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Original poster

Toddler developed sudden severe stutter

20 replies

MrSkinnyLegsSpider · 15/03/2020 10:59

Our little 2 year old (just turned 2) is very chatty and had been saying lots of little three or sometimes four word sentences "mummy push now please" or "I go park now" for example.

One day last week she started repeating the start of a sentence a little like "dog dog dog doggy's bed" but each day it's become more severe so she will repeat for a very long time getting louder like "more more more more more more more more MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE grape"

We haven't mentioned it in front of her or tried to finish her sentences or anything but we are a bit alarmed at how sudden and severe it is. I know that disfluency that comes and goes can be normal but does anyone have any experience? It's on almost everything she says and means she is saying less than she was (because she was saying lots of different things but now each sentence is taking her much longer, not that she is choosing to vocalise less)

OP posts:
ilovetea14 · 15/03/2020 12:41

My Ds had a stammer when he was 2 and a Half. My husband has a slight stammer
so I kept an eye on my Ds. My Ds said to me mammy I don't know why the word won't come out he looked so worried it broke my heart, I said to him it's OK it happens to me sometimes too. I decided to contact the health nurse and she came out and I filled out a form to put him on the speech therapy waiting list. It got worse as time went on. What I found helped is to get her to look at you when talking bend down so your at her level even if it means you have to get closer to her face. Your right not to finish her sentence. I had to say to my Ds I can't hear what your saying your not looking at me. My Ds would be looking everywhere so not really concentrating on what he was saying. I found this helped him to slow down and take his time and think about what he wanted to say. I would always have to remind him to look at me when he wanted to tell me something. Keep an eye on it if still worried talk to your public health nurse. He went for an assessment a Yr later and turned out he had the vocabulary of 4 half to 5half yr old. He was going through a development growth spurt. He went to speech therapy once a week for 6 weeks one on one. Then a group one for 6 weeks as there where some sounds he was unable to say. He's nearly 9 now and has no stammer and loves reading.

Summersunandoranges · 15/03/2020 12:44

My dd3 does this, i think it’s because she is still processing what she is going to say next and gets stuck on the word that’s coming out of her mouth. In fact I think dd2 did this too

I wouldn’t worry about it

LadyMonicaBaddingham · 15/03/2020 12:59

My eldest used to do this when he was about this age. I used to get down to his level and ask him to think about what he wanted to say before saying it. That helped a lot, I think that he was just so frantic to tell me things that his speech sort of of fell over itself, iyswim...

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Whydoesit · 15/03/2020 13:08

My son developed a stammer at nearly 3 and I was quite worried but I heard lots of other parents saying that under the age of 5 stutters are extremely common and often come and go with a language leap. Within about 3 months for us it was gone. It may well come back as he’s still young but I won’t be so worried this time.

Goawayquickly · 15/03/2020 13:15

Mine did this too, around 3 years, I just patiently waited for her to get her words out and it soon passed.

YesThatsATurdOnTheRug · 15/03/2020 13:20

My dd did exactly that at that age too! She grew out of it gradually within a few months.

Goawayquickly · 15/03/2020 13:24

Oops sorry, I meant age 3 not for three years 😩

Absoluteunit · 15/03/2020 13:24

My DD went through a period of this that went alongside a kind of leap in vocabulary. It only lasted a month or so. I'd say totally normal

BasilDiffuser · 15/03/2020 13:31

My DD also did this. She’s grown out of it (nearly 3) but still does it when she gets excited or tired.

TheVanguardSix · 15/03/2020 13:31

Two of mine did this! And in addition, my youngest would also exaggerate his consonants. We used to joke (to stifle our concern!) that he was trying to swallow the alphabet. With both kids, the stammer stopped (and all related speech issues) by the Springtime, age 4. For some weird reason, all 3 of mine jumped major developmental hurdles at this stage.
And yes to the above example by ladymonica, crouching down to their eye level, gently holding hands really helped get words out more calmly and articulately.

concernedforthefuture · 15/03/2020 13:45

DD did this for a short while. The HV explained it happens as their brain is developing faster than their speech muscles and they suddenly know how to say a tonne of words but their mouth development isn't ready for advanced speech and gets confused.

Just ignore and it will stop as soon as it started. I think it was a few weeks for DD.

VioletMottershed · 15/03/2020 14:14

Speech and language therapist here. I would agree with all the above. If you would like to Google for more info it's known as developmental dysfluency.

Original poster
MrSkinnyLegsSpider · 15/03/2020 19:09

Thank you. This is reassuring. I had read that it was common but we were a bit taken aback by how suddenly severe it was, as they are just the same sentences she'd been saying fluently before. Hasn't stopped her chatting away though!

OP posts:
Msmcc1212 · 15/03/2020 19:12

My DS did same around same age. Fine now. No intervention. Smile

DefConOne · 15/03/2020 19:21

Had the same with my DD at 2. We were worried because DH has a stammer (developed at primary where he was bullied). It disappeared after a few months. There was useful advice on the British Stammering Association website.

JoshLymanIsHotterThanSam · 15/03/2020 19:22

2 of my DCs developed a stammer before they had a language spurt...it’s usually brain working faster than mouth. I wouldn’t worry just yet.

Whatevah · 15/03/2020 19:37

I'd totally forgotten that one of mine did this. Maybe the youngest? Was going to get him referred but we just left it, didn't comment on it, were very calm, and it resolved. I think I looked it up on here and folks said it can resolve, its quite common etc.

Seagrassbasket · 04/12/2023 21:54

@MrSkinnyLegsSpider - sorry I know this is quite an old thread, but how did your little one do with her stutter in the end?

We are going through something similar with DS and he’s aware that the words aren’t coming out and getting a bit upset, it’s heartbreaking. He’s 2.5.

I do have a call booked in with the HV this week and his nursery are speaking to their senco to assess him.

ilovetea14 · 04/12/2023 22:27

@Seagrassbasket my ds was the same age when he started stammering it was heartbreaking to watch. I got in contact with my HV she gave me form to fill out to place him on the wait list for speech therapy. I couldn't afford private. He was 3.5 years old when I got an appointment. His dad also suffers with a slight stammer so was very worried about him.

I found getting him to look at me when talking and me going down to his level as he would be looking everywhere but me so wasnt fousing on what he was trying to say. The speech therapist told me he was going through a language growth spurt. He had the language of 4.5 to 5.5 year old.
He is nearly 13 now he reads so many books and the stammer never returned after we did speech therapy and put in the work

Seagrassbasket · 04/12/2023 22:48

Thanks @ilovetea14, it’s good to hear your DS has done so well.

My DS’s speech has always been quite advanced so I’m hoping it’s similar.

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