4 Yo Stuttering

Are they ACTUALLY stuttering (K-k-k-ken is t-t-t-trying t-t-t-t-to) or just repeating sections of words or phrases as their mind races in front of their mouths (Guess WHAT Mom?! I jumped off of... off of... off of.... the the, the..... the COUCH and then I slid ALL the way across the floor!!! And, and, and, and, it was GREAT!!!) ?

The repeating sections and phrases is totally normal and age appropriate. It's caused either by them being several words ahead of their mouths, and needing to remember where they're "at" in the sentence/story OR by feeling rushed, and not being/feeling capable of talking fast enough to keep their audiences attention.

The way to deal with them skipping ahead, or trying to rush is to

- Look them in the eye when they're talking (not be doing something else)
- Be patient (NOT tell them to hurry up/ spit it out/ etc.)
- Either say nothing and just EMINATE that they have all the time in the world to say what they want, or to smile and say "slow down, honey... you've got time... I'm listening"

They'll learn to slow down both their speech and their thoughts when they realize they really do have the time to share what's on their minds.

Both my 3 and 5-year olds stutter. I think they're just trying to think of what to say next and so they just keep repeating what they said. Once they get more practice talking with people, I don't think it will be a problem. But I'm sure there are different types of stuttering.

I'm not sure about Illinois - but here in AZ, they do free preschool screenings at the public schools. They basically check them for any developmental delay -speech, fine motor, gross motor, sight, hearing, etc. If they find anything, they get free preschool to work on the delay. Check with your school in IL and if they do that, the speech therapist would definitely tell you if it was a problem.

Make an appointment with a speech therapist for answers, and consult your school district for an evaluation if you think this will effect her educational progress, she can have therapy before she starts school via the school. I would start with a private therapist, even if it does not meet the threashold of state mandated speech therapy, she may still bennefit from therapy that you provide.

M.

This is pretty common. Their brains are working so fast, and their vocabularies don't quite keep up. He probably stutters more when he's rushed or excited. Don't make too big an issue out of it, but you can suggest that he slow down so his mouth can catch up.

My grandson, now 4.5, went through a stage of this, and still does every once in awhile.

my son did badly right before going to school. the doc said give it time and he will stop and out of the blue one day it was gone. Strange huh but i wouldnt worry just keep an eye out. ;)

If she is still stuttering, or if it returns, get help through The Stuttering Foundation at www.stutteringhelp.org.