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Hi everyone,
I have 3 kids ages 3, 2 and 3 months. For the past month my 2 year old has been stuttering and its getting worse as time goes on. I don't really have any family to ask advice of so what should I do what is my next move? If anyone can please help me I feel so bad for him. Any comments, sites or #'s that I can call to get him help would really be great.
Some people will tell you to wait and see. Two of my children had speech problems/delays and I got the advice to wait it out. I did and felt that I waited too long. I also have a two year old and I think about her speech and it's just not fully developed yet. I think I'd be worried if she were four and stuttering, personally. If I were you, I'd just make an appointment with the pediatrician and get their input.
Is it all the time or is it just when he gets excited or is trying hard to say something? If it is all the time then it might be worth a trip to the dr, if it is just when he is excited or really busy, that is pretty normal--their brain moves faster then their mouth. All of my kids stuttered when they were excited as toddlers but none of them do now.
What we did was tell him to stop and think about what he was trying to say. Then to speak slowly. He does not stutter today...
If nothing works I would talk to a Dr. about it. There are probably new and improved ways to deal with this.
One thing is never scold or make fun of.
Good luck.
At that age, it could very well be the brain racing ahead of the child's speech ability. But you should talk to the doctor for peace of mind.
If it continues, or its deemed a serious concern, there are various publically funded early childhood speech programs that vary state to state -- that's what this would fall under.
Two years old is not too early to be screened.
What we did was tell him to stop and think about what he was trying to say. Then to speak slowly. He does not stutter today...
If nothing works I would talk to a Dr. about it. There are probably new and improved ways to deal with this.
One thing is never scold or make fun of.
Good luck.
I don't know how old your son is but that is exactly what a speech therapist told my husband 30 years ago and it worked for him. He has a great speaking voice and talks in an even measure and methodically. The only time the stutter ever comes back is when he's really angry. And the only reason I know about the stutter is that he told me -- without knowing, I would think that he's just the kind of person who gets so angry - he stutters trying to get his words out.
Wow - great timing as I had this happen to my 3 year old this past summer. He "picked" up the stuttering from an older neighbor friend he idealizes and was hanging out with regularly. Going back to my high school days, I did the same thing (picked up stuttering from a new friend I thought was otherwise very cool). I did a lot of research and also solicited for a lot of advice. Here's a summary of what I learned:
1) Stuttering can be a brain/developmental issue or it can be "caught" by interacting regularly with other stuttering children. Indeed a childcare provider friend of mine had a class evolve into a stuttering class of 3 year olds a couple years ago AND she started to stutter! As she told my wife and I this it seemed like a nightmarish situation - but eventually as long as it is not a brain/developmental issue it just goes away on its own. If you are unsure of the root cause and/or there are associated facial ticks with the stuttering then go see your pediatrician for advice.
2) Among the worst things you can do is tell a stuttering child to "stop, and now speak slowly" or otherwise draw attention to it. Yes it is counter-intuitive, but if you draw attention it to it it may just get worse further stressing you and your child out (it got worse for my child when we mistakenly did this via poor advice). The best thing to do is to patiently listen to what is being said while ignoring the stuttering. It is not a relaxation issue that stuttering is happening, it's something else. It may appear to be associated with excitement or excess energy but sometimes it is the stuttering which brings about the frustration or excitment-like response often seen.
3) If there is no brain disorder the stuttering will eventually go away. It's just a part of normal speech development in young children that many will stutter at some point. It seems a normal part of social development to copy those you are around and look up to as well. In any case most of the time stuttering goes away within a couple months.
4) If you are concerned about your child's stuttering for the sake of assuaging your own fears, go see your pediatrician and if need be go see a speech therapist as well. They will look for certain things while your child is stuttering to confirm if there is a brain disorder... things you cannot reliably look for yourself (the only thing I know of is the facial tick accompanying a stutter - but that is but one of a few possible signs of a real problem which needs to be addressed).
All that said - I wish you the best of luck, hopefully some of this proves to be helpful to you.
I don't know how old your son is but that is exactly what a speech therapist told my husband 30 years ago and it worked for him. He has a great speaking voice and talks in an even measure and methodically. The only time the stutter ever comes back is when he's really angry. And the only reason I know about the stutter is that he told me -- without knowing, I would think that he's just the kind of person who gets so angry - he stutters trying to get his words out.
Thats interesting because I was told by numerous people to stop doing it that way and to get him in speech therapy. I said psh psh to that. They said that was the worse thing to do because it makes them self conscious about it.
(Oh my son is pushing mid 20's.)
We never made fun of him or made it a big deal other than to slow down and how we dealt with that was we would say oh my gosh you are so fast with your words how do you do that!
I can't talk so fast, wow, but ya know what honey we can't understand what you are saying because it is so fast so can you talk slower for us people who cannot understand people who talk so fast.
Well it worked he did not know it was because of the stutter until he was older of course and not doing it anymore.
Here's a link with great information about stuttering:
Stuttering (http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/voice/stutter.htm - broken link)
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