Seeking Help for a Stuttering 3 1/2 Yr. Old.

My son had the same problem around that age. It seemed to appear out of no where. My suggestion is to not comment on it at all. I would just stand there and wait until he was finished speaking. I wouldn't say a word to him until he was done. He had my full attention...eye contact and all. I think at this age, their mind is moving faster than their mouths can. It worked itself out...no intervention needed. Give it time, and make no comments to him...this can frustrate him to know that he is not communicating like he wants to...be patient.

I'm a speech therapist in the schools and here's what I'd like to offer:
Preschool age is a common time for stuttering to occur. This isn't to say all preschool stuttering is typical and will be outgrown. I'm not sure if there is a reason you are seeking alternatives to speech therapy. A speech therapist is who the pediatrician will refer to for these kinds of concerns. This service is provided free through the school systems if a child qualifies. Even if he weren't to qualify the speech therapist can provide specific techniques based on the child. I would recommending having the parent contact the school district early childhood special education services and they can direct them from there as far as the procedure goes.

In general, tips are for the parent/provider to:
Model a slower speaking rate. When you speak to the child, you speak slower. Use more pausing. When you ask the child a question, wait for their response. When they ask you questions pause a second or two before responding so they can learn to do this. These are just a few general ideas. I'd really recommending following up with the pediatrician and/or contacting the local school district. Services are provided from birth on up. Good luck.

Hi S.,
My son had the same problem at that age. Our ped. said it was very common at that age especially for boys. Their brains are developing very quickly and physically it takes a little while to catch up. She referred us to a speech pathologist so we could be sure of things. Our med. insurance paid for it with a referral from the MD. If their insurance won't cover it the ISD in their town will evaluate him for free.
The sp. path. did some testing with him and said he was fine...it was developmental. She gave us alot of paperwork to read and some tips for helping him. When he is talking (stuttering) stop what you are doing and give him your attention. Don't necessarily stare intently at him because that can be worse. If he is having difficulty for a longer period of time you can say something like "yes...I'm listening." When he's done speaking repeat what he has told you..."yes, after lunch we will be going to the playground..." Get down at his level when you're talking to each other. You're most likely sitting on the ground anyhow between him and his little brothers:) Don't finish the sentence for him. That's frustrating for him. just be patient. It's most likely just the normal stuttering that happens around his age. Our sp. path said that we could follow up in a certain amount of months but he had made improvements so we felt ok. Occasionaly it would still happen every once in while for about another 1 1/2 years but it was never anything we worried about.

I am also a speech pathologist and could not agree more with the other posts. The contact number for the West Suburban Early Intervention program is ###-###-#### (Hopkins, Minnetonka, St. Louis Park, Wayzata, Orono and Westonka School Districts). This is for birth to age three and would be a good starting point.

I'm not a professional, so I'm not sure if this would work, but listen to the sounds that come easily to him. He could try starting his sentences with that sound, or using it to transition to sounds he's getting stuck on. For example, if "ah" is an easy sound, have him say that before L and W - ahhLike, ahhwant. It helps lead into other sounds. (I do know an adult stutterer and that is one of his techniques). That being said, you really don't want to start a habit that could be hard to break. At 3 1/2 it could be a phase he'll soon grow out of.

Do you have Grant Wood AEA in your area? IF so, you can have the mom call and arrange a free consultation. Otherwise I would try calling a local Speech pathology clinic and ask where to go for a free consult.

A.

Call the early childhood office of your school district. They can screen and see what is a problem and what may be just age appropriate mistakes. If there is cause for concern they will then do a more in depth screen and may suggest speech therapy class, which would be free through the school. This is the route I took with my son when he was 3 and my 1 year old was speaking more clearly than him. He is in his 2nd year of speech at the elementary school- he qualified for half an hour per week- and has made noticable improvement. Good luck!

Both my kids stuttered around that age. My first one I had speech offered for free by AEA in our community come and educate us and work with her. She outgrew it as fast as it started. With my son I just gave it time and sure enough after about a month it resolved. What you are supposed to do is remain silent while they are trying to talk. We were told to NOT say "slow down", "take a deep breath", etc. Make it seem as if the child is talking normally so he doesn't think something is wrong. Also, they told us not to finish their thoughts or sentences for them even if you know what they are trying to say. It takes a lot of patience and "biting your tongue". Good luck!

I would suggest that the parents speak to the pediatrician to see if there is a physical problem first and then consider speech therapy. If it is addressed early enough it is easier to treat and less traumatizing on the child.
When my son was very young he also had a stuttering problem and I tried everything to help him. Speech therapy was our best option and it saved him a lot of embarrassment when he started school.

A little about me:
I'm a single mom of 2 boys, one in college and one in high school

my grandson has a stuttering issue too. He started having troubles at about age 2. Some of the things they are teaching him in school are:
when having trouble saying a word, blow the word out. what that is is that he blows air out as he says the word, weird but works. another tecniquie is as he is talking he has a "map" it is just a laminated piece of paper with a spiral of dots. as he says each word he is to touch a differnt dot. It distracts him and he talks better when he is concentrating on something else!!
good luck and let me know if this helps at all!!!

one other thing we have noticed is that his little brother who doesn't have a stutter has started to talk like him, mina bird effect!

At this age, stuttering means absolutely nothing in the long run. It is both annoying and frustrating and you feel you should do something but ignoring and waiting without asking to repeat or slow down is the best thing to do. Just believe me as a child care professional for 30 years that has worked with over 700 hundred young children, in the majority of the cases its just a phase having to do with thoughts coming faster than the ability of a 3 1/2 year old to form the words. And 3 1/2 is the most commom age for it to occur. My own son had this issue at 3 1/2 and I did what was suggested in "What To Expect" and it went away within a few months, never to return.

Hi
My son has also recently developed a stutter. He is receiving speech therapy due to other developmental and physical issues and the speech therapist told me to ignore the stutter, do not tell him to slow down (as was my first reaction). She explained that usually it is developmental and may come and go.

My daughter had a stuttering problem right befofe she turned 3 and a few months into being 3. Then it went away. I was told her brain was processing her words and she couldn't get out what she wanted to say fast enough. For some, their little minds are still connecting and they can't quite keep up all the time. As they get older it passes and they are able to process and get the words out clearly.

I am a speech and language pathologist who works with preschool age children. As already posted by another person, the best course of action is a referral to an SLP (speech/language pathologist). Some dysfluencies at this age are very typical and can be out grown. However, sometimes they are not. NEVER tell the child to slow down or start over. Give him ample time to talk to you. Look him in the eyes when he talks. Model slow speech from yourself. Call his school district's early childhood special education program if money is an issue. In my experience, therapy in a clinical setting (rather than at a scchool)can give him the most attention. Therapy is usually 1:1 ratio. Not always the case is the school setting. (i've worked both!) Check out ASHA.org for more info on CHILDHOOD DYSFLUENCIES (sounds so much better than saying "stuttering")

All I've ever heard is to be patient, maybe even ignore it since at his age it might be anxiety related. I've never heard of any quick fixes or exercises for stuttering, but I'm not a speech therapist - maybe you'll get a response here from a professional. My opinion is that you are involved too short-term to have much affect on the situation. Good luck.

L.

ps. Trophy Wife. Love that :)

Hi-
I have a 4 1/2 yr old who has stuttered for about 2 years. The biggest thing that we have found that has helped is slowing down our own rate of speech. He went to a speech therapist once a week during his preschool time and she said that is the main thing that will help a child. (these are her words of advice to us) Slow down your own speec; get down to their eye level and listen until they are finished; don't interrupt them or ask them to slow down, simply let them finish (even if stuttering) in an unhurried manner; and most of all, repeat back to them what they said in a clear way so that they hear the sentence or word correctly (this helps them to fashion their speech correctly after hearing yours). We have found each of these things tremendously helpful. Another big thing was to try not to draw attention to the problem- simply listen and speak to them the same way you do to other children. I come from a long line of "fast talkers" and so slowing down my rate of speech took a deliberate effort on my part!
Hope this helps some- my son will be 5 in a few months is beginning to grow out of it after some help from the speech people and some changes in our home environment.

Another mom of an extremely verbose 3 -year-old who went through that developmental phase around the same time. We learned about that milestone through our ECFE classes, so I never thought too much of it and it resolved on its own.