Sudden stuttering in 5 year old

[bubblybrit]

My almost 5 year old DD has practically developed a stutter overnight which is accompanied by rapid eye blinking.

Her speech prior to this was excellent so I’ve no idea why/how this has suddenly happened.

Should I be worried or is this just a phase?

Mostly commenting to bump this for you. My DD had a similar stutter suddenly appear when she was younger (around 3 I believe). We took her to a speech therapist and were told that it was a result of her being unable to vocalize thoughts as quickly as her brain was moving. Sure enough, it resolved itself fairly quickly - totally gone within two months I believe.

It’s a bit of a different situation than your slightly older DD, but hopefully others can come on here with more relevant feedback.

My DS started stuttering quite suddenly when he was 3.5

I got him assessed privately with a speech therapist who said that as he was unaware of it and it wasn't affecting his confidence that it was probably due to his speech not being up to speed with how fast his brain was working. It came and went for almost a year but seems to have gone now, and his vocab since starting school has exploded.

We were told not to draw any attention to it, and to make a point of giving him 10 mins undivided attention a day to play with whatever he wanted to, and talk as much as he wanted.

Thank you both. I feel a lot better knowing that it seemed to resolve itself with your DC.

We have private health insurance with BUPA so I’ll likely take her to be assessed but don’t want her to be stressing about it.

She is aware that she’s doing it (probably my fault) but I’m trying to not bring further attention to it bar asking her to slow down and take her time whilst talking. Should I not be doing that either?

This organisation has a helpline (recommended by the NHS) https://stamma.org/get-help/parents

My DS has developed a stutter very similiar sounding to your DD, he’s 2.5. I have also been told that it’s to do with a discrepancy between thoughts and language ability. I’ve read that the latest advice is not to acknowledge it all (unless the child does) and don’t tell them to slow down. Just keep a relaxed engaged expression on your face for as long as it takes for them to get the words out. Don’t interrupt them while they’re trying.

Apparently it’s only a concern if accompanied by signs of strain (like the eye blinking) so get her checked, but I think the general thinking is it resolves itself most of the time.

@LightSwerve thank you. I’ll have a look at that link in the morning!

@Seagrassbasket I think I’m going to get her seen as the stammer has almost appeared overnight. She started school in August so don’t want it to turn into a source of worry. I probably didn’t handle it very well in the beginning as I was getting frustrated as to why she all of a sudden wasn’t speaking ‘properly’. I’ve likely brought attention to it for her which I’m sure hasn’t helped.

Don't tell her to slow down while speaking, that was one thing the speech therapist was very firm on with me. She said to maintain a neutral expression, don't fill in any gaps or try to finish the sentence for them.

It's so difficult and I had to be really conscious not to jump in myself. Ignoring it completely seems to be the way to go if it is a developmental stammer.

Thank you @TheBeeb I’m trying so hard to ignore it but it’s challenging!

Not making light of this, but one of mine did similar and in hindsight I think it was because they got attention for longer in school. They were aware of it and spoke about it and at times at home, they did seem unaware when it was happening. Whatever it was, it did go without intervention in a couple of months. Could it be a growth phase where body and brain are out of sync? Try not to panic and see how it goes for a few weeks

I don't want to scare you as it's quite unlikely that this is your child's case. Only a medical professional can confirm this but I developed OCD around this age and yes it was marked by stuttering and blinking. I also had other symptoms though such as vocal tics and an obsession with sounds. Trying to control noises that I felt where not appropriate by "fixing" them with my own voice.

Thank you for all your responses. I’ve not drawn attention to it at all over the last few days and I have noticed some improvement.

Will keep an eye on it and if it worsens again then I’ll get her seen just to be on the safe side.

Hi,
I came across your message and wanted to ask, how is your daughter now? Did she outgrow it? My daughter is 4 years and 4 months old, and she suddenly started having trouble speaking — one day she just woke up and couldn’t talk properly.Thanks

Please how is your daughter now? Was it resolved? My 5 year old started sudden stammering and I just did an online self referral.