Sudden bad stutter in 2.5yr old

[PeanutSmuggler2013]

Hi folks,

Our very articulate happy 2.5 yr old DD woke up last Saturday with a stutter that came out of nowhere. It's got progressively worse and now virtually all sentences are stuttered. She is distressed by this and asks us regularly 'mummy/daddy where are my words?' It's absolutely heartbreaking.

We have managed to get a referral to speech therapy for 3 weeks time, but that seems so far away. Anyone got any tips for the meantime? Especially with how to manage other children's comments/reactions.

Thanks all...

It happened to dd1 very suddenly - she was a very articulate early speaker and it drove her and us mad. It totally disappeared just as quickly on the morning of the appointment we'd made, never to return again. Therapist said it wasn't particularly unusual. She's now a very articulate 22yo with a very good degree.
Hope it works out just the same for you.

I seem to remember telling her rather unkind cousin that her brain was simply working faster than her mouth and that it would soon catch up. Funny, I never even think about it till I see something like your thread.

Thanks goingmad - seems impossible that it could disappear, keeping our fingers crossed we have a happy ending like you! How long did it last?

My DD developed a stammer at 2.5 overnight. It was horrible for 4months and then totally disappeared overnight. It has never returned. She's now a very articulate 5.5 year old.

There is information here:
www.stammering.org/help-information/parents/under-5s/bsa-leaflets-parents-under-5s/stammering-preschool-children-how

can be normal stage of development at this age. do not draw attention to it and it should pass.

agree, huge period of brain development and yes, can take language and thought to link together!

Thanks all, reassuring to hear the experiences of others x

Pretty sure both of mine did that in stages; I think ther brain works faster than their mouths at certain points.

My DD1 was the same. Still with her a year later. We see SaLT regularly.

Ds was the same. It started around 4yo, I can't remember how long it lasted for (6/12 months) but now at 7yo there is no sign of a stutter.
At the time it felt like he would always have it. In fact, until I read this thread I had totally forgotten about it!

Mine currently has a stutter. She is 3.5. She has good days and bad days. Preschool made sure they held eye contact with her while she was talking. We told her if she gets stuck to stop, take a breath and start again. She had almost completely stopped over the Easter holidays and it's come back again since going back to preschool this week but she is improving. It is a phase some go through, though none of my other 3 have so it was a new one for me

Thanks all, thought I'd give an update. Went to SaLT for an initial assessment, and they're monitoring every 3months and will provide therapy if stutter is still there next year...
On the plus side it's got looooads better and doesn't upset DD anymore. Still virtually every sentence but the repetitions seem to be far fewer. Can totally deal with this now that DD is comfortable with it. Onwards and upwards!

This is exactly how my DS's started at approx age 3. He still has it at 13 despite SALT intervention. It's worse some days than others, but people understand him and he's a very articulate boy. Good luck OP.

DD did similar at around the same age. It went as quickly as it appeared, after a few weeks.
I was told to ignore it completely, don't try to finish sentences etc. Dr said it can happen at that age as they are learning so much so quickly and their brains get a bit overwhelmed.

This happened to my DD at 2/3. She was a very early talker and very bright then suddenly in the back of the car one day couldn't say Morrisons as we drove past. It carried on for a few days. I rang my HV and she said it happens sometimes when their speech develops early, their brain is trying to catch up with a speedy development. She said if it carried on for a few weeks to let her know. It didn't and she is now a very bright A* 15 yr old. Hope all is well for you too.