DD is stuttering

Well i have noticed over the last 3 or so months that DD is stuttering and its getting worse..

So i have made an appoinment with the community health service on 18th April ( earliest date available!) and they will assess and we will go from there.

When talking we have noticed that she will:-
1- repeat sounds ... I I I I I want a drink
2 - stops mid sentance and then continue with a prolonged sound.

So we are going to try to public system but i have been told there could be a 10-12 month wait to see a specialist!

Does anyone have any experience with this???

All help and feedback would be wonderful, DH and I are at a loss of how we can help her. :p

Hi Annie
My nephew started stuttering when he was about 2 1/2 he is now 5 1/2 and has it pretty much under control, sometimes crops up when he is excited about something. SIL took him to a specialist when it first started which i think helped. But we basically have had to stop him everytime he starts stuttering and tell him to stop, slow down and think about making smooth words not bumpy ones.

The specalist told SIL that he will grow out of it but it may come back it times of great stress or change in his lift - which he already has had alot off so maybe this is the reason for his stutter.

Good luck with your DD i'm sure that she will be fine - i know how hard it is to watch them though.

Hi Annie,
What a stressful time for you at the moment. Bella started to stutter when she was about 2 1/2 but she has now grown out of it. I think hers was more related to trying to say things too fast. It progressively got more noticeable and she had heaps of trouble trying to say what she wanted. Sometimes it would take till the 4th time of trying to get it out. We just used to be really calm with her and tell her to slow down. Eventually she came right.

Goodluck with everything.

Love

Hey Annie

I'm a Speech Pathologist...I don't work in the area of stuttering...but know some things about it...

I think you're doing the right thing thinking about getting a referral. It's true that some kids do grow out of stuttering...but some don't...and it's one of those things that if you can work on it early (ie. under 5 year old), it's so much easier to remediate...

Stuttering is basically due to motor planning difficulties...basically the brain sends a "bumpy" message to the larynx...and then the words come out bumpy...they can either be sound repetitions (e.g. c-c-c-cat); word repetitions (e.g. I..I..I..I..want one); fillers (e.g. um...um...um..um..) and blocks.

Stuttering comes and goes...sometimes it can go "underground" for months at a time...but it can then re-appear...it tends to appear when our 'systems' are more under stress (e.g. really tired, really emotional, when kids are having a language burst)

For kids who are under 5, Australia is one of the world leaders in stuttering therapy. The therapy is pretty straight-forward, fun, and very effective...

If you can avoid waiting in the public health system, that's great...but I know that's not always possible. The other thing to check out would be University Speech Pathology Departments...the therapy is done by Speech students, but it's highly supervised and generally the latest techniques are being used...

If you do decide to go private, try and go for a specialist in stuttering...

I'm sure everything will work out fine...all the very best!

I agree with you monnie, because we were almost going to get her chkd out, we were lucky and it has dissappeared.

I hope you can get Olivia in soon Annie.

Love

HI all thanks for your replies.. We do have private health insurance and we are able to pay to see a specialist if needed, If the public system lets us down we will go private..
Monnie - thanks so much for your imput.. I am going to check out some uni sites tonight and sent some emails!
Helen - Thanks for your support.. you know of the huge changes in Olivias life over the last 6 months have been.. Birth of a brother, moving house, granddad passing away.. I was thinking that maybe stuttering was her way of coping with all of this, but as it is not getting any better i know that we are doing the right thing by seeking assistance.

xoxo Annie

One of the girls at play group has just started stuttering and their neighbour is a speech specialist. She told them not to be too worried as it is fairly normal for kids 2.5 to 3 years of age and then they grow out of it. I hope this is the case for you. I worked with a guy years ago who stuttered and he found it so frustrating - I just made sure I never jumped in and finished his words/sentences for him.