Stuttering Toddler

I have 3 1/2 yr old twins, one of which stutters a bit. They were evaluated for speech last spring by CDS when I was worried that they were not speaking enough for their age (twins boys are known for being late speakers) and they were found to be in the normal range (I was surprised to say the least). Anyway, now one of my little ones is stuttering a little, but it seems as if his brain is thinking faster than he can get the words out. Also he probably is trying to get a word in edgewise between his 5yr old brother and his twin who both speak more than him! Also, before I was a SAHM I was a spec ed teacher and the speech therapists that I worked with used to say that children this age (early childhood) often go through a developmental stage when they stutter. If I were you I would go ahead with the evaluation. It is not stressful for the child (they played games with my boys) and it will ease your fears. If there is a problem they can address it.

i had this problem when i was 3. it was becuse i was the youngest child and found it hard to keep up with the older ones. i couldnt express myself easily so i would stutter. the doctors recommended that when i spoke the entire family would quiet down and take time to listen. this actually worked. i was over it pretty quickly and have no problems now.
good luck

My daughter studdered at 3 years old and it sounds just like your situation. She talked early and it lasted for about nine months and came and went. I had her screened twice and both said they felt that her vocabulary was beyond her ability to speak the words. I also found that it was worse when there was a change or "stress" such as switching her daycare room. But the good news is it went away and never came back. She is five now and no signs of a studder at all. I felt exacly ike you, I was worried but everyone around me was saying it would go away. I think it is key that you dont make a big deal about it in front of her. I remember thay said to not tell her to slow down but to give her time and patience and to actually not finish her sentences for her but let her work through it. There was a handout that the Early Intervention program gave me that gave specific ways to react so that he does not become too self conscious about it. wish I still had them, but I bet you can find them. The library had a video I watched too. Good Luck, I bet it will stop soon.

We have a really verbal 2 yr 9 month girl. She started stuttering about 6 months ago. It started very violently...she would literally get stuck on words, turn red in the face and stop breathing until the word came out. The violent stutter soon morphed into the more garden variety stutter. We were really concerned about this at first- but she never had a problem with it (never got frustrated nor seemed to notice what was going on) so we read up on it and it seemed that it was just a developmental thing. We got concerned again when family visited and noticed that their precociously articulate grand-daughter was having a stuttering issue. Then we talked with her doctor and she assured us that the stuttering was normal. As long as it changes over time (and her has) they say it is most likely ok. We also had her evaluated for another problem during this time by a child-development specialist and she also assured us that there was no reason for concern.
Sounds like we have had some similar experience...our daughter also is incredibly articulate for an almost 3 year old (and has always been) and picked up speech very early. My husband says he remembers wanting to say something as a child and not being able to get to the words fast enough. I think this is what is going on for my daughter (and probably yours)- their verbal skills are quicker than their mouths and I think they just get stuck. I notice that my daughter stutters more often when tired or excited- both times when you can imagine that there is some disconnect between brain and body. She also seems to stutter more when she is making something up (useful for me to figure out reality from fantasy!). Their brains are going through so much right now- it is not a surprise that the wiring is not fully formed in all parts of their brain. They just need some time and it will iron itself out.
I bet that your daughter is fine, but it is always better to have someone who knows these things check her out to reassure you that she is just fine. Good luck.

I have a stuttering toddler. She is now 3 and has been stuttering for some time. Actually, she started stuttering last spring/summer and then didn't for awhile and recently started again. I am not worried about it. I read that it is normal and I can tell that she her mind is just working faster than her mouth can. It seems to happen when she is really excited about saying something also. Her cousin, who is 3 months younger than her is also stuttering too. My husband asked me about it the other night and I thought that I had read somewhere the same thing, not to worry about it until the age of 4 or 5.

Hi,

My two year old has been stuttering off and on for about 6 months now. She has two older sisters, and the pediatrician says that she is probably trying to keep up with them, so her mind is going faster than her mouth can keep up. She also has a new baby brother, so the stress of having a change in her life may also be affecting her speech. He seems to think she will grow out of it.

I went through the same thing with my daughter (3 yrs). It lasted about 6 months and then it was gone. She was also an early talker and I was also told by everyone that it was perfectly normal, so hang in there.

Hi L.,
Talk to your pediatrician about a referral to an Ear, Nose & Throat Dr. When my son had his tonsils removed she heard a lisp and referred him to occupational/speech therapy. He is my fourth child so he had an extensive vocabulary at 3. He was very uncooperative with the therapist. When he started kindergarten I asked the speech therapist to work with him again and within 3-6 mos he no longer had any problems.
Good luck,
D. C

My son was also an early talker and a later stutterer (he is now 4 1/2) And, yes, it is common among kids his age. However, I started to notice the times he did it the most were the times that he didn't quite get enough sleep. He had given up the afternoon nap after I put him in preschool, so I had to start adjusting his bedtime. And it worked. Now, I notice the stuttering only when he hasn't been getting enough sleep.

It's good to go with your gut and have her evaulated, but I will say that it may just disappear on its own as it did with my oldest daughter, who is now 5. She was an early and easy-to-understand talker as it sounds like your child was, and then for a while when she was around 3, she just couldn't get her mouth to keep up with her brain, and she would stutter fiercely. Is it happening when your daughter seems really excited or there is some urgency to get the words out? With our daughter, we'd encourage her to take a deep breath so her "words could have a chance to get in line and come out" (she liked to play marching games then) the way she wanted them to and that worked for her sometimes. Eventually, the stuttering tapered and disappeared. Still, as I said, always go with your gut. It will be good for you to hear from a professional and get some tips for how to help your daughter if it is simply a developmental thing or how to move forward if there is a bigger issue to address.

Hi,
Does she always stutter or only when she is excited and is trying to tell you somthing fast. My 3 year old Grandson stutters when he is excited and tries to talk to fast. I just tell him to stop,and tell me slower so I can understand him,and it seems to be working.

Hi L.,

I have a son who is six now and has a stuttering and articulation problem. The best advice I can give you is to have your daughter screened very well because if there is a long term problem it will help to get early intervention, before the age of five. Just to give you a little background my son was receiving early intervention (IE) at the age of two and was not stuttering at that time. He started stuttering at the age of three and got progressively worse. If I hadn't gotten that early help he would be at lot worse at this time know he is in school. If you needed more info or help getting in touch with some of the services I found let me know. B.

L.,

My son never had a stuttering problem, but he did have a speech issue. I had him evaluated by the the school district and they found him to be "age appropriate". I then talked to my pediatrician and she gave us a referral for him to be privately evaluated. We did this twice. Once when he was 4 and once when he was 5. Both times he received about 6-8 weeks of speech therapy and it was covered by our insurance.

Whether or not the stuttering disappears by 5, she can be taught how to "slow down", and other techniques that speech pathologists use to help children who stutter.

I wish you good luck with the eval.

Hi L., My son did stutter quite a bit at that age, and it resolved once he became a really good talker - his ideas just came faster than he could make the words and I had to help him slow down and breathe. From what I read about it at the time, I thought real stuttering usually starts a bit later. --S. H.