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Original poster

Intermittent speech 'impediment'

10 replies

Motherdearest · 10/02/2004 12:06

My eldest dd,3yo, has recently developed this speech 'problem', most noticeable when she's tired where she constantly repeats 'erm, erm, erm, erm,' before finally getting her sentence out - it's as tho' her mouth can't keep up with her brain. But the odd thing is that she doesn't do it all the time. (She has a great vocabulary btw and chatters incessantly from morning till night). I and dp find it really annoying and at first started telling her to stop, but this just upsets her and she won't then finish what she was starting to say, so now we've started to ignore it. Anyone else experienced this? Any ideas how we can stop her doing it? Or do we just ignore it?

OP posts:
marialuisa · 10/02/2004 12:16

DD is nearly 3 and has been doing this for a few months. As you say it's as if her mouth can't keep up with her brain. This is qite normal and (putting on professional hat)PLEASE don't get cross with her or let her see your irritated. Just ignore it and listen to what she's saying and respond appropriately. Our DD does this most when she's particularly excited, it's as if this stream of things to tell us is just "bursting" out of her. As her speech is otherwise ok just let her be. DH and I find it endearing, but maybe we are weird.

marialuisa · 10/02/2004 12:20

Just to say our DD also does this if she's trying to produce a complicated word in the midst of her excitement. So yesterday it was "I've had a fabulous day, we went to music and Mrs Clixby let us play with the erm, erm, PERCUSSION instruments".

Sorry to sound naggy, but please stop telling her off for this "impediment", you'll create a problem.

nutcracker · 10/02/2004 12:20

My dd who is 4 has also just started doing this. I amazed at the fact that i've been able to be so patient with her and haven't yet told her to spit it out. It seems like she just forgets what she was going to say sometimes but is still determined to tell you.
I would say that it's probably just a phase, and to ignore it as much as possible. I am waiting for a salt assessment for my dd as she is having trouble pronouncing her L's and R's or completly missing them out. When the appointment finally comes through I will ask them about that too and see what they say. I'll let you know.

Original poster
Motherdearest · 10/02/2004 12:43

I did try telling her to stop and think about what it was she was trying to say...I feel bad now as she knew I was irritated . Will definitely ignore from now on.

OP posts:
marialuisa · 10/02/2004 12:48

Sorry, if I sounded bossy. I think it's because DD is usually "lit up" when the "erms" come out and there's something about that joy I love.

Blu · 10/02/2004 12:57

erm, I do this when I'm tired! 3 year-olds still have a huge gap between their understanding of language, their enthusiasm to communicate and their ability to put it into words either mentally or physically. You have diagnosed her 'problem' exactly...her mouth really can't keep up with her brain! Just patiently wait, keeping up your interest in what it is she so desparately wants you to know. Good luck.

twiglett · 10/02/2004 13:01

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twiglett · 10/02/2004 13:04

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binkie · 10/02/2004 13:05

My ds (5 in April) has a very noticeable impediment of this kind - occasionally he's fluent, eg first thing in the morning when well-rested - but most of the time his hesitations and garbled syntax when the words do get out are bad enough to be quite a barrier to being understood. The point of saying this is that even his level of difficulty is (as SALT said) not serious enough to have a label and will sort itself out in due course, so not to worry. In the meantime, some of SALT's suggestions:

  • lots of exposure to other (fluent) children;

  • don't draw attention to the difficulty, but when the child has got the sentence out, give him/her a chance to say their idea again (not necessarily in same words);

  • when speaking to child yourself, consciously use short and simple sentences.

I hope that's helpful.

suedonim · 10/02/2004 15:45

My 7yo dd has had spells of stammering, from about the age of three. They tend to occur at times when she has made big developmental leaps or when changes have occurred in her life. She also sometimes talks a whole load of gobbledegook when we can make head nor tail of what she is trying to say and now she is older she says herself she doesn't know what she's going on about!!

It can be annoying but ignoring it is the besy way to go, ime. The episodes have definitely lessened as time has gone by and are infrequent now.

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