Preschool stuttering

[Renrel]

I am not sure if stuttering is quite the right word, but DS often has trouble getting his thought outs, he starts his sentence several times and often forgets what he wanted to say before he figures out the words he wants to express himself. I have read that this is a normal problem for young children so I am not really worried about it. I was wondering however at what age this problem tends to resolve itself and any suggestions on getting though this phase other then extreme patiences.

I have been told that DS sometimes has problems at school because his friends don't have the patience to wait for him to get his thought out. They start talking and then he loses his train of thought and then get very angry with them and frustrated with himself. This can lead to abit of a melt down if he is on the tired side. The teacher trys to keep the other kids quiet while DS has his turn but I really don't expect 3 and 4 year olds to have the patience to wait a full minute or so for DS to get his thought out so I don't see any real solution to this problem. I sometimes have trouble waiting DS out and I am an adult and his mom and tend to be patient to a fault.

[quest]

DD was a late talker (she was born 10/03, but didn't really "talk" until maybe 2-1/2), so she went through the normal 'stuttering' at a later age than the 'books' say. I brought it to the attention of my ped and she remarked that each time DD had a phase of 'stuttering', there was a 'trigger'... me being pg, ds being born, issues with grandma, etc. So she was in a 'wait and see' mode. And thank goodness she was. DD still has periods where she takes a while to get her thoughts out, but those are always followed with periods where there's no pause at all. So long story short, I think it's totally normal for your DS to be going through this, and it will pass.

[Sage]

My four year old nephew is actually going through this right now. My brother and SIL had it checked out by their ped, who was not worried about it. Apparently it's pretty normal for this age group, and the ped explained it like his brain is working faster than his mouth so it just takes him a little while to get the words out. He *just* turned four a few days ago, and we've all noticed some improvement over the past few months. I think the best way to deal with it is just to have patience. I haven't noticed any kids treating him differently, and he doesn't seem to mind himself...so we all just try to wait patiently while he gets the words out and don't make a big deal about it.

[AlisonCO]

Renrel - you might remember that we are struggling with this right now with Aidan. He has been evaluated 3 times by different speech therapists in three different situations and right now his disfluency is within normal limits for a four year old. The last therapist said that if it does not start to resolve itself when he enters kindergarten that we will need to start therapy. For Aidan the issue is that he has SO much to say and has so many thoughts and questions that they get backed up - so while his mouth is working on getting #1 out, his brain is already moved on to #2-4. It is common to have disfluencies in speech when kids are 2-5 but can be more pronouced during periods of change/stress. I notice it the most when there is competition like at the dinner table, at lunch at school. He has the most issue with the first sound of a word. The last therapist mentioned that if he begins to have facial straining or other movements that might indicate a more serious problem than just the normal preschool age disfluency. She also mentioned that the best way to deal at home is to model slow speaking, use soft voices and take turns. I worry that it is going to become more of a habit the longer it goes on, but no one (teachers, therapists, ped) seem as concerned as I am - we are just keeping a close eye on it right now.

[Renrel]

Thanks for the responses. I pretty much figured that it is his brain going faster than his mouth. I was mostly wondering how long this phase tends to last and any suggestions for dealing with the frustration when he forgets his thought because someone interupts him because it takes him so long to get a though out. It is not sounds so much as words that he stutters. Pausing and saying the same word or starting a sentence over several times. And you can see is mind is still forming his thought, finding the right words when you look at his face. He has a superb vocabulary so picking the right words can take him some time. He likes to describe things just right.

Allison - interesting point about stress full situations. I definately notice it more when there is competion to speak, although that may also be that it is harder to wait and he is more liked to get interupted and thus angry so it is the conquences of the issue are more noticable.

[diam124]

My niece and nephew both went through this. It was really frustrating to talk to them sometimes! Anyway, they both seemed to be over it for the most part once they were about 4 1/2 - 5.

[Candy]

My 3 yo DD is doing this now. From speaking with other moms, it is very normal. Most of their kids do it.

[EJH]

My DD is a bit younger, she's 2.5, but she started stuttering about 3 weeks ago, just all of a sudden.

Everything I read said it's normal, not to worry about it betwee 2.5 and 5 because it's just a developmental phase.

This morning I was at the ped's with her for something else but I mentioned it to the dr. She said it's normal, that children DD's age normally have a vocab b/w 50-100 words, my DD has a lot more than that. She's just always had very strong verbal skills. Problem being, that her muscles in her face can't keep up with what her brain is telling her. At this point, she said not to worry about it, that it will likely pass on its on.

I also tracked down the chair of developmental peds at the hospital where i work and was told the same thing. that we should keep our eye on her and if it doesn't subside in 2-3 months, she'll get us in with a speech therapist to have her evaluated.

they both suggested not telling her to slow down but to ENCOURAGE her to slow down with our body language, getting down on her level and really making eye contact with her and through our actions slowing her down. But, again, not to draw attention to it because that could have negative affects...she might be hesitant to talk if we do that.