Is anyone a Speech Therapist? Word-final dysfluency

[JaneBirkin]

Hello, just interested to know whether this is something we ought to be concerned about.

Ds2 is 4.5 and since about 2 years ago has been repeating sounds at the ends of words. It comes and goes. He doesn't appear to display any other developmental problems but then I wouldn't necessarily recognise these if he did, iyswim. Some of the things he does seem unusual but we put it down to individuality...nothing you could put a finger on.

I've been reading up as much as I can but tbh there's not much out there, a few studies that basically say they don't know what causes it, it's a bit weird not your typical stutter.

Also that it normally disappears by 30 months.

So if anyone can shed any light I'd be interested to hear. Thankyou

It sounds like he needs an assessment?

Thanks for replying - I didn't have the computer yesterday so have only just seen your message.

What sort of assessment - would this be through school (he doesn't go yet) or should I try to get a referral through the GP or HV?

For what it's worth, I'm interested in what he is doing but it doesn't concern me unduly - I don't think it is causing him any problems, more that he uses it to fill in the gaps while he thinks what to say next?

So he might say, 'Can I have sausages...es...ges...and peas?'

Or 'I didn't...n't ....n't want to go to the swings'

iyswim

I mean if it is likely to indicate a wider problem of course I will try and do something but I'm interested to know whether it might indicate anything or if it's just, one of those things.

Hi Jane, I'm a Speech and Language Therapist - it does sound like he needs an assessment. You could arrange a referral through your GP or through DS's nursery.

A few tips - stammering can get worse if the child is uptight and anxious about it, so try to avoid drawing his attention to it by asking him to slow down/take a deep breath/say it again etc. Just give him a bit of extra time to say what he wants to, and respond as if he had said it fluently. Obviously don't allow anyone else (siblings, friends, or other adults) to copy him and make fun of how he talks. If you feel he does talk very quickly, the best way to help him is to slow down your own rate of speech - not so you sound like a Dalek (!) but it will encourage him to copy you.

PM me if you need more info

Oh brill - thankyou! I thought there might be a SALT on here somewhere

I will try to make sure we don't copy him, I do respond as normal and I wait and let him finish without filling in the gaps.

Hope that is right. Do you think he might need help with this? Or is it maybe something that will become less frequent as he grows up? I dont want to take up someone's time if it will just get better anyway.

You won't be taking up their time, that's what us SLTs are there for! Children can go through a period of what we call normal non-fluency between the ages of 2 and 4, which can sort itself out, but in view of his age and the unusual nature of his dysfluency, I think an assessment would be a good idea.

In the assessment session, the SLT will ask you questions about his general developmental history (milestones, health etc) and will ask you more about his stammer, like when you first became concerned, whether there's any history of stammering in the family, anything that makes his stammer better or worse. Then they will do a bit of playing alongside him and may use some picture books to assess his language skills. It will all be very fun and relaxed Don't worry if he doesn't actually stammer in the session, these things come and go! They will still use the information you give them in the case history to make a decision about what to do next. For now, just stay calm about it and keep on responding as you have been
Good luck

thankyou, I will try and get a referral for him. Thanks for all your advice, thats really helpful to know what to expect.

Oh my God! My ds does that too. Just thought it was him. He doesn't do it all the time either, goes in phases. He is 7 and in year 2 at school. He is amazingly good at phonics, spelling and reading and i thought this was just his awareness of sounds in words if you see what i mean!!!!!!! On a positive note it has never been a problem all his life and i think i will continue to ignore it.