# Stuttering Toddler



## bellydancersnightc (Apr 5, 2006)

At first I wasn't concerned because I've hear that children can go through this stage. We have a very verbal and articulate 15 month old. He can count to 15 in 4 different languages, sing dozens of songs and recite books. He's never had a problem until just a few weeks ago. Interestingly and sadly it started up when my Grandparents who are starting to slide toward dementia visited. They are sweet but due to their problems they would tune my son out, paid more attention to the baby and caused him a lot of frustration. I know they were baffled by our patenting coming from a generation that doesn't often understand attachment parenting, conscious parenting, respecting the child, Waldorf concepts etc. My son was crushed by their treatment and a lot of work went into me setting up the scene - like having him take a book to my Grandmother when she was ignoring him. I don't want to blame it on them but I wonder if his stuttering was brought on by 3 weeks of not being listened to by them. Anyway now I'm a little concerned because it seems to be getting worse and now he's starting to growl with frustration when he can't get a word out. I became even more concerned after I read things like what I posted below. If I have a window of opportunity to help him I don't want to miss it and cause him suffering down the road. So far I am just being a good listener, patient and slowing down my speech a little. These are things that I normally do but I'm trying to be more intentional. We live a very slow life here in Germany without much stress and he doesn't watch TV so I'm not noticing factors in his surroundings that would make him tense. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you for your time!

Michelle

This is one of the many things I've just read about stuttering:

_Treatment of stuttering is more effective the earlier it's begun. By needlessly delaying evaluation, parents can miss an important window of time when their child's stuttering is most treatable. On the other hand, many children go through a developmental stage of speech disfluency that's often confused with true stuttering. This normal disfluency does disappear over time without need for treatment.

If a 2-year-old begins to repeat syllables, short words, or phrases (su-su-such as this, or such as... such as... such as this) about once every 10 sentences, and begins to use more filler words (um, with uh pauses or er hesitations), is this normal disfluency or stuttering?

Children with true stuttering tend to repeat syllables four or more times (a-a-a-a-as opposed to once or twice for normal disfluency). They mmmmmay also occasionally prolong sounds. Children with stuttering show signs of reacting to their stuttering -- blinking the eyes, looking to the side, raising the pitch of the voice. True stuttering is frequent -- at least 3 percent of the child's speech. While normal disfluency is especially noticeable when the child is tired, anxious, or excited, true stuttering is noticeable most of the time. Children with true stuttering are usually concerned, frustrated, or embarrassed by the difficulty.

About 4 percent of all children will have true stuttering for at least six months, most commonly between the ages of 2 and 5. Most of these will recover by late childhood, but about a quarter of them will develop severe, chronic stuttering. Whenever parents suspect that their child has true stuttering, it's important to bring it to their pediatrician's attention -- it's easily treatable, unless you miss the window of time when treatment is so effective._


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## noralou (Jul 19, 2007)

Hi Michelle. I'm a speech language pathologist (and mom of a toddler), and have seen quite a few kids who stutter. Sounds like you have an early talker, which means he is going through this stage a little earlier than most kids. Like you said, stuttering is really common in the early stages of language development, especially when kids are going through a big growth spurt in communication skills. It's also true that kids sometimes start stuttering when they feel under pressure to perform (the grandparent visit?).
You are not about to miss a "window of opportunity," IMHO. For a child this little, most speech therapists focus on parent-child interactions, and you sound like you're doing a great job already. He'll most likely get through it in a few months on his own. If not, it would be a good idea to get an evaluation by a speech language pathologist. He is so young now. I don't know how early intervention services work in Germany, do you?
In the meantime, there are a few things you can do to help him yourself. Sounds like you're responding with calm reassurance, and that is really the most important thing you can do.

You might have already found this site, but here's a list of helpful advice from
the Stuttering Foundation of America: http://www.stutteringhelp.org/Default.aspx?tabid=38

7 Ways to Help the Child Who Stutters
compiled by Barry Guitar, Ph.D. and Edward G. Conture, Ph.D.

1. Speak with your child in an unhurried way, pausing frequently. Wait a few seconds after your child finishes speaking before you begin to speak. Your own slow, relaxed speech will be far more effective than any criticism or advice such as "slow down" or "try it again slowly."

2. Reduce the number of questions you ask your child. Children speak more freely if they are expressing their own ideas rather than answering an adult's questions. Instead of asking questions, simply comment on what your child has said, thereby letting him know you heard him.

3. Use your facial expressions and other body language to convey to your child that you are listening to the content of her message and not to how she's talking.

4. Set aside a few minutes at a regular time each day when you can give your undivided attention to your child. During this time, let the child choose what he would like to do. Let him direct you in activities and decide himself whether to talk or not. When you talk during this special time, use slow, calm, and relaxed speech, with plenty of pauses. This quiet, calm time can be a confidence-builder for younger children, letting them know that a parent enjoys their company. As the child gets older, it can be a time when the child feels comfortable talking about his feelings and experiences with a parent.

5. Help all members of the family learn to take turns talking and listening. Children, especially those who stutter, find it much easier to talk when there are few interruptions and they have the listeners' attention.

6. Observe the way you interact with your child. Try to increase those times that give your child the message that you are listening to her and she has plenty of time to talk. Try to decrease criticisms, rapid speech patterns, interruptions, and questions.

7. Above all, convey that you accept your child as he is. The most powerful force will be your support of him, whether he stutters or not.
Sounds like you're keeping calm about his speech, which should really help him get through this.


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## bellydancersnightc (Apr 5, 2006)

Thank you Noralou! Your words have really eased my mind and those suggestions had a few I hadn't thought of - like, I think I engage him way too much asking questions


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## bellydancersnightc (Apr 5, 2006)

Okay, I'm officially losing it! I have 15 month old and a 27 month old. The 27 month old is the one that is having trouble stuttering. I must have sounded insane saying that my 15 month old could count in four different languages! Anyway, I know this can be normal for toddlers but after this afternoon and my son was down for his nap I was almost in tears. All day he's been having trouble stuttering off and on and now when he does he clutches at his throat and starts to cry with frustration. It makes me sad to see him so upset


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## nighten (Oct 18, 2005)

It's so normal for a toddler to start stuttering at some point, as their little minds work faster than their mouths can keep up at times.

Some things I've read that can help:

Don't offer the word for him. Let him find it himself, even if it takes a while to get it out. Don't get frustrated or try to rush him. And if possible, don't focus on the stuttering. Some toddlers might continue past when they're no longer needing to stutter, for added attention, or because they assume it's expected.

The tips from PP are excellent. Try not to worry, it can last a few weeks or longer and that's okay. But if you get worried or it's lasted longer than you're comfortable with, take him in and have him checked.

But I wouldn't worry now if I were you. Just reconnect, give him lots of love, and know this too shall, in all likelihood, pass, with some time.


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## Ms.QsMama (Nov 2, 2006)

I was just going to post asking for help regarding the same thing. My daughter will be 3 in January and recently has started stuttering frequently. When it wasn't quite so severe, I wasn't really concerned. I thought it was just because she was new to talking and her mind was working faster then her mouth, but now it happens a lot and I can tell she is frustrated by it. Sometimes it's repeating the same word, "How, how, how, how, how, how'd you do that mama?" Other times it's more like, "C-c-c-c-c-can we go outside?"

I don't let her know that I notice because she is just starting to become more self aware and I don't want her to develop a complex, regardless of whether or not it's a temporary issue.

noralou, thank you so much for the insight! It's quite helpful to know at least how to appropriately respond to this. Would you suggest she be evaluated, or do you think we could wait a bit longer? I don't want to create an issue out of nothing, but I also don't want to ignore something that is a potential issue, ya know?


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## Ms.QsMama (Nov 2, 2006)




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## noralou (Jul 19, 2007)

Ms. Q, what you describe sounds like normal developmental stuttering too, but of course I can't be sure without hearing her myself.
I'd say the same thing you to as to the OP: along with the advice from the SFA website, it is OK to address the frustration directly. AFTER the child has finished saying what s/he's saying, and you've responded to that, you could say, "Whew! That was really hard!" and offer a hug, or however you'd respond to any other childhood frustration.

As for whether to pursue a speech evaluation, it's hard to say without ever having heard your children. You might want to pursue one if the stuttering continues for several months, or if the frustration gets worse. I hope this part of the SFA site can help you decide:

http://www.stutteringhelp.org/Default.aspx?tabid=150

(Wow, OP, I was thinking, I'd be a little shocked to see a 15mo with the language skills you described, but you never know!







.).


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## noralou (Jul 19, 2007)

One more thing to help you decide whether to get an assessment is this risk factor list:
http://www.stutteringhelp.org/Default.aspx?tabid=111

If you do decide to get an evaluation, make sure the SLP you see has expertise in stuttering AND working with small children. At this age, the evaluation would focus on getting and analyzing a speech sample through play activities and looking at picture books (whatever gets the kid talking), so shouldn't be at all painful or traumatic for the child.


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