Stuttering / Stammering
 

Not sure which it would be called, but I have a 2 1/2 yr old girl (3 in December) who just started stammering. I think it's just that she's trying to talk faster than her little mouth will let her. Her brain is going faster than her mouth. I had a boy a few years back who, at about the same age, did the same thing. He eventually grew out of it.

Anyway, have any of you had stammering kids? Did they grow out of it? Did you or the parents seek any help for it, or just let it run its course?

It's hard to describe it in writing, but she'll say like, "my..my..my..my mommy said ...." or, "y..y..y..you want to go play?" It's not a huge thing, and isn't all the time. I had noticed it last week, and the mom mentioned it this morning. So I thought I'd see if you guys could weigh in with any thoughts or experiences.

Thanks! :)

I have one just like this and they go through spurts of this. I have encouraged the parents to take the child in but they want to wait so see if the child outgrows it. At one time it was almost every word but has gotten better. It is usually the m and y words that there is an issue with for us.

I have suggested a few times as I think the child may have a hearing issue also but nothing so far.

ask the child to think about what they are trying to say first. When the child talks try to make sure you are truly listening the first time. I know some kids that are not listened to by the parents will do this to be heard and then it becomes a habit and then it becomes an issue. She probably has so much to say and does not have the vocabulary or the fast enough thought process to get it out. Good eye contact with these kids helps too. The mind is moving faster then the brain can send waves to make the mouth move. Kids will also move from one thought to the next fast and they know what they want to say but it can't come out because they have three other things distracting them.

I tell mine, slow down and think about what your telling me and then I will start the first few words slowly to get the thoughts back on track. I make eye contact more then I would the normal person. It is frustrating for the child, because they know, but then lose the thought, so they feel if they keep saying the first few words over and over again it will come back.

Best and look forward to reading more ideas on this-

I've had a few of those, too. I think their mouth just can't keep up with their brain! When my son did it I would tell him to stop, take a breath and tell me again. It usually happened right around a language explosion for him. In fact, he's 4 1/2 and did it again about a month ago and then started using words most 4 year olds (or 30 year olds) don't :)

A couple of things....

Since it is new, I would ask Mom if there have been any changes in her life that you are unaware of. If there are, it could be due to anziety and will go away on it's own.

You could refer her to discuss it with her pediatrician, who may recommend speesh therapy, but IME children are typically four to five before they are referred. This is something that is common and most children outgrow it by five years old. Unless it is REALLY bad, I would wait it out.

This might be totally unrelated. But my older brother does this. He started when he was younger. It wasn't a speech problem as a confidence self esteem issue. To this day, he gets nervous and starts stammering on certain words and mummbling. Then it gets worse because he's embarrased by the stammering. He does it to me sometimes still and I'm his sister. Honestly I feel so bad for him. His ex wife didn't make it any better, but that's a post for a different forum! lol Not sure if this is the case for your dck, but it's just a thought

I've had the stutterer before and most have outgrown it in 6mo or so. We were told to be patient and allow the child to come up with the words on his/her time. Don't correct or offer words, smile and show interest in the child's conversation.

stuttering
 

When a child starts stuttering, parents should go to www.stutteringhelp.org to read what they can do at home to help, how and when to know if the child needs speech therapy, and referral to therapists who are trained to work with stuttering.

One of my own kids did this for a little while and I've had a few DCK that have too around that age. I think they have so much to say but their brain can't move as fast as their mouth.

I agree that their mouth just can't keep up with their brain. It does seem like any kids I've had that have done this have been about 2-3 yrs old. I read an article that said it usually comes at times when they are having a "vocabulary explosion". This does seem to fit the girl I posted about.

Thanks for all your thoughts on the subject!!