4Real Forums: stuttering

Oh, Dearest Mother, Sweetest Virgin of Altagracia, our Patroness. You are our Advocate and to you we recommend our needs. You are our Teacher and like disciples we come to learn from the example of your holy life. You are our Mother, and like children, we come to offer you all of the love of our hearts. Receive, dearest Mother, our offerings and listen attentively to our supplications. Amen.

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saintanneshs
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Posted: July 05 2005 at 8:06pm \| IP Logged

I just finished posting about screaming and how my 2yo son has pretty much moved out of that phase and he is now stuttering more and more. I guess this is all due to frustration with speech and his inability to keep up with his brothers (4 and 5). At first I wasn't too worried about it (it just began a month or so ago) but it seems to be getting worse.

The What to Expect book says this is the age for children to go through this and not to do anything to correct it because it will usually go away on its own. That sounds okay to me, but I'd like to know if anyone else has had stuttering troubles with little ones. Oh and I DO make the older boys be quiet and give the 2yo a chance to speak every now and then (I remember my baby sister, the youngest of 5, raising her hand at the dinner table to be called upon for her chance to talk!

)

Will this pass? Should I be worried? Any advice?

Thank you!!

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Kristine

teachingmom
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Posted: July 05 2005 at 10:27pm \| IP Logged

My 2nd dd went through a stuttering stage around 2 (I think). It worried me because it didn't get better right away. In the end it did go away completely by age 4 or so, and she has had no hint of a stutter since.

My current 2yo has an unusual stutter. Instead of getting stuck on the first part of a word, she regularly repeats an entire word again and again, while thinking of the next word she wants to say. I am really not worried about this with her because she is only recently stringing words together to make sentences. Her speech was rather delayed and she's only now catching up.

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~Irene (Mom to 6 girls, ages 7-19)

saintanneshs
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Posted: July 05 2005 at 10:51pm \| IP Logged

Thanks, Irene. I feel so much better!

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Kristine

tovlo4801
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Posted: July 06 2005 at 10:28am \| IP Logged

Kristine,

Both of my boys (12 and 5) are stutterers. It is my understanding that younger children frequently have periods of normal stuttering as their language develops. At 2 I would expect that's probably what's going on with your child.

You are absolutely right to try to create an environment of slower speech in your house. That's what we were counseled when my children were young. Model a much slower rate of speech yourself and develop a habit of waiting a few seconds after you or someone else has spoken before starting in with another comment. I REALLY struggled with this, being a fast-talking midwestener. We are a family of interupters and if we wait a few seconds someone else is sure to slide right into that gap!

We try though....

I would suggest that if it persists into the preschool years seeing about possibly having someone from your school district or through your pediatrician evaluate your child's speech. I don't want to make you worry, but with my older son we were counseled into his early elementary years that it was developmental and to just wait and see. He now has a significant stutter and I've since learned that if children are treated at a younger age the chances of them stuttering into adulthood is significantly reduced. My 5 yo stutters much less significantly than his brother, but I'm glad we have a therapist who will work with him as well.

A couple websites that might be informative if the stuttering does persist areThe National Stuttering Association and The Stuttering Foundation of America.

Hope it all resolves itself without any need for outside intervention! Feel free to e-mail me if you have any other questions.

teachingmom
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Posted: July 06 2005 at 11:32am \| IP Logged

Richelle's post reminded me of something I forgot to mention in my earlier message. I had read somewhere that it is really important not to anticipate what a stutterer is saying and finish the words for her or him. It was difficult to get in the habit of waiting patiently for her to say it herself and encourage others to do so as well, but it was worth the effort--both for her speech development and her self-esteem.

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~Irene (Mom to 6 girls, ages 7-19)

Bookswithtea
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Posted: July 10 2005 at 7:23am \| IP Logged

My third dd was a stutterer. She didn't speak much till she was 3. Not only did she stutter, she also consistently used "my" for "I." None of my children have been early talkers, but she was so late and had so many difficulties that I was starting to get worried. A dear friend of mine had a child one year older than mine who used "me" for "I." They had a speech therapist in the family who counseled to never interrupt, never correct and to let them finish their sentences. What was the hardest was teaching my other children to not finish her sentences for her! Very frustrating.

It got worse for awhile, then slowly got better. One day when she was around 4 I realized I hadn't heard "my" used incorrectly or stuttering in quite awhile. :-) She does a few other things now, like using the "f" sound for "th" but those are slowly working themselves out, too.

I'm glad I didn't panic and jump on it right away. The speech therapist's suggestion was not to worry before age 6.

At 2, I don't think I'd worry too much.

saintanneshs
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Posted: July 10 2005 at 3:33pm \| IP Logged

Thank You everyone, for sharing your experiences with me! Your posts have been so helpful!

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Kristine

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