Daughter just started to stutter shes 2.5 years old

amother

Natural

Thu, Nov 01 2018, 11:43 pm

My 2.5 year old daughter had no issues speaking. The past month or so she started to stutter and its getting worse. Can it be stress related from play group? Any ideas?

amother

Vermilion

Thu, Nov 01 2018, 11:46 pm

My child started stuttering when the teacher had a baby and there was a sub in the class. Many months later I realized that those were the few weeks that this child stuttered.

cozyblanket

Thu, Nov 01 2018, 11:52 pm

It is very common and it usually passes.

2 things I have heard:
1. Model slow speech for her.
2. Take the pressure out of speaking. Take her to a quiet room and play with her individually for 5 min once or twice a day. The experience of having a low pressure environment, especially if she can start her day that way, is very helpful.

Also, when you talk to her, really focus and try not to be distracted. Then she doesn't have to compete for your attn and she is under less pressure in speaking situations.

You can consult an SLP who specializes in stuttering just for ideas. You don't necessarily have to go on a regular basis.

nursemomma

Thu, Nov 01 2018, 11:57 pm

My son did this when he started playgroup. It lasted over 6 months, and was terribly nerve wracking. Bh it resolved on its own. I had discussed it with my pediatrician and a speech therapist, who both said not to worry. Just make sure not to pressure her, or make a big deal of it.

amother

Amber

Fri, Nov 02 2018, 12:47 am

This is the age when language is developing very quickly....it is normal for children at this age to be disfluent and stutter. Is there stuttering in your family? One of the contributing factors to a stutter that persists is family history (as well as gender boys are 4x as likely to stutter)

amother

Plum

Fri, Nov 02 2018, 1:01 am

amother wrote:

My 2.5 year old daughter had no issues speaking. The past month or so she started to stutter and its getting worse. Can it be stress related from play group? Any ideas?

I had this with my 3 yr old. My neighbor told me it can be a sign of strept. I took him to the pediatrician and lo and behold.. The test was positive. Then it struck me , he had finished meds for a strept throat a month earlier and prob a week or 2 later he started stuttering.. As soon as he started the meds we saw that its getting better and a few days after he stopped he started stuttering again. So my pediatrician tells me its a sign of pandas..so now he's on a 28 day regimen .. He's a week on it and we see a difference.. Hopefully well get rid of it once and for all.

marina

Fri, Nov 02 2018, 1:13 am

a few of my kids stuttered at that age- totally normal bc their thoughts come faster than they can speak them. Goes away on its own

FranticFrummie

Fri, Nov 02 2018, 8:53 am

It wouldn't hurt to do a strep test, just to rule it out. Strep gets passed around playgroup like crazy. DD had it 5 times in one year, when she first started going to school.

If no strep, then it's probably that her brain is moving faster than her tongue. Totally normal. Speak slowly to her, and clearly enunciate each word. This will help her a great deal.

Ask your doctor how long you should give her, before you need to be concerned and consult a speech therapist. If you know that she shouldn't be evaluated until she's 3 or 4, then you can relax, knowing that she's within a range that is still OK.

amother

Ruby

Fri, Nov 02 2018, 2:08 pm

I work with 2 yr olds. This is very common. It happens when the child is trying to get their words out faster than they are able to, as they are developing speech in leaps and bounds at this age.
And I know the difference between this and a real stutter, because of two of my own kids have real stutters (not just at speech develpment age)

I would say, dont worry for now, keep an eye on it and mention it to the pediatrician if it goes on for more than a few months.

Model slow speech adn be exceptionally patient with your child!

amother

Saddlebrown

Fri, Nov 02 2018, 4:13 pm

My DD age 7 started stuttering around the age of 3. I spoke to my friend who's a SLP and she told me it's most likely Developmental Stuttering where as the child learns new words, and her brain works faster than her mouth, her words come out in a stutter. It could also come from trauma or stress. In DD's case it keeps coming and going and every time I get nervous my friend calms me down and tells me to talk to her slowly and show her I have all the time in the world to listen to her. Good Luck!

amother

Copper

Sat, Nov 03 2018, 7:37 pm

My son is a fluent speaker today at age thirteen.

Started stuttering terrible from one day to next at 2 and 3 months.

Do everything cozyblanket said. It works. Took 4 5 years to get regular smooth speech

amother

Orchid

Sat, Nov 03 2018, 7:50 pm

My almost three year old just recently developed a stutter, because he went to cheider and was exposed to Yiddish that he didn't hear much of before he went to cheider. I took him for an evaluation with a speech therapist. she said it is very normal at this age when their speech is coming in, especially with children who speak more than one language. A psychologist also confirmed the same thing. Hatzlacha to all.

FranticFrummie

Sat, Nov 03 2018, 9:32 pm

I saw a documentary on people who stutter, and one of the things they found most helpful was to sing. Sing songs with your DD as much as possible. If she wants to say something, make it a game, and have her sing it to you.

There is something about how the muscles in the vocal cords work, and the relaxing fun of singing, that removes the stutter.

I wish I could remember the name of the show. It was based on work done with adults who were lifelong stutterers, and they results were impressive.

Miri1

Sun, Nov 04 2018, 1:18 am

Stuttering is a normal part of language development in very young children.

It is really important for parents and teachers not to make a big deal of it, never finish the child's sentence for him, and don't draw attention to it.

If it is causing the child distress, or if it is prolonged, it is worth consulting with an SLP.

amother

Seafoam

Sun, Nov 04 2018, 1:21 am

Dont worry!!!! I just experienced same situation with my 3 yr old daughter. It took two full weeks for it to pass. It was bad. But then it disappeared bh!!!!