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Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

Behaviour/development

Toddler stammering

21 replies

jinglebellmel · 27/01/2017 18:45

Hello, just wondering if anyone has been in the same position or can help? 3 year old started stuttering a little at about 2years 11 months - nothing major just repeating 'I, I, I' or 'we,we' at the start of sentences now and again. It gradually worsened to more words and sounds through the sentences (had about 2 really bad days and then declined to being pretty mild again). I took him to a private SALT just over a week ago and she wasn't too concerned, gave us some excesses/games to do to help and said she was fairly confident it was a normal phase. I've not seen any improvement in the week we've been following her advise - in fact this evening after collecting him from nursery he was so bad that he could barely get a single word out, repeating things 5-10 times.

Not sure what I'm hoping for really, but I found it so upsetting tonight. Wondering if anyone has been through the same? It's been going on for nearly 3 months now.

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languagelearner · 27/01/2017 18:52

I had a manger once who stuttered, he was 50+ so for some people it's nothing that will go away. There are techniques that those affected can use, so you could let your toddler go and practice with a speech therapist. Don't be upset, your toddler might pick it up and think he's useless due to your anger.

languagelearner · 27/01/2017 18:53

hm... not something that will go away... sorry misspelled it.

Snooky17 · 27/01/2017 19:00

My Dd went though a stammering stage similar age, for her it was because her brain was working faster than her mouth I think as she was/is a non stop talker and she grew out of it, sorry no advice but it could be he will grow out of it too.

jinglebellmel · 27/01/2017 19:08

Thanks both. Snooky, glad to hear it was just a phase for your dd. Ds talks non stop too! I've been quite positive about it so far, but watching him really struggle tonight was difficult.

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unlimiteddilutingjuice · 27/01/2017 19:10

Mine did this at 3 and 4. Brain working faster than mouth was exactly it. Sorted itself out in time as he got more confident at speaking generally.

Gizlotsmum · 27/01/2017 19:11

Both my two went through it. Almost like their brain was halfway along the sentence before their mouth caught up. Both grew out of it. Littlest (5) does it still occasionally if he is excited or really tired

RoccoW14 · 27/01/2017 19:12

I'm certainly no expert, but I think it's very common amongst toddlers and I believe most grow out of it. My daughter did for a while, and still does very occasionally. She's not yet 4.

jinglebellmel · 27/01/2017 19:13

Thank you all for replying :) do any of you remember how long it lasted? Was it a sudden improvement or more gradual?

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BendingSpoons · 27/01/2017 19:22

Stammering is common in young children. For most it resolves but there are risk factors for it persisting e.g. family history of persistent stammering, stammering for more than 6 months. It is likely to be linked to an increase in language and will start to resolve in the next few months as his 'system' catches up with his increased language skills. It is worth saying that whilst it is likely to be fine, there is a chance he will need speech therapy, so do access that if it doesn't get better.

BendingSpoons · 27/01/2017 19:26

You are probably doing this anyway by we advise people to give their child time to finish what they are saying. If they are frustrated by it, you can acknowledge what is happening, saying something like 'Your words got a bit stuck didn't they, well done for keeping trying'. It shows the child you have noticed but you aren't that concerned, so they don't need to worry. This obviously depends on their language levels.

LuxuryWoman2017 · 27/01/2017 19:30

Sounds normal, mine did and all her little frienhs don't make an issue of it and give her time to get the words out.

stuckinny · 27/01/2017 19:30

DS had a stammer for a number of years. I think, like the other posters, his brain was too fast for his mouth. I would ask him to stop, take a breath, and start again slowly. He grew out of it eventually. To be honest it wasn't until my mum said something that I realised he wasn't doing it anymore.

picklemepopcorn · 27/01/2017 19:39

My son did it for several years. The key thing is to focus on relaxation. Don't comment on or address the stammer at all, just say 'ok, I'm listening, carry on'. Maybe repeat what he has said, to check you have got it right or remind him if he has really lost his way.

Relaxation games, walking while he speaks, all can help.

What you want to avoid is associated habits like slapping his forehead when he gets stuck, for example.

Just stick with the advice of the SALT. Most children grow out of it.

HobbitTankard · 27/01/2017 19:43

My child did this at 3 and 4 and so had my brother at primary age. It did pass but gradually over a couple of years.
As a teen my son said he did stammer sometimes in school. I saw him speak publicly recently and there was no sign.

namechangedtoday15 · 27/01/2017 19:54

Same here. DS was 3, went to NHS SALT and gave us exercises, comments that we should / shouldn't use.

You mention that he was worse tonight after collecting him from nursery - is it worth going into the nursery, speaking to all the key workers / workers in the room he's in so they know to follow the same "rules" with him? Maybe he hasnt had the time to finish what he wanted to say / children have butted in / they've asked specific questions (we were told to let DS lead the conversation) so he's rushing trying to tell you about his day. Or maybe he's just excited and its just amplifying his symptoms?

Its a long process - months not weeks - so don't be disheartened by a lack of progress, its only been a week.

namechangedtoday15 · 27/01/2017 19:56

P.s. should have said we went to the SALT for 6 months by which time it had resolved itself.

jinglebellmel · 27/01/2017 20:22

Thank you all so much for replying, I really appreciate it. Some good advice that I will look through properly later and take on board.

He was very tired this evening, so that may have contributed. It was just shocking to see that it had suddenly gone from a mild, slightly annoying thing to barely being able to get a word out :( Normally if I speak very slowly to him or ask him to try again he'll manage it no problem second time, but tonight he was totally stuck. Hopefully things will seem better after he's had a good nights sleep.

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fuzzyfozzy · 27/01/2017 20:40

I was on a course recently that said they would accept referrals on stammering if it was causing the child distress.

Heatherbell1978 · 27/01/2017 20:44

I posted about this around a month ago. My 2.5 year old DS started doing this too at Christmas, pretty much overnight. It's words at the beginning of sentences mainly. It seemed to improve when he returned to nursery after the holidays and then got a little worse again. He's still doing it but not all the time. From what I found out, it's common at that age and is basically the brain working faster than his mouth can! It makes sense as he's really coming on with his speech; there's a new word every day, and he's sleeping longer too so maybe a big growth/developmental stage.

Munchkin1412 · 27/01/2017 22:34

My two year old dd has developed a stammer over the last few weeks - was thinking of posting about it actually! She was a very early and prolific talker - nursery said it's quite common especially if they're early talkers. I'll mention it at her two year check but I think it will just get better on its own.

jinglebellmel · 31/01/2017 19:05

Hope it's a quick phase for all of you going through it! Weekend was a little better but the evenings after childcare are pretty bad. It's so upsetting to see. Have self referred to salt but it's a 12 week + wait so will be back to the private therapist at £70 a go sadly!

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