Stuttering in Toddlers
If your toddler or young child typically speaks fluently, and one day, seemingly out of nowhere starts saying things like “I, I, I saw a dog at the playground!”, there’s a good chance it’s developmentally age-appropriate before age 4 or 5. You may hear stuttering referred to as struggling with ‘fluency’, or ‘disfluency’.
Stuttering often emerges during transitions such as a moving to a new house, starting a new school, or getting a new sibling. Having the nervous system in a heightened state can increase the occurrence of stuttering, whether your child is excited about something happy like a birthday party, or if they are feeling anxious about something like a doctor appointment.
According to The Stuttering Foundation, some risk factors for stuttering include if there is someone in the child’s family who has struggled with fluency, if the age of onset was 3.5 years or older, and if stuttering has persisted for 6-12 months consistently. Stuttering is more common in males than females, and those with other speech or language delays. If any of these risk factors apply to your child, monitor their disfluencies and reach out to a speech-language pathologist if you ever have concerns, or if your parent instincts are telling you it’s time to learn some strategies.
Here are the three main general guidelines for reacting to your child’s stutter:
Be patient while they are talking, and let them finish their sentence without interrupting them. This can help to avoid any anxiety or hurried feelings they may be feeling if they are aware that it’s taking longer than they want to get their words out.
Do NOT say “slow down” or “calm down”. These phrases, while well-meaning, are often not helpful, and may exacerbate the occurrence of stuttering .
Speak in a comfortable, but slightly slower rate of speech. By doing this, you are modeling a slower rate of speech, so that your child will hopefully mirror you and take it slow, without you having to tell them to slow down.
The Stuttering Foundation has a resource on their website HERE, specifically for moms of toddlers.
If you’re seeing blocking (getting stuck on a sound), facial grimaces, or ticks during moments of stutter, it’s a good idea to see an SLP. Typically, children can stutter for a few weeks or months at a time, and it comes and goes. If you are noticing any of the following with your child, it is recommended you see a speech-language pathologist to complete an evaluation:
Facial grimaces during moments of stutter at any age
Consistent stuttering for more than 6 months at any age
Stuttering past the age of 4
If your child is aware they stutter and want to learn some strategies
If any of the above risk factors apply to you and you have concerns
If at any time your parent instincts tell you it’s time to check out speech therapy
What does a stuttering evaluation look like? Your child will most likely have a lot of fun! At Homegrown Speech, a fluency evaluation includes a parent interview as well as analysis of 2-3 language samples. A language sample will include recording with permission, a few conversations with your child to be analyzed, which entails either playing or doing something fun with the child’s parent, caregiver, or a speech-language pathologist. The SLP will assess the frequency of moments of stuttering, duration of each stutter, and any physical attributes, or what we call physical concomitants during moments of stuttering. If you think your child may benefit from a stuttering evaluation, or if you have any questions, contact us!
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