3 1/2 year old suddenly stuttering?

firefightersgal · March 2010

My DD talks all.the.time. She asks a bazillion questions a day and says the funniest things. However, she's recently started stuttering. It isn't all the time, but she seems to get stuck on the first word of a sentence if she has (momentarily) not been talking.

"Mommy? Wh-wh-wh-why is that cow eating?"

Everything else is perfectly clear. She's getting very frustrated with it. She'll say, "Ugh! I can't talk anymore!" when she gets 'stuck' like that.

Anyone ever have experience with this or know if it is something I should be concerned with? It only recently started, but it makes her so mad. I encourage her to slow down and think about what she's going to say before she says it, but it seems to be happening more frequently.

UGAbride · March 2010

I am definitely not an expert, but that happened to my friend's son recently, so I asked my speech therapist friend for advice on her behalf....she said it's really common in toddlers, and that it would likely clear up on it's own in a few weeks. This was several months ago, and my friend hasn't mentioned it at all recently (this is actually a great reminder for me to ask her about it to make sure everything is ok!)...but I spend a lot of time around her son, and haven't heard him having any issues with it lately.

KellyMichelle · March 2010

It is VERY normal. My son went through it also and I have seen many kids that age do the same thing. Their brains are just going faster than they can keep up with. I wouldn't call attention to it or make a big deal. It will pass on its own.

ilovemygirls · March 2010

This happened to my bff's daughter at around that age. Her son was already in speech therapy, so she asked the therapist who said it was very normal. The main thing they recommended was not calling attention to it- wait as long as it takes for them to get it out. If they're frustrated, just encourage & say it's okay, but otherwise don't really address it. Obviously if it lasts for several months and/or is getting worse, I'd have a chat w/the pedi...

beanzer · March 2010

DD did this and our pedi said not to bring attention to it. ?She talks fine now.

*Amy* · March 2010

Anthony receives speech services and I asked about that when it started. Very normal. They often have so much to say and they can't get it out as fast as they are thinking it, which causes them to stutter. They will outgrow it in time.

omurray · March 2010

My DS is is the exact same age as your DD. He started stuttering when he was 2.5. At first it was just occasionally, and I didn't worry too much about it, but within a couple weeks it had progressed to what I considered very severe. That's when I called the speech therapist. They didn't even have us come into the office. She told me over the phone that it is very common and not a concern and will pass. Within a couple weeks, DS was back to just the occasional stuttering. Honestly, he still does it sometimes now (at almost 3.5) but it is typically only when he is really really tired or super excited now. The rest of the time he speaks perfectly normal and is a constant talker. I know it is hard not to be worried. I got really stressed about it, especially when it got bad. Just keep an eye on it. They told me to only worry if it lasted longer than 6 months with no improvement. Oh and the main thing they told me (and I read numerous places online) was to not draw any attention to it at all and not to tell them to slow down. Just ignore it and be very patient. If she expresses frustration, just tell her its no big deal.

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