2yr old son suddenly developed a stutter. Any ideas why?

Question

My 2yr old son speaks very well. He has a good vocabulary and speaks in some complete sentences. He never had any stutter or indication of one. Suddenly, basically overnight, he has began stuttering. He'll repeat the first word of the sentence about 10 times before continuing with the entire sentence. Anyone have a similar experience and advice?

Answer 1

Stuttering is an involuntary repetition, prolongation, or blockage of a word or part of a word that a person is trying to say. Children who stutter know what they want to say, but they are unable to say the words smoothly and effortlessly.

Stuttering generally begins anywhere between the ages of two to four years. Most will have begun before age five. However, it rarely begins until after the child has been speaking short meaningful phrases. In fact, most kids who stutter have been using sentences for some time. About five percent of all children are likely to stutter for several months or more at some time during their lives. And stuttering tends to run in families. As many as 80 percent of children who begin to stutter will gradually stop.

How do you know if your child is having problems with stuttering, as opposed to just sounding like other children their age? Children who stutter seem to have special problems getting words started, and many of these disruptions occur at the beginning of sentences. Sometimes a child may give a exaggerated, prolonged stress to a sound in a word, or seem to be stuck with no sound or word coming out.

Things Parents Can Do To Help The Child Who Stutters:

Listen patiently to what the child says, not how it is said. Respond to the message rather than the stuttering.
Allow your child to complete her thoughts without interrupting.
Keep natural eye contact while your child is talking.
Avoid filling in or speaking your child's thoughts or ideas. Let the words be her own.
After your child speaks, repeat slowly and unhurriedly, using some of the same words. For example, if she says, "I s-s-see the b-b-bunny." You reply in an easy and relaxed way, "oh yes, you see the bunny. He's cute."
Wait a second or so before responding to your child. This helps to calm and slow things down and should help her speech.
At the age of two, children often have a lot more communicating that they want to do than their limited vocabulary and syntax skills will allow them. This may sound like stuttering, but is just the fumbling of words that all children go through in acquiring good language skills. If this is the case, you can expect your daughter to show gradual but sustained improvement over the next year. If, however, she is truly stuttering, her chances of stopping are much greater than becoming a chronic stutterer. I suggest you follow the advice outlined above, and if the stuttering seems to become a chronic problem, therapy from a trained speech pathologist will be essential.

Additional information may be obtained at:
The Stuttering Foundation of America
P.O. Box 11749
Memphis, TN 38111-0749
or call
1-800-992-9392

Answer 2

I would not worry too much. My almost 4 year old son has been in speech since he was 27 months old, and he has had 2 brief periods of really bad stuttering. His speech therapist said that developmetnally it IS normal for kids of this age to develop a stutter briefly. Basically thier mind is moving faster than thier mouth is. I think the longest amount of time my son stuttered was about 2 months.

Answer 3

He is young enuf and kids don't get full speach until 7 - 9 yrs of age he will grow outta it, unless something happened to him that was tragic could someone have hurt him or harmed him in anyway? daycare or some sitter? my 4yr old is now wetting the bed he had never done it... even when he was a baby but his dad and i are getting a divorce and we don't live with daddy so
i think my son at this age can't show his emotions but lets them out all over the bed at nite

Good Luck with your 2yr old
plz don't push him to grow up too fast let him be his self
Kids grow up way too fast and before we know it he'll be in college
Just because the neighbor boy is riding his bike without training wheels don't make your son. or If Johnny is talking better than your son don't think there is something a matter with him
Every child is different and goes at his/her own pace

Answer 4

He may want to use a different word then the one he is using. Also it is possible his vocabulary is growing fast and he can't figure out what word to use. Maybe you could use site words as a new word everyday. Then put it into a sentence to match the word. It would be a fun game for him and give him new words to use.

Answer 5

He is trying to find the words to communicate his needs, he is 2 years old and is just learning how to communicate orally, his mind isn't developed to communicate as an adult yet so it's a bit slower in getting the words he wants to say that are in his brain to his mouth. Have patients with the poor child he is only 2.

Answer 6

Donna L answered it best...my experience with my son was exactly like yours..at 2 years, my son started stuttering and it lasted for several months, he is 3 now and doesnt stutter at all....be patient and take Donna's advice....he is fine

Answer 7

My little nephew does it and my brother did it when he was little they just try to talk to fast and get excited and stutter or they feel like they have to hurry and say somethin or you will stop listenin. Just when he does it tell him to slow down and think about what he's gonna say then say it.

Answer 8

all young kids are like this. they have all these ideas of what they want to say but don't know how to do it yet. its kind of funny when it happens b/c they will just keep saying the same word over and over and then they just sort of like stare straight ahead and then slowly forget all together what they were thinking! whenever this happens pay attention to the kid so that they don't have to repeat themselves to get your attention and then if it continues tell them to concentrate and tell you what they want to say. a lot of times it happens b/c we aren't paying attention to them and then when we finally do they have forgotten what they wanted to say.

Answer 9

yes dont worry to much yet,and dont let the child see you are concerned,if he is still doing it in 6 months he nmay need a speech therapist.but i doubt it,it usually passes