my 3 year old has started to stutter (and I think it's my fault)

[keresley]

He has real trouble with any words being with a vowel. He can't get the initial sound out - I want the a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a (for up to a minute) ambulance. I am really worried that I have caused it as a few weeks ago, I tried to teach hime to say 'I' instead of 'me'. Since then, he has developed this stutter that is really quite bad in his every day language. Before this, he did not stutter like this. He has become upset and says 'mummy I can't speak any more'. Unfortunately, when he first started the stutter, I responded in the wrong way and told him he neede to speak properly if people were to understand him (I KNOW this is the worst thing I could have done now). Now I am ignoring the stutter totally but it still persists. I am really worried and very guilty.

((Hugs)) You have not caused this. It is probably just a blip in his conversational skills.

My ds developed stuttering after he had learned to talk. It continued for about a year on and off, and i got so concerned that i phoned a speech therapist who basically told me that it was very common in young children. She also told me to write down when it happened, how frequently, what he was trying to say and whether he was tired/sick, etc. I was told to basically ignore it when it happened, get down to eye level and try to slow him down when he got upset.

It was noted at nursery that he had a stammer, but we have just had the all clear at his reception parents evening He does sometimes get in a bit of a stammery mode, but it is when he is really really excited to tell people something.

hth

Don't worry Keresley. Its quite common as goblin says. DS stuttered badly at this age too.
My friend who is a speech therapist said to ignore it (not draw attention to it) and give him time to speak. She said its common in children who are used to being listened to, their ideas form faster than the lanuage skills so they have lots to say but can't get the words out quick enough. So in fact its a good sign of a little boy with a lively mind who is used to having plenty of one to one attention (thanks to you).
DS grew out of it in about 6mnths, but still does it sometimes when excited.

Dt1 was exactly the same at around 3-4, she had speech therapy but only neede it for a few weeks and I think she would grown out of it anyway
Definately nothing you have done x

It is much more common that you think, in new talkers, so to speak. I've had many mindees who have all had a bit of a stammer, when they first start stringing long sentences together. I think you'll find that its just that their little brains are working far faster than their mouths! Try not to worry and the key is to ignore it. If you are really concerned though, after a couple of months, I'm sure a call to your speech therapy team will assure you and maybe suggest some more tips for stopping it.

My DS was the same - his mind worked quicker than his mouth! Was noticeable at around age 3/4. Is now 6.5 and is fine.

Thanks so much for all your messages. Magnolia, what excercises did the speech therapist do with your daughter? How did you go about getting the speech therapy? It's really comforting to know that he will probably grow out of it.

Loads of children stutter. Really very common. Best advice really is to ignore it, and sympathise if ds gets upset. He'll grow out of it.

Well ds woke up today and stuttering worse than ever. He could barely string a sentence together as it was so bad. I rang the health visitor who said there was a 9 month waiting list to see and speech and language therapist. So i found one on the internet and my ds will be assessed on Monday. The expense though, is huge - £100 for initial assessment and then £60 for a 45 min therapy session! But I just need to know whether my ds's stuttering is a normal growing up type of thing or if it is something more than that. I can't believe how neurotic I feel over this.

Well, my ds had his assessment today and it turns out that there is a 'significant' problem and his speech is outside the normal range by quite a margin. So now the learning curve begins on how to deal with a child who stutters.

Can you get your independent assessment sent to the nhs waiting list so that you're bumped?

I've no idea how it works really.

Try not to worry too much. You are doing everything you can and you will be learning MORE about what you can do practically to help him. GL