2 1/2 Year Old Stuttering?

My 3 year old daughter has experienced that a couple times too, beginning around age 2. She is pretty articluate for her age and I was told that she is processing information in her mind much faster than she can get it out. I noticed that when she experienced stress (potty training or consequences for misbehaving), it was more noticable.

My husband and I both found that if we called attention to it, asking her to stop stuttering, it worsened. After we agreed to ignore it, it completely went away. We often had to "gently" remind family and friends not to call attention to it either.

Good Luck!

Same thing happened to my daughter at the same age. I actually was not too worried about it because I had seen a friend's daughter do that about a year before my own did it, but she was right at 2 1/2 years old when she did it too. It takes about a month or so to get over it, but isn't it funny that nobody really mentions this a a normal part of development???? Just anotherr thing to fret over!

THis is a totally normal phase for kids whose brains work quicker than their mouths at this age. Do not worry. It will pass.
K. in EC

At age 3 you could ask the school system for an evaluation on her speech. Before then you could ask Valley Mountain to evaluate her speech, but once she turned 3 if she needed help she would get it through speech therapy with the school system. I'm not sure if your health insurance covers speech, but you could also check into that for an evaluation. It may just be her age. My son has issues with speech, and has gotten therapy since he was 2, but he says letters wrong and if you don't know him you very often can't understand what he is saying.

I would suggets talking to your pediatrician about your concerns. It is always nice to get reassurance that something is a part of normal development, or to get a referral if your doctor thinks it is needed.
I was afraid my 2 year old son had a lisp and when I talked to our pediatrician he was able to refer me for a consult to a speech therapist.

My almost 7 year old had the same problem. The stuttering eventually stopped but in first grade he did start seeing the school speech pathologist for annunciation, probably not at all related. When your daughter is 3 she will be considered school age and you can request an assessment at your home school if you are still concerned.

My daughter did the same thing at that age. I talked to her doctor and he said that her brain is working faster than her mouth can keep up with and that it is totally normal at that age. His advise was to not draw any attention to it (don't tease her about it or tell her to slow down, basicially just pretend it isn't happening), and it will go away. I know it can be frustrating, and I found myself finishing a lot of her sentences so she didn't have to go through all the stuttering. Sure enough, she is now 4 and I can't remember the last time she stuttered. I think it only lasted about 1-2 mos.

Hi M.,
My son was the same way! Our ped. told us that he would grow out of it and that, simply put, his mouth could not keep up with his mind. We did have him evaluated by the school speech pathologist once he hit Kindergarten and were told the same. Their little minds just race and the muscles in their mouths can't keep up. Just to be safe, we had him re-evaluated in 1st grade and were told the same (different pathologist), by the time 1st ended AND he was reading on his own, the stuttering stopped altogether. IMHO I think the reading really helped him a bunch. Maintain your awareness and track it to see if it happens more when she is excited/stressed. These notes will help whomever evaluates her. Keep up the good work!

What Jennifer said is true. I have a two and a half year old girl and I am a preschool teacher to two and a half year olds and they all do it in some way. They are just sooo excited to tell you what they have to say because they can actually talk!! Their little brains are going a mile a minute but they can't keep up.

Hi there. I have a little boy who had a similar speech issue about that age. He is 3 now and is fine. It took my son several months. I just tried to be patient with him when he was talking so I didn't make him feel even more rushed in talking. I noticed the same thing happened to my nephew, also about the same age. My nephew did pretty severely for almost a year but is perfectly fine now (he stopped doing it on his own about 3 1/2). It seems to me that maybe it is just a developmental stage some children go through. I remember writing in my little guys journal that he seemed to frustrated because he had so many thoughts and couldn't get them out fast enough. I think you are right...their brain is developing so fast at that age and their speech just can't keep up, especially for the kids who are developing particularly well in other ways. If you can, try not to worry about it just yet. I bet her speech will catch up before too long. Good luck.

Hi,
There is such a wide range of typical development. Your Ped. or a speech therapist may be able to give you info on what is typical, red flags to look for and when to be concerned - just so you can reference.

:0)

My daughter did the same thing at that age. I chose to ignore it and not make a big deal about it. I didn't want her to focus on it. Eventually she grew out of it. She's now 3 years and 3 months and is speaking well with no stuttering. My nephew had a stuttering problem and my sister in law had him evaluated at 3 years old and he had speech therapy. He's now six and speaking well too. So the help is out there at a young age if you do end up needing it.

My advice would be to be patient when she's telling you something, don't make any negative facial expressions when she starts stuttering. Tell her to relax for a second and then tell you. After she tells you then maybe rephrase it back to her showing you understand.

My son will be 3 in August and just a few months ago he did the same exact thing. Now my friend's son who is 3 months younger is doing it too. My son's preschool teacher said that it is very normal, most of the students at school go through the same thing and it lasts a month or so and then they straighten it out on their own. My son has been over it for a while, it lasted a bout a month and a half with him. I would not worry!

My mother is a speech pathologist and she has warned me that it is a common thing among this age group. As you said, they are thinking faster than they can get the words out. She advised me not to make an issue of it and that most times it resolves itself. I would think at age 3 if it has not improved consider a therapist, but ask your pediatritian too.

I think that you should request a referral from your pediatrician for a speech evaluation. This is normally covered by your insurance. If for some reason you don't have insurance you can go through the school system. There is some truth to the statement that your daughter may grow out of it but, maybe she won't. So, should you wait and see? That's such a difficult question since, our society often judges intelligence on our articulateness.

Call the school district and they will evaluate her. I think they will do it when she is 3 but it's worth a call. My son does the same thing. He is four and goes to speech therapy. For your daughter it may just be developmental but you can always look into it.

My 3.5 year old son does the same thing. Our doctor recommended that we take him to a speech therapist through our school district to make sure there wasn't a problem (this was free, they like to get kids with disabilities help as soon as possible). She said it seemed like the problem was that he was trying to talk to fast and part of the problem is that I am a fast talker so I should try to slow down when I speak to him. If you are concerned about her stuttering going through your local school district should be the easiest way to have her checked out. If there is a problem I think you can get her into a discounted or possibly even free preschool program to help her with it. Hope this helps a little.

Hi M.,
YES! I didn't know what was going on at first either. My son is now 3 and has no problem. He was doing it at about the same age. His daycare lady told us that all kids go through it and not to worry. You are right that their brains are thinking faster than they can get it out. Don't worry, she will stop soon, but don't say anything to her about it. Just let it take its course.
I hope that helps you.
T.

Sorry this is a late response, but you are right on, that it is because of her wanting to say more than she is physically capable of at the moment. When my son was stuttering, I was quite concerned and a speech therapist friend said to me that it usually indicated a language spurt and not to be concerned if it was just for a few weeks. Sure enough I would notice periodic bouts of stuttering after which he would speak in longer sentences, better language structure, etc. It can't have hurt him because he is reading 2nd, 3rd grade level books and not 6 years old yet!

Also, I would strongly encourage you to learn and use some sign language with your daughters - Signing Time is one that I especially recommend for kids AND adults. Check them out from your library so you get to watch a variety without spending all that money on the whole series.

My daughter went through exactly this situation at exactly the same age. Our pediatrician's advice was to ignore the stuttering. We also encouraged her to slow down a little. In her hurry to speak, she would just get wound up. The good news is that she has always had an exceptional vocabulary and loves to read. (She's now 20 years old.) The stuttering stopped on its own only a couple months after it started. Best wishes!

M.,

I am the mother of a 23 month old daughter and I have noticed that she recently began stuttering also. My daughter has a very large vocabulary for her age and is able to articulate, able to engage in conversations and respond accordingly. I think that her recent stuttering is due largely to trying to get too many words out at on time, and like you mentioned having thoughts that are faster than her ability to spit them out. At this point, I would not be concerned. Maybe at her next doctor's visit bring this up, but I am sure that it will be attributed to average development and no speech delays or impediments.

Hi M.,
My 2 1/2 yr old daughter went thru the same thing. There were times where she'd get so stuck on a word that it would take her a few seconds to get a word out. She is also quite bright, and this stammering came on pretty suddenly, so I was a bit concerned. So I called her pediatrician and she reasurred me that this is quite common at this age and like you suspect, their thoughts are just faster than their speech. The advice she gave me was 1) Don't give it any attention (it might make your child self-conscious, which might make it worse) and 2) when she does stammer, repeat what she just said in a clear and appropriate speed (not too slow, not too fast) and model for her her how to speak. This is most likely just a phase that will pass. Hope this helps.

take care,
Emily

My son did the same for a few months and then grew out of it. HOw long has she been doing it? Could be a phase. You could consult her pediatrician if it goes on more than a couple of months. Best of luck.

I would contact the alta regional center on Butano in Sacramento for a free speech eval. They specialize in speech for children up to 3 yrs old. It is a state and federal funded center. Also recommended by my doctor. My son usues it. He has a speech delay and is also 2 1/2. The earlier you intervene or get your concerns put to rest the better the outcome. After 3 there are more programs, some through the school district, other through the shriner's etc. Good luck