Stuttering

[Chitowngirl]

My DS is three and he stutters pretty regularly. He was an early talker and at first we just attributed it to his brain working faster than his mouth could move. We didn't really do or say anything about it. At this point, it is not really getting worse as much as it isn't getting better. He is becoming more and more verb and learning more and more words, but he still stutters pretty regularly. I understand that stuttering can be normal for young children, but at what age should we start to investigate speech therapy. We don't see his ped again until his 4 year old visit and I didn't think to mention it at his 3 year old visit to ask. If it's not a big deal and still may resolve on its own I don't mind waiting until 4, but I don't want to wait if early intervention is better. Thanks!


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[mmsmom]

It is common at that age and most kids outgrow it. I don't know the age where it becomes a concern but I think you are at least a couple years away. DD also stuttered around age 3 for 6-9 months then it just went away. The ped told us not to draw attention to it and not to speak for her.

[billysmommy]

Ds2 stuttered from 3.5-5.5. He started to get very frustrated because of it around 4.5 and we started speech with him. One thing she taught him was to sing the words when he would get frustrated and it would help him keep from stuttering. It worked well for him. We felt like we were living in a musical :)


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[barkley1]

My DD started the same thing around 3y4m. After it had been going on for about 6 months, I had her evaluated by the local school system. She also had other speech issues, some normal for her age and some not. Those 2 things combined got her an immediate referral into our EI program. They honestly scared me pretty badly - they acted like they could not BELIEVE how unintelligible her speech was! (not in front of her, though). Speech through the school system was in a group setting, and not during the summer. So, I put her in private speech therapy over the summer, and we have continued through this fall and winter. HOWEVER, to be honest, they (private) are not working on disfluency (stuttering). Their professional opinion/advice was that she would outgrow it and that you cannot, must not, call attention to it at this age and stage or it will make it worse b/c they will be self conscious. So they worked on the articulations she was most behind on, and the ones that would help us the most to understand her speech. One was the /c/ and /k/ sounds that she was replacing with a /t/. It literally made her sound like she was almost speaking another language, even to me - her mother! She got that down in no time (2 months?) and during that time, her stuttering gradually decreased, too. She started back w/ the school system in August, and they also did not want to call attention to the disfluency, so just worked on "slow and steady speech".

All that to say, the stuttering is almost all gone now at age 4 y4 m. I don't know if the speech therapy did it, or if she outgrew it. But I'm relieved! And, do not regret getting her evaluated and treated early.

[PZMommy]

My DS stuttered from around 3 1/2 until around 4 1/2, maybe 5. His brain was just working faster then his mouth could. I had him evaluated, but he did not qualify for speech as that was his only issue and we were told it was not a concern at that age.

[mackmama]

DC went through a stuttering phase at 3yo. Our pedi told us to wait 6 weeks and, if it didn't resolve, to seek speech services. In the meantime I spoke to a friend who is a developmental pediatrician. He said that in light of recent research he strongly believes in early intervention with speech therapy for stuttering (which we were going to purse but then it resolved).

[Dream]

My older DD was an early talker and she started stuttering around 3 I think. I waited for her to outgrow but she showed no signs of outgrowing. I got her evaluated by the school district when she was close to turning 5 but she didn't qualify. Sometimes it's not severe but then other times she can barely complete a sentence. So I got her evaluated a privately and they tried a new method with her, I don't remember the name, but it was proven to work on kids that's not over 6 years old. Year of expensive therapy and her stuttering stopped.

Good luck.

[georgiegirl]

Don't worry about it! It's completely normal. Both of my older kids went through shuddering phases. My DD did qualify for speech therapy at age 6 through the school district. She "graduated" out within 6 months. Ds1 also stuttered, and I almost asked to get him evaluated in K, but I didn't. He's now in first, and the stuttering is pretty much gone. For DD, she only stuttered during higher level language, like if she was answering a question that required thought or asking a thoughtful question. Not when she was reading.

[RiverRat]

My Dd had a stutter and I had her evaluated at 3.5. I was told that as long as the stutter was at the start of the word, like not being able to think of the word, then it's not a concern. I was told there would be a bigger issue if the stutter was in the middle of the word, like they just couldn't physically say the next part of the word.
Dd is now in speech for the s sounds.

[Chitowngirl]

Thanks for the advice. My DS isn't so much stuttering on a word (t-t-t-tree) as much as stuttering on an idea (where is - where is - where is the car). I don't know if that makes a difference.

I may call my pediatrician and just mention it, but if she doesn't seem worried than I won't. Seems like something that happens to many kids and it seems to respond either with or without therapy from what everyone is saying.


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[123LuckyMom]

Thanks for the advice. My DS isn't so much stuttering on a word (t-t-t-tree) as much as stuttering on an idea (where is - where is - where is the car). I don't know if that makes a difference.

I may call my pediatrician and just mention it, but if she doesn't seem worried than I won't. Seems like something that happens to many kids and it seems to respond either with or without therapy from what everyone is saying.


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It does make a difference. What you're describing is totally normal. Don't even bother calling the ped. It will pass. If it's still happening in a year. Then maybe talk to the ped. You can mention it at your next visit.

[barkley1]

Thanks for the advice. My DS isn't so much stuttering on a word (t-t-t-tree) as much as stuttering on an idea (where is - where is - where is the car). I don't know if that makes a difference.

I may call my pediatrician and just mention it, but if she doesn't seem worried than I won't. Seems like something that happens to many kids and it seems to respond either with or without therapy from what everyone is saying.


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From the reading I did, this form is much less serious and more likely to be a phase than repeating specific letters of words. i probably wouldn't worry unless it went on for 6-9+ months.

[Chitowngirl]

Great, thanks! I didn't realize they were different. Sorry I didn't specify in my first post.

I feel very comfortable waiting it out.


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