I've noticed my so (who will be 3 at the end of July) talks a lot, but studders a lot too. Has anyone else experienced this? Should I be concerned or is this normal for development?
I would mention it at his next dr appointment but I think it is normal for his age. Some young kids just think way quicker than they can get it out of their mouths! My girls are 4 and they stutter a good bit too. I get a ton of sentences like" because because because Ava has one"
I think it's a lot of mental mind racing at this age and their tongues just can't get it out fast enough. but that being said mention it and make sure it's ok. not sure if stuttering on letters of words is different from whole words... mine mainly do whole word stutters...
It's pretty common for that age (especially with a child who talks a lot/has advanced language), like pp's said their brains are just going faster than their mouths. If it's not upsetting him I would not be too concerned. Most children will grow out of it within 6 months-1 year, but it doesn't hurt to mention it to his doctor or get an evaluation if you want. Also you can help by doing a few simple things; Don't finish sentences/questions for him (and don't let his sister talk for him either). Allow him time to speak for himself. Slow down your own speech. When responding to a question he asks/something he says pause for a second before you speak. (This is modelling to him that he doesn't need to rush when talking). But don't tell him to slow down or start again when he stutters. Try to have a rule that no-one interrupts each other (this takes a bit of work with chatty children in my experience!), everyone gets a turn speaking. Make sure that you only ask him one question at a time and give plenty of time for him to answer. Make sure he's getting enough sleep, often stuttering will become worse when a child is tired. This page is quite useful in explaining the slight differences between normal developmental stuttering and the type of stuttering that is more likely to be a long-term problem (although there is no definite way to tell).
I would agree with this. Our DD stutters on occassion. She doesn't do it all the time and I haven't noticed a pattern with a specific word or letter. It is as if her brain is going faster than her mouth and she can't get her words out. We usually just remind her to slow down and think and then she is able to finish.
One of our boys does this ocassionally when he gets really excited and is talking really fast or is working on really long sentences. His brain just gets ahead of his mouth and it takes him a second or two to get back on track. He sometimes repeats the same word a dozen times before the rest of it comes out in a giant rush. Our pedi suggested that if mommy worked on slowing down her speech and made an effort to use shorter sentences that might help... And she was right. When I get excited I talk a mile a minute and always have. I also tend to have really long sentences. The frequency of the stuttering and the severity (length of the repeated part) lessened considerably within a couple of weeks. She said it would probably go away in 6 months or so. Just wait patiently for him to get it out (don't interrupt). And don't make a big deal out of it. He doesn't even notice he does it.
