Protecting the Gift book, learning to really LISTEN to that inner voice, and not just explain away, dismiss, deny, etc.). And if you're really not getting any alarm bells, that's cool, too. It IS a normal stage, too. Hard to find one's way between those two poles, but a call to the school system to just talk through what you need to be watching for may be a good start.
Hang in there. It's really distressing for the parents, IMHO. It has bothered me every blessed time. We have an SLP in the family, which has been invaluable just by talking with him (he's not licensed in our state and takes that seriously - and does no free assessments, either. Professional all the way.). And yet I still get my gut in a twist over it - maybe when I hit this phase I wasn't handled well, I don't know. Sigh.
Anyway, hang in there. Hope you at least get some comfort from the range of experiences here!
Posted by: hedra | June 12, 2008 at 12:33 PM
So timely! My 2.5 yo just started stuttering. I have assumed it is stress-related -- we move tomorrow, my daughter's best friend just moved out of the area last week, and I am 8 months pregnant. And it's summer. And I am cranky.
I think we'll re-evaluate after things calm down in her life.
Posted by: Helen | June 12, 2008 at 01:33 PM
My son started this too! Just with why:
Why why why why why why... are there ants there?
I've found sometimes putting my hand on him gently while listening seems to help. But the main thing is the listening.
I feel very reassured by this post & discussion! I had no idea it was common.
Posted by: Shandra | June 12, 2008 at 02:15 PM
Bean started stuttering at 2.5. It was around the holidays, I was stressed, and we weaned. I also was dealing w/major anxiety issues after weaning, and I talk a LOT, ask a lot of questions when I'm anxious. Plus major developmental leap for him. Took him to ped (of course he barely spoke there) ped talked to me after bean went to play w/his dad in waiting room.
her advice:
-take ALL pressure off language: don't make him say 'hello' 'thank you' anything at all to anyone
-don't ask questions, don't ask his opinion
-when it happens, don't pay attention to it, if he gets frustrated say, oh it happens, no big deal. (I had been getting very upset esp when he'd cry, "I'm STUCK!!")
-don't discuss stressful adult stuff around child (we had a leak in the house & couldn't find a contractor, and had other stresses which we'd sometimes try to troubleshoot w/in earshot of him.)
I think it was a combination of backing off language-wise w/him, and him doing his developmental thing, but it went away. sometimes it comes back.
Like now. When we're having significantly stressful almost 3 altercations All.The.Time. I'm having trouble keeping my center. I *think* it's just the stress & developmental stuff, but I am leaning toward checking it out for my own peace of mind, esp. since we all do better when I'm less anxious.
I'm going to go back to the ped's advice for a bit first & see if that makes a difference.
Posted by: Lisa F. | June 12, 2008 at 02:40 PM
Lisa F - that sounds like a great list that might assist my son some. I'm hung up on the whole don't ask question/don't ask his opinion - how did you talk with your child/have conversations if you didn't do that? Did you always just wait for him to initiate any kind of dialogue?
Also, just trying to work through the mechanics, but if you don't ask your child to say Hi/thank you - do you just give them the opportunity to pretend they aren't there when you go up to people/when people do things that would normally require a thank you? Right now, we are having to work realllly hard to get my one son to say hello or thank you and perhaps we need to back off to help his language - he really pushes back not because he doesn't think he should (he say thank you to us all the time) but more because he's uncomfortable and shy. Thanks.
Posted by: Maureen | June 12, 2008 at 02:58 PM
Re: Shandra:
My understanding is that the repetition of a single word, particularly the first word in the sentence, is *quite* common and not cause for concern ("I . . . I . . . I . . . I . . I . . . want to go outside").
The repetition of a single sound is cause for at least a chat with the pediatrician ("I wa. .wa . . wa . . wa . .want to go outside").
My 2 (almost 3) year old daughter is in the first category, but my nephew was in the second category. He received speech therapy at about ages 3-4 (my sister got help for him when he began stuttering even when singing). It did wonders and he now rarely stutters.
Posted by: Louisa | June 12, 2008 at 03:07 PM
@Maureen, I've tried to be quieter, and less trying to micromanage things which is hard because that's how I manage my anxiety! I make statements, Oh, I see a bird there! hmm, that puzzle looks complicated. etc. And let him lead. he's very verbal and wants to tell loads of stories about things to me. My husband and I are awful about constantly asking M what he thinks about something. He's gotten where he won't answer anything, sometimes even when offered choices, saying "I don't KNOW." so as I'm typing this, I realize more clues that we just need to back off. Just let him be. Let him lead.
Re: interacting w/others. For me, I have to just model the polite responses/interactions, and I know he will do it when he can. I have to work hard to not care what other people think. It's just too much pressure for my son. And I've realized that I've been really pushing him w/language expectations lately.
hth, good luck.
Posted by: Lisa F. | June 12, 2008 at 03:24 PM
Lisa F. said what I was going to say (and shorter, too!). (I was shy as a child, and I remember my mom pressing too hard for a while, and how awful that was, and then her deciding to just STOP and not ask me to do what I clearly wasn't ready to do, and how freeing that was, too.)
Posted by: hedra | June 12, 2008 at 03:50 PM
Also just chiming in to say that my highly verbal kiddo has had a touch of the "first whole word" variety around developmental spurts. It was strongest around 3, then a bit at 3 and a half and we've seen just a shadow of it around 4. Maybe this is a good template for "yes it's likely normal and will resolve": it's gotten milder and has now turned into a way of taking big breaths and getting a little stuck when she's majorly excited, a la "mommy, um *BREATH* mommy, um *BREATH*, mommy!!! um, um, *BREATH*...Friend A has a RED, SPARKLY HELMET and she said I could borrow it!!!!"
I've started to teach her some basic breathwork just for general calming down and also for bedtime. So with where it is now, and the fact that we're doing that, I feel comfortable saying "whoa, are you really excited? want to take a nice...slow...breath and let it out? ok, tell me what you're excited about!"
Posted by: Charisse | June 12, 2008 at 04:46 PM
No help here but just wanted to chime in to say that we are seeing the same development with our almost 2.5 yr old. He goes through phases of it where he'll be fine for a week or so and then it starts again.With him its mainly when he says the word 'Please'..he goes 'Pl..Pl..Pl..' We are trying to be patient and ignore it but my biggest peeve is that other people around us think that something is wrong with him.I also notice this is slightly more frequent when we are outside in public around strangers..so this may be a product of stress/anxiety.
My research and conversations with other moms/speech therapists says that this is not abnormal and result of the brain working faster than their vocal cords when they get excited about something...
Thanks, Moxie for bringing this topic up. I had searched on your blog on this topic, a few weeks ago. The timing is perfect!
Posted by: Bhuvana | June 12, 2008 at 05:01 PM
My 4-year old is struggling with some bad disfluency and has all sorts of ways to try and spit out whatever he's saying, like smacking his leg or the table. It only started about 3 months ago and it's different than the usually stuttering little guys go through when they're learning to talk. We're actually in the process right now of getting Speech Therapy services through our county. You, and Kathy, should contact your local school system and/or county Child Find (it may be called something else in your state). They will have your child evaluated to see the extent of the disfluency and if it requires therapy. In most cases, it's free because you pay into it with your county taxes.
In the meantime, we sometimes stop our son, tell him we want to hear what he has to say and then he's often able to just say it without a problem.
It's hard to watch your child struggle to speak like that, but we've been told to just let him work it out and try not to bring attention to it. They indicated that our occasional interruption shouldn't hurt because we are encouraging Gavin to speak...just giving him the quick break that muscle group seems to need for him to get his message out to us.
Good luck!
Posted by: Colleen | June 12, 2008 at 05:10 PM
Just wanted add my two cents worth -- my mom always mentions that my brother started stuttering suddenly at 2 1/2 years, and one day just stopped, and returned to speaking clearly. My mom was terrified! It started and stopped without her ever knowing why. At least we have the fortune of this site to know it is a phase kids may go through at this developmental stage!
Posted by: Suki | June 12, 2008 at 07:53 PM
Hi - I'm a speech-language pathologist in Canada. I don't have a chance right now to read the other comments, I apologize if I repeat others. I thought I would add my two cents.
There is a difference between typical dysfluency (which is normal in preschoolers) and stuttering. Most preschoolers have normal periods of dysfluency (as do most adults too). None of us have smooth clear speech all the time. For preschoolers, most of the time it just may be their verbal development and physical development aren't quite in sync. There are hundreds of coordinated muscle movements that have to occur at the same split second, and coordinate with the language centres in the brain, to create smooth speech. Its a big task!
However, in some cases the dysfluencies are not normal. When kids come in to my office, the things that raise red flags for me are:
(1) the type of dysfluency - repeating whole words is more typical ("What-what-what should we do?"). Repeating sounds and syllables is less typical ("Wwwwwwwhat should we do?" or "wh-wh-wh-wh what should we do?"). A block where no sound comes out at all is also less typical.
(2) the number of repetitions - more than 2 repetitions is less typical (e.g. "wh-what's that?" vs. "wh-wh-wh-what's that?")
(3) the frequency of the dysfluencies - this is hard for a parent to gauge, but in an assessment I do some calculations to see if the child is dysfluent more than about 10% of the time (or 10 words out of 100 in a sample).
(4) whether the child is frustrated or upset by his dysfluencies - most children with typical bumps in their speech barely notice. If you listened carefully to a recording of yourself talking, you'd likely be surprised by how many normal "bumps" we have while talking - because, since they are normal, we don't feel them. People who stutter are highly aware of each of these bumps, causing more tension.
(5) the presence of physical motions or movements or tension that accompany the bumps in speech, such as head twitches, eye blinks, harsh ragged breathing, foot tapping, etc.
(6) family history - there may be some genetic link to stuttering, as we often see if run in families.
If these are characteristics of your kiddies, bes to get them screened or assessed.
Quick thoughts for how to react:
(1) listen to what they are saying, not how it is said - so difficult some time. Demonstrate the feeling of relaxation, that they aren't rushed. Everyone gets their turn to talk, no interrupting.
(2) Model this relaxed, calm speech yourself. Its easy to get talking faster and faster, especially when we are busy or rushed.
(3) Don't make it a taboo. Don't NOT talk about it, especially if they seem frustrated or upset. Things like "wow, that seemed hard for you to get out, huh?" after they have completed their utterance, might address their frustration kindly. Don't force the issue, but don't ignore it or make it seem shameful. That's a hard balance, I know.
An SLP would be able to give you a fuller picture, and one tailored more to your child. There are many effective therapy options for kiddies now. Good luck!
Posted by: Laura | June 12, 2008 at 08:03 PM
I am a lifelong stutterer, and so is my brother, and this definitely hit a nerve for me. All I can say is: the important thing, and the hardest, is NOT reacting in a negative way during the stuttering. (The face my mom always unconsciously made while impatiently waiting for me to "spit it out" is burned into my brain.)
Chances are it's a developmental stage and it will go away (it happened with my niece: by brother was very concerned about her speech, and then one day her little mouth caught up with her too-fast brain and it stopped). If it's not, and he is a lifelong stutterer, it doesn't mean that he will be a shy or nervous person, or that he should be steered away from activities that don't require public speaking, or ever be made to feel like the way he talks is wrong or bad.
Posted by: sz | June 12, 2008 at 11:23 PM
Here is some info from the Stuttering Foundation of America (http://www.stutteringhelp.org/). They give great info and references to help find a SLP who specializes in treatment of stuttering.
They list 7 tips to help your child immediately:
1. Speak with your child in an unhurried way, pausing frequently. Wait a few seconds after your child finishes speaking before you begin to speak. Your own slow, relaxed speech will be far more effective than any criticism or advice such as "slow down" or "try it again slowly."
2. Reduce the number of questions you ask your child. Children speak more freely if they are expressing their own ideas rather than answering an adult's questions. Instead of asking questions, simply comment on what your child has said, thereby letting him know you heard him.
3. Use your facial expressions and other body language to convey to your child that you are listening to the content of her message and not to how she's talking.
4. Set aside a few minutes at a regular time each day when you can give your undivided attention to your child. During this time, let the child choose what he would like to do. Let him direct you in activities and decide himself whether to talk or not. When you talk during this special time, use slow, calm, and relaxed speech, with plenty of pauses. This quiet, calm time can be a confidence-builder for younger children, letting them know that a parent enjoys their company. As the child gets older, it can be a time when the child feels comfortable talking about his feelings and experiences with a parent.
5. Help all members of the family learn to take turns talking and listening. Children, especially those who stutter, find it much easier to talk when there are few interruptions and they have the listeners' attention.
6. Observe the way you interact with your child. Try to increase those times that give your child the message that you are listening to her and she has plenty of time to talk. Try to decrease criticisms, rapid speech patterns, interruptions, and questions.
7. Above all, convey that you accept your child as he is. The most powerful force will be your support of him, whether he stutters or not.
Posted by: holly | June 13, 2008 at 07:36 AM
My almost-5.5 year old daughter just started, well, maybe not just, but recently it's become more pronounced and noticeable (and irritating to her dad, who isn't the one home with her all the time), not stuttering exactly but getting halfway through a thought and then going "Heh heh heh heh.." or "hem hem hem hem.." It's obviously just the sound of her hard drive doing a search for the words she needs and I have learned to ignore it. She'll get there eventually. She's always been very verbal, and I don't remember her going through this at the ages others have mentioned. It seems most pronounced when she reads aloud to me, which is something I've been having her practice lately but never really stressed before.
I'm sure it will pass.
Posted by: MorahLaura | June 13, 2008 at 08:14 AM
Mostly just chiming in:
My son hit 2.5 + a huge verbal leap + sleeping through the night - this trifecta initiated with two weeks of whole-word stuttering. Then it faded as quickly as it arrived.
@Charisse - I just started teaching breathing for frustration management. Was quite helpful, but then yesterday the response: "Don't WANT to take a breath!" :-}
Posted by: Lisa | June 13, 2008 at 10:04 AM
@Lisa, hilarious--Mouse has definitely been much more into the breathing stuff at 4 than at 2 1/2 when I first tried it out.
Posted by: Charisse | June 13, 2008 at 11:01 AM
I haven't read all the comments so I'm sorry if this is redundant...I saw a friend's 3 1/2 year old go through this, too. What appeared to be happening is that he'd be thinking much faster than he could speak and his thoughts would get all jumbled.
He would repeat the first word of the sentence as if he couldn't get the thought out because he was already onto the next. Speaking slowly and encouraging him to speak slowly always helped.
Posted by: Sarah | June 13, 2008 at 05:14 PM
Another SLP here, and a mother whose three oldest sons all stuttered. I haven't seen this figure mentioned in the comments yet, but about three-quarters of kids who begin stuttering will stop on their own. Between 3 and 5% of preschoolers go through a period in which they stutter, but stuttering is only seen in 1% of adults. Severity doesn't seem to be really predictive -- I have watched kids with extraordinarily severe stuttering grow into kids with absolutely normal speech.
My third son's stuttering was as severe as anything I'd ever seen professionally. He would take a breath and stutter one sound all the way through it, take another and do the same -- for four or five breaths before he could get the word out. The thing that was most surprising to me personally, after counseling so many parents to respond patiently and dealing with it in his two older brothers, was how frustrated I became during those dozens of repetitions. It took a ton of effort to be patient, to maintain eye contact and a relaxed expression. You would never guess today that he stuttered at all.
One of my fellow doc students recently completed a study, not yet published, in which she looked at maternal affect and family stress levels and their relation to stuttering severity. Her conclusion: enough with the mother blame already! She looked at multiple psychometric measures and found no support, absolutely zero, for the idea that demanding mothers or stressful family situations are associated with more severe stuttering in children. I wish I had known about that three years ago, because I wasted a lot of energy stewing about what I had done to contribute to my son's trouble.
One last thing: when a child is as conspicuously frustrated as Kathy's child, I would definitely encourage parents to seek info from an SLP who specializes in stuttering. Stuttering is not my area of clinical expertise, but in the stuttering clients I have worked with, I have noticed that the degree of emotional reaction to disfluencies seems to determine the impact of stuttering more than the severity of the disfluency. I remember two people with extremely mild stuttering -- you would never have noticed it in a casual conversation -- whose fear of stuttering was so intense as to be crippling. I have also known a number of people whose stuttering was persistent and severe, but who seemed utterly unruffled by it -- it wasn't going to stop them from saying what they wanted to say, and if you had a problem with that, it was your problem and not theirs. How people feel about their stuttering is as important as how their disfluency profile breaks down.
Good luck finding some help for your little guy!
Posted by: CJ | June 13, 2008 at 11:34 PM
Wow, CJ thanks so much for posting, ESPECIALLY about your colleagues's study!
Posted by: Lisa F. | June 15, 2008 at 10:01 AM
@CJ, that's an outstanding point. The emotional response is a separate and valid issue. I like how you separated out that it isn't that the reaction makes the stuttering worse in clinical degree, but that their emotional process affects how well they cope with or function with whatever level of disfluency they have. Important, that.
I've seen the same with my kids - B finds the articulation to be an annoyance, but not crippling. It irritates him if people notice it, but it's more the noticing that he's bothered by, and he keeps that separate from his own skills - he's not BOTHERED that he has trouble saying that sound, he's bothered that (some) people seem to have a problem with the fact that he can't say it. Meanwhile, M has a real issue with periods of lower coordination, and takes it more personally. It becomes a problem for her even though she's immensely talented and far ahead on the skills and ability in that area.
And glad to know that we can dump the 'blame the mom' thing entirely. :)
Posted by: hedra | June 16, 2008 at 09:41 AM
My daughter has had disfluency issues for as long as she has been speaking short sentences; she is 4 1/2 now. The SLP we saw said it was very mild, but the biggest thing we have done at home is not questioning her about everything. Just as Holly posted above. I used to say "what color is that" etc. Now we have been trained to say "I wish I knew what color that is" in a casual, not asking manner. I thought asking her a lot of questions was showing interest and making chit chat but the SLP said otherwise. When asked something in that manner, she responds just fine. Also, we have never mentioned her disfluency to her, or told her to slow down. The SLP made a home visit and we said she was a friend of mine coming to meet her. The SLP seemed to believe it would resolve sooner than later.
Posted by: Kelly | June 16, 2008 at 07:16 PM
Its seems that the above comments kids start around 2.5 age. My 2.5 daughter also started this about a month ago. We also have just been encouraging her to talk slowly and take her time. It just seems like something triggers it around that age. Anyway we are going to give her a couple more weeks and then check with the pediatrician.
Posted by: Diane | June 25, 2008 at 08:53 AM
My son has always been very articulate and could carry on a long conversation with advanced words and long sentences for a number of months now and about a week or two ago he began studdering. I went into panic mode immmediately. My husband keeps saying it is not a big deal, but I continue to read on it for comfort. I am so afraid it will stick around. Even though I know I shouldn't - I blame myself. I have tried to identify all the things that could be causing it. I am trying everything recomended. He is my only child and I am so afraid that something could be wrong. This is a great site! Thanks for all the support.
Posted by: Jennifer | October 27, 2008 at 06:58 PM
I hope you all have a blessed day
Posted by: air jordans | November 09, 2010 at 02:19 AM
that was a close one. It was a good thing that he only got an antibiotic that doesn't really do anything TOO serious to a baby's health. It was also a relief that he didn't even feel anything after that.
Posted by: retro jordan 2 | November 15, 2010 at 02:42 AM
S happy to find this post. My dauter's stutter came on very suddenly following a slurry of consecutive activity in our lives: a move, two big trips away from home, and now staying with my parents in another town while we house hunt.
My daughter is also highly verbal, articulate for her age, and is in a two-language household (hubby only speaks to her in French).
For the first few days, it was a stutter, the repetition of y-y-y-ou or with the letters "W" or "B". Just s suddenly, she started grimacing, holding her face as though trying to control her mouth/cheeks, turning red, and then just spitting the word out in a scream. Very disturbing. (I was already not reacting as best I could to the stutter and trying to hold my cover during these more intense actions).
5 days later, she is now compensating by whispering. I can hardly hear her. She holds the back of my hand to her mouth or if I'm standing, she walks up to my leg and presses her mouth to it and whispers. I then bend down to listen to her.
Today I made an appt to see her ped. I am going vigilante on the "no questions" idea with myself and family.
Any other ideas for the behavior "adaptations" that I detail above. Red flag, or also just kind of typical for this issue?
Posted by: Cshea | February 11, 2011 at 01:21 AM
My 2.5 yr old just started stuttering after about 6 months of perfect sentence forming. The first few days, she didn't even seem to notice or react to the blockages, however she started getting very frustrated last night and said "I CAN'T TALK" or "I CAN'T TALK AGAIN!?!?!" She is getting stuck on the first words of sentences, both repeating the entire word ("when when when are we going?" as well as not being able to finish the word "wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-when are we going") Also, I noticed that she starts singing on her own to compensate for it, as she does not stutter while singing. Is there anything I should be worried about? How long did this last for you moms out there?
Posted by: Kristin | March 17, 2011 at 08:44 AM
So thrilled to find this post as it has calmed down my fears that something was happening with my almost 3 year old son! He's had amazing vocabulary since he started talking and then in the last two weeks has all of a sudden really started to repeat words, particularly the 1st part of a sentence. We'd assumed it was a growth thing and that he just wasn't able to find the words fast enough for what he wants to say, but weren't sure. THANK YOU!!
Posted by: Faith H. | May 11, 2011 at 08:20 AM
this question is for retrojordan2....what happend with your child's stuttering? Did it resolve?
Posted by: angela | May 23, 2011 at 01:43 PM
HI,
My daughter started speech when she was 2 yrs and 4 months old. After a continuous speech (though she could not get few words like, fan and tells as thaan) of 3 months, she developed stutter suddenly, like with first word in the sentence, m m m m m mummy...
I'm much worried on this. consulted the pedeiatrician, she advised me to wait for few days and still no improvement to take her to a speech therepist.
Could somebody share thoughts on this?? pl
Posted by: Krithika | June 09, 2011 at 02:48 AM
If your child starts stuttering, PLEASE ask a professional for advice. In most cases, the stuttering should be ignored, but this is not as easy as it seems, since many speech therapists advice against completing the child's sentences. If your child is embarrassed by it, then absolutely talk with someone ASAP. I'm telling this because my parents didn't do anything when I developed stuttering at 2, and at 35 I'm still struggling with it and wished they had taken it more seriously.
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There is a well known set of behaviors which pnraets of children with disabilities exhibit. One is the medical model' of disability; where a parent believes (usually because someone led them to believe) that one must view the disability as a clinical problem that can and must be solved. This has a number of inherent problems in the worldview this subscribes to. They also have a tendency at times to be overprotective of the child. This has the obvious issue of not allowing the child to face the barriers head-on and learn lessons about coping or other important skills for themselves that they'll need as they grow up, including advocating for themselves and learning how to handle people who are intolerant or even hostile towards them on account of their disability. The fact that you found them to be welcoming, accepting, and nice to you is a real testament to how you presented yourself and the honest and forthright manner in which you must have acted. Good job! You're also probably very right in that the teens and young adults are likely to benefit much more from your counsel than the young children or their pnraets. I look forward to a description of how this longer talk goes, and perhaps seeing the video. I hope that you've had the opportunity to discuss your speech disfluency with the instructor so that you can get the most out of evaluating your speeches/presentations in class. Turn them into an aide and an ally in this journey back to a more comfortable speaking style that works for you.
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