My Three Year Old Daughter Has Developed A Stutter....What Do I Do???????

Question

BEGINNING IN OCTOBER, MY THREE YEAR OLD STARTED TO STUTTER SLIGHTLY. NOW, IN DECEMBER, IT IS STARTING TO WORRY ME EVEN MORE AND GETTING WORSE. HER FATHER STUTTERED AS A CHILD. SHE WAS ALWAYS AN EXTREMELY INTELLEGENT CHILD FOR HER AGE. MAYBE SHE JUST HAS TOO MUCH TO SAY AT ONCE. WHAT DO I DO???????

Answer 1

I am a speech-language pathologist and I work in the public schools. "Developmental stuttering" is common in 3-5 year olds. Because it is developmental, children grow out of it. However, not all childhood stuttering is developmental. Because your daughter's father stuttered as a child, you should probably seek professional advice from a speech-language pathologist close to you. The worst thing you can do is to draw attention to your daughter's word and sound repetitions. If she feels that she is saying things "wrong," she may become hesitant to speak or nervous about speaking, which could make the disfluency worse. Stuttering has nothing to do with intelligence. Many bright and talented people stutter. But to say that she is disfluent simply because her mind is going faster than her mouth can move is doing your daughter a disservice. Seek an evaluation by a licensed SLP and be patient. Let her get her words out in her own time.

Answer 2

Hi,
Don't let her know you're this worried; she may simply have some anxiety about getting things out. This often happens quite naturally. She may model however you speak to her, so try to keep your voice warm and relaxed. Speak more slowly to her. Pause a bit before answering her questions so she doesn't feel hurried. See if she begins to imitate your style. Modeling is the most effective therapy for children who stutter mildly.
Mix into the batch some extra attention, some alone time each day with you or another family member. Even just a few minutes. Give her your undivided attention and let her talk about whatever interests her. Since she is so intelligent she may simply need, like you said, to get everything out. It's so hard to do that at 3 and sometimes her thoughts may out-develop her speech patterns. Get her games involving concentration and let her take her time. There are sites online for kids. Try to teach her how to play some of them and play with her awhile. Here are some great game sites for young children:
http://pbskids.org/sesame/
http://funschool.kaboose.com/preschool/index.html
http://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?st=2601&e=gamesByAge&mcat=game_preschool&site=us
If she is frustrated at times and stutters more it is probably because she feels she cannot verbalize her feelings. This is often true because of her age. Reassure her, let her know you too get stuck on words as does everyone in the world. Tell her it's OK to experience the emotion. Give her lots of hugs.
Most importantly, don't worry too much! Your patience is key. Try not to get overly anxious or frustrated. She will sense the vibes. Be patient with her - it will work wonders.
If the stuttering gets very severe, call a speech therapist.
All the best to you and your daughter. Happy holidays!
This is a really helpful website:
http://www.stuttersfa.org/Default.aspx?tabid=7

Answer 3

the worst thing to do on your own is to make a big deal out of the stutter. just give her time to say what she has to say and always listen. you can talk other times about making sure we slow down when we talk and say our words NICE AND CLEAR. have her practice saying things after you like a repeat game....say silly things or whatever. don't let her know it is because she is now stuttering.

preschool age children stutter. some worse than others but they mostly all grow out of it on there own. i would talk to her pediatrician and ask him what he thinks and get teh name of an early choices program or speech therapist in your area. if that is the only speech problem then they probably will just let it ride its course - maybe just monitor the situation every 6 months.

does she stutter every time she speaks or just occasionally? does she notice she is stuttering? does it bother her or does she seem frustrated when she is stuttering? if no, then again it probably isn't a big deal.

i teach pre k and have had a lot of stuttering preschoolers in my room.

definitely look into it though so that you'll be able to sleep easier.

good luck! SD

Answer 4

Encourage thought before speech.

It's called enunciation and elocution... They are valuable lessons that may just stop the stuttering at the same time.

I stuttered as a child as well. I think lots of smart people do. It's just the brain thinking faster than the mouth can manage.

Answer 5

How much time during each day do you spend with her? Does she have your one on one attention that she can count on, on a daily basis? How is her diet? These can really help eliminate negative behaviour. I spend an hour with my daughter after daycare. We play, either coloring, watching a video, etc. There have been times that I have not been able to spend that one on one time with her and she acts up. Kids at this age need and thrive off of one on one time. They don't get enough of it at daycare. It is our responsibilty as the parent to give it to them on a daily basis. I don't have a little saint for a daughter. I've had my fair share of tantrums in the store and notes from daycare saying she wasn't very cooperative. Set the rules be consistant and firm. If she acts up in public, you leave and explain to her why you are leaving. Find out what is frustrating her and help her find another way of expressing it. My daughter will throw fits when she is trying to do something and it's not working. I have told her to say, "Mommy help", instead of screaming. I am right there by her side when she asks. Good luck! Parenting tough!

Answer 6

My 2 1/2 years old son also does that from time to time. It comes and goes. I found that the more I pay attention to his stutter and trying to correct it, the more serious it becomes. If I ignore that, it goes away in a couple of days.

You can also engourage your little one to gather their thoughts before start talking. I think most of the time my son does that because he's trying to find the next word he wants to use. So I would encourage him to think about what he wants to say before he starts a sentence.

Answer 7

My daughter did that also around age 3 & 4. I started to worry also, but asked the doctor about it and he said not to worry, that she just has alot to say and her brain is going faster than her mouth can manage. It lasted for about 8 months and gradually she worked out of it. My daughter also was very bright for her age, which compounded the problem. With your husbands problem as a child though, I would keep and eye on her and have the doctor check her out just to be sure. I'm sure its just a passing thing.

Answer 8

Talk very slowly to her, to show her that you're in no rush, giving her more time to think about what she's saying instead of blurring it out in a stutter. If this doesn't help in a short amount of time, take her to a speech theripist.

Answer 9

A speech therapist will help her with that. Also, watch when she stutters the most, is she excited, worried, frightented? Tell her to take a deep breath, and tell you what she wants. That helped with my cousin and my oldest boy.

Answer 10

first off just because she stutters does not mean she isn't inteligent.
Second take her to a speach therapist.