toddler stammering

[Monikam470]

My son is 2.5 years old . He's been a happy active boy , very chatty and articulate . It came out of the blue that last week he started to stammer so much i find it painful to watch and i don't know how to help him .
Every first word of the sentence is repeated up to 10 times .
I made an appointment with my gp and i am looking for speech therapist referral . I stuttered all my life but mostly in polish and but I have improved over the years . We speak mostly English at home and my son speaks English mostly also . Dad speaks French but mostly in English . I don't speak Polish with my son . Can it be that he inherited my stammer ? I almost don't stammer anymore having attended several therapies . Any recommendation of speech therapist or group in London please ? We live in Kensington and Chelsea borough.
Thank you.

Has it lasted long? My dd went through a phase of this- it was her brain working faster than her mouth and getting overexcited trying to get her words out but it didn't last long

His stammering started just a week ago but it worries my as i struggled with it all my life since being a baby .

It's really common at this age for children stutter. Ds3 who's 3 next week stutters. He has been seen by a speech therapist and she basicly said that he has advanced speech that he's struggling to keep up and that as long as it's not stuttering every other word that he would grow out of it. She said if he gets worse or it hasn't stopped 12 month after it started then i have to take him back. But at this age it's really common.

He was pretty fluent until then :(

It really could be because he has advanced languages skills. One good sign I was told is the fact it is just the first word of the sentence. Basicly it happens as they can't keep up with there brain and are trying to say complex and long sentences for there age. Also emotions can make them stammer like excitement.

Yep, very common. My dd started to at about that age, as well as taking a step backwards in how she was pronouncing some of her letters. Coincided with her putting lots more setences together. Its like she was thinking faster than she could talk. Lasted a few months and now at neatly three it is much improved and the stuttering gone. Just ask him to take a breath and start the word slowly, encouraging him to do that will probably be enough.

Thank you all for sharing your experience . Much appreaciated x

I stutter as well. The thing you definitely do not do, is ask the child to take a breath or to repeat it, or do anything else that may alert them to the fact that you think their speech is 'wrong' or different. There is advice for parents on the British Stammering Association websitewww.stammering.org/
It is very important that you keep your face pleasant and unconcerned when the child is speaking. Ignore how the child is speaking but listen to what they are saying, and repeat back part of what they have said so they know you are listening.

Do not put pressure on the child by asking questions.
Both my children stuttered at this age, the stuttering appeared suddenly, it got quite severe, then disappeared again. With one child it appeared aged 2.5, then it went away then it came back again about a year later. Make sure the child does not hear you discussing their speech in a worried way. The majority of children recover from stuttering.

Thank you all for your comments !
Dear seaweed, thank you for sharing your experience . I was very worried as I felt its me my son copies my speech when I would rarely but occasionally stammer .
I am happy and surprised but my son stammering is gone for now . I don't know how but it went back to normal by itself .
I actually tried to linked his stammer with anxiety as that week when he started to stammer i transferred him to his own bedroom and bed and he hated it . Back to my bed now . I don't know if the stress could cause it . Anyway thank you for your message x

My oldest is nearly 4 and had started stuttering at 2 we are now looking for re referal to speech therapy as we think it atarted off as excitement but now he cant help it

My son stuttered for a while at a similar age. I think for the same reasons as given above, his brain was working faster than his mouth. I drew no attention to it. Waited patiently for him to speak and he grew out of it. (Now I can't shut him up). Don't worry and don't rush off to a therapist. Wait and see.

My ds1 started stuttering at about the same age. He was referred to speech therapy which he attended for a 6 week course, but actually it naturally corrected itself. As others have said, in his case it seemed to be a case of his brain working faster than his mouth. He is now 21 and has spoken without a stammer since the age of 3.

This really reminded me that my dd was stuttering a while ago and I googled it and was worried etc and it’s just occurred to me that it has stopped! She’s 2.4 and has advanced speech for her age and that was the conclusion to my searching, just trying to say too much and can’t keep up. Was painful to watch like you say but now totally gone. Lasted a few weeks I’d say. I hadn’t even noticed it had stopped!