my 21 month old, the last few days, has picked up a mild stutter...which really worries me because i thought stutterers mostly had some trauma in their life that caused it. i'm hoping that this is a phase and he just has so much going on in his little brain that his mouth can't keep up (NEVER an issue before, with my little chatterbox!)
he will be in a group setting (not so much when it's one-on-one with me or daddy) around other adults, and will try to interject with a comment, but all that comes out is "um....um.......um...!" it almost seems as though he's so excited to be in on the grownups' conversation that he just can't spit it out.
i don't know what to do about it...i try to keep quiet and wait for him to say whatever it is, but mostly he forgets and is on to the next task. if i encourage him, "what do you want to say honey?" i feel like he might feel pressured which could make it worse...
is this a normal stage for a toddler? i have three younger siblings and have been around lots of other kids, and never noticed it. should i be worried??? help!
My boy went through it. It is a phase. Like the others say, their little mouths can't keep up with their fast brains. But also the stutter may be he is trying to keep the attention of the listener in order to get his thoughts together.
I agree with giving 6mo. before worrying.
Good Luck
Both of my children went through this aroung the same age. My pediatrician said it was normal. Their brains are working faster than their mouths can verbalize. Give is 6 months or so.
My two year old did this as well. Just out of the blue. It lasted a couple weeks, and now she's back to normal. Try not to worry about it too much, it does seem to be a normal period for some kids to go through.
There is a difference between the um...um...um and stuttering. Serious stuttering problems effect the individual word that the person is trying to say. A lot of times the first sylabol will be repeated several times before they can get the word out. I agree with the other mom that this is normal and your little ones brain is just going to fast. You might try incouraging him to slow down and think about what he is doing or say if he comes up in a rush or starts the ums. He will grow out of it as his body catches up to his brain.
My daughter was a big talker, she too did the uh..uh.. then started with I.. I.. I.. then wa..wa..watch. She she turned 3 I took her the school district to have her evaluated for stuttering/fluency and to see if she would qualilfy for speech therapy. My daughter was borderline to qualify at her age but because we have a family of history of fluency problems I was able to enroll her early. I believe this early intervention is the reason she graduated out of speech therapy after 4 years. She stills pauses and thinks what she needs to say, but the "bumppy speech" is gone. So all I am saying is listen to your child. The school district will do a free evaluation at age 3 if you think he needs it. Meanwhile, encourage your child to take a deep breath and try again when he can't get his words out. Good Luck!
This site has some helpful information:
http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/voice/stutter.asp
It can be totally normal. Their brain is working faster than their mouth and they get confused about where they're at in the conversation. Just try to be patient when he's talking and let him get out his sentences. You can't do that all the time but try not to answer for him all the time.
