occasional stuttering in 2yo

[Pandora]

Is it a normal part of development?
DS stutters, but only sometimes, as in he might do it a few times noe day, then not again for over a week. It seems to be related to when he learns a lot of new words, I think.

Has anyone else seen this in their 2+ year old, or know about it?
Monnie?

[monnie]

Hey Rayray

Stuttering is a really tricky thing as it does come and go...depending upon how much 'stress' there is on the system.

So if you're really tired, you'll stutter more...if your having a language spurt, you'll stutter more...etc. This sounds like what is happening to your little one. He's concentrating so much on learning new language, that his ability to keep his speech smooth is affected.

So it's not unusual for a stutter to come and go...especially in little ones...

My advice would be to get it checked out...there is amazing work that can be done with kids under the age of 5 to 'get rid of the stutter'...it's fun for the kids and their stutter essentially disappears...

The risk is, if you leave it, it may become more ingrained...it may disappear (and some stutters do spontaneously resolve), but it's a big risk, as the older you get, the harder it is to shift.

Contact your local CHN and ask for details regarding Speech Pathology in your area. You can go government or private. If you go private, make sure you go to someone who specialises in stuttering, not just a general therapist.

If you want more details, just PM me.

All the best!

[Pandora]

thanks!
I hadnt even though to give her a call to talk about it.

[Jayney]

When DD#2 was between 2 and 2 1/2 there were some days her stuttering was so bad she couldn't seem to get any of it out. She had great language development and she just hit a patch when it was painful to watch her try to form words and sentences. I just ignored it and waited for her to say what she wanted and pretended like everything was totally normal. Then panicked and looked on the net...stuttering before 3 is normal. Most (huge percentage like 90%) outgrow it just as quickly as it arrived.

Happy to say she only did it for a short while and she has had no stuttering at all. I figure she had hit a patch in her language development where she knew what she wanted to say but she couldn't form the words as fast as she could think them.

Try not to worry. I'm sure it will be fine.

[Pandora]

yes, I think/hope so.
DS has advanced language skills/development, at his 2yo check last year the MCHN said he was a 3-3.5 year old and "excellent, especially for a boy" ?? Apparently boys can be slower thangirls in this area. So he strinngs4+ word sentences together and has a large vocab.
I have also just rememberd that the council run playgroup my mum takes him to has one teacher who is a paed. SLP so I might have a talk to her and see what she thinks.

[Astrid]

DD stutters at times, it seems to be when she is struggling to find the word that she wants. So at this stage I am not worrying about it too much as most people comment on how good her language is.

Rayray - has childcare said anything about it? I assume if it was a concern that someone there would have picked it up and said something.