Stammering, should I look for a Speech therapist?

[Timetoask]

My ds is almost 7 and in year 2. When he was in reception he started stammering a little, it would take him a some seconds to start a sentence and keep going. I was about to book an appointment with a SALT but it seemed to just stop.

He has started doing it again for the last week or so. For exampe:
To say Mummy, he'll say: m m m m mummy; this happens with the beginning of the sentence.

He doesn't seem upset about it, he is a happy child, doing extremely well at school.

There is no history of stammering in our family. Any advice please?

Maybe you could call the charity I Can - they have SALTs who can speak to you on the phone. Here.

Check out the Michael palin website and the british stammering association as both have great parent sections with lots of advice.

If stammering persists for a few weeks it is definitely worth getting an assessment - there's often a wait to be seen and you can always cancel if no longer needed.

Thank you both.

My son was seeing a SALT from around 3 years old for a year of so. He had a good vocabulary but not so good pronunciation. He also started stammering like you have described.

The SALT told me that it wasn't a stammer as such but rather he was trying to keep the conversation going and think about what to say next at the same time.

The SALT said it was best to make sure he had my full attention when he was trying to talk. I never picked him up on it.

He seemed to just stop doing it as his confidence grew and hasn't done it since.

Yes yes yes.

At 7 the type you describe doesn't often go away on its own. Deal with it now while he's not bothered or self conscious and hasn't been made to feel ashamed or as though it's who he is.

I'm a SLT and agree that you should get your son assessed. Talk to his school, see if they have noticed anything, they may be able to make the referral for you. In the meantime, avoid asking him to stop, slow down, take a deep breath etc. This will just draw his attention to it and is likely to make him anxious. Just allow him extra time to get his words out but otherwise act like nothing is different.

I'm a SLT and agree that you should get your son assessed. Talk to his school, see if they have noticed anything, they may be able to make the referral for you. In the meantime, avoid asking him to stop, slow down, take a deep breath etc. This will just draw his attention to it and is likely to make him anxious. Just allow him extra time to get his words out but otherwise act like nothing is different.

SandyChick
I don't think DS's reason for stammering is trying to keep the conversation going, this happens even when we are not chatting, he just wants to call me, it usually happens at the beginning of a sentence as well. Also, he is not a toddler, and he has a fantastic vocabulary so I don't think he is trying to find the right word to use.

Ninjago
Reading your post made my heart sink a little, I was really hoping that it will just go away like it did when he was 5. I will def. make an appointment with a SALT. Thank you.

Lottapianos
Thank you Lotta. I did read about this briefly when he had this at 5, so I make a point of never asking him to get on with it, I just wait for him to complete his sentence. He had two friends over for a playdate yesterday and I was please to see that they didn't say anything to him either, but I do worry about what will happen if this persists as he grows older.

I have just written to a local therapist for an appointment. I really hope I can see her soon.
How do I take him to the appointment without making him realise that it's about the stammer? I have never mentioned it to him and don't want him to become self-conscious about his speech.

He has a brother with severe special needs, I never expected to need a therapist for ds2!

The SLT will probably use some picture based assessment so just tell him that you're going to see a man/lady called X and you're going to do some picture games together

thanks x