3yo Stuttering.

DD (3) has developed a stutter since DS was born ( he is now 2 weeks away from 1!) some weeks the stutter is bad other weeks it's barely noticeable and can go completely. This week it's terrible and breaks my heart ( I still can help thinking its my fault for having another baby... I know.. I know) so I'm wondering if I should be seeking out some form of speech therapy for her now or if she is to young?
I know it gets worse if she is stressed or anxious or sick / run down.
I just want to help her before it gets any worse.
TIA
Kate

A friend of mine's 3 year old has had speech therapy and it's made a big difference.

Thanks L & B's xx

Both my eldest boys developed stuttering, and it would come and go. With my eldest he was about 3 and 1/2 he had moved to the bigger room in daycare and I think mixing with older children he was forming the sentences in his head quicker than he could speak the words, and would then start tripping on them. My second son has just started but he is 5, he had a traumatic year late last year breaking his femur and being in a wheelchair for a couple of months, I think this might be part of his.

Anyway to answer your question yes I would seek out speech pathology. I took both my boys quite early and they were suprisingly on the mild scale (seemed really bad to me) but the speech pathologist gave me some good strategies to try and help them.

One of them was a picture of Mr Smooth and Mr Bumpy, so when my son was talking bumpy he could visualise it, and then look at Mr Smooth etc. It has worked from my eldest, my second son is now getting some help at school using a different method (maybe due to being older) I have noticed his has improved although is still there but he is now slowing himself down.

Thanks. I have a MCHN appointment for my DS next week so I'll ask for a referral.

My nephew was stuttering also and the severity of it would come and go. My cousin said that at times when it was so bad he would even question why he couldn't get the words out. His stuttering was put down to the additives and preservatives in foods. She has noticed a huge difference since changing his diet.

There's help out there so deffinaltey seek what you feel is right for you daughter :hug:

Thanks EJ, something to deffinatly think about!

My eldest son ha a terrible stutter at 3. I sought out a speech therapist because he was really aware of it and it upset him. The speech therapist told me that stuttering is quite common and in most cases it is developmental and they grow out of it within 6 months. If it lasts longer than that it is more likely to be a more long term issue. We did speech therapy with him but in ds case it was a developmental thing and just shy of 6 months it disappeared as quickly as it came.

Hi hun. DD & DS both have a stutter, it's genetic. DD is in special therapy and her therapist says the earlier it is treated the better because you need to get onto it and treated before they are 6 or they are more than likely to be stuck with it.
While you are waiting for a review each day take note of how much stuttering each day and give it a rank between 1 & 10. 1 being no stuttering that day and 10 being the worse stuttering you have ever heard anywhere. Also if there is a specific instance where she stutters worse. More info you can go in with the better so you can start developing a plan with you.
Other helpful pieces of information I found were:
- her stutter will come and go in phases. She will be a terrible stutterer for a few weeks and then perfect for a few then back to stuttering - very normal.
- she was pre-disposed to stuttering and a significant event will make it surface. For both my DD & DS it was the birth of our 3rd. I was feeling guilty but she assured me more than likely she/he was always going to get the stutter.
- if the stutter is really bad you can get down to her level and click your fingers/or clap your hands slowly as it will help distract her and it will her words will come out and it will also set a pace for her to talk to. That make sense?
Good luck getting your referral.

Thanks ladies.
Liv that all makes totall sense! And it all started when DS was born. It certainly gets worse when she is unsettled and can go away for weeks at a time. I will def see what my MCHN says or will I need to get the referral from my GP?
With your LO's stutters ever go away? Do they eventually learn to overcome it?

When her stutter is really bad, I stop her and just say "slow down" and she stops and regroups a bit and takes it a bit slower and it's better.
Will DS be predisposed to a stutter too??

My understanding is that your DS will be predisposed to a stutter as well. Fantastic that you can prompt her to slow down and it works for her.

Thanks Liv. I'm getting a referral to go through the hospital system here which I supposed to be great and also subsides which will help us out a great deal.

Good luck hun. Let me know how you get on.

We're currently waiting for an appointment with a speechy too. My son repeats the words, like "[name] [name] [name] go outside" (rather than stuttering a syllable). 5% of kids develop dysfluency, and 80% of those kids do NOT go on to stutter. That's what the info from the Royal Children's (Melbourne) says anyway :) It's quite common, especially at stressful times or times when they've learned a lot but don't quite have the language to express it.

As PPs have said - early intervention is key, before school is ideal. You could google Brenda Carey - she's a speech therapist who specialises in this area and her website (I don't think I can link to it here?) had some helpful things that I appreciated.

Good luck with your appointment - I can't wait for ours either, even though some days it's like it's not there at all.

WBM, both my boys were the same, they would trip on a whole word not some much mid words. The intervetions have worked really well on them.

Jakabella, I used the speech through my local hospital, they were really good.

I have read in numerous articles/books that sometimes children of this age (from 2yrs on when they're talking really kicks off) can stutter at different times as they are sometimes over-excited and not able to put together the words they want to say in time, and that this can be totally normal.

My DD1 is and has always been a fantastic talker from a very young age but sometimes (although not daily) when a bit excited she will stutter at the beginning of her sentence as she tries to get out what she's about to say and I have to wait for her to get it out or sometimes help her.

I suppose if it's happening daily though and a few times a day, it's probably best to see someone. BUT if it's just a now and then thing, I wouldn't worry as it can be very normal for kids to do this.

If you want my opinion, I think you probably don't have anything to worry about and its normal for her age. But you're her mum if it doesnt feel right get it looked at.

Thanks everyone. I'm going to pursue seeing someone and if they say it's normal then that's great but if not then I'll be getting in early.
Thanks so much for all your advice, I have been feeling a wee bit stressed!

Kinda nice to know you're not alone - thank you for posting, it made me feel like we were in good company :)

Have an appointment with a private speechy next month so if I can't get on at the hospital then I will do it that way.

First speech appointment tomorrow! I'm so nervous!!

Good Luck for tomorrow.

I'm sure it will be fine, and I wouldn't be surprised if your little girl is on the mild scale also. But you will find it such a relief to walk away with some strategies to help her when she is stuttering.

Good luck tomorrow.. I have only just taken my dd to a speech pathologist for a stutter as well.. Ours was nothing like I expected.. Very much focused so that the child is having fun, and not like a specialist at all.. We have a program to follow that seems to be working really well.

Am sure it will all go well, try not to be nervous, they are there to help and my dd loves going, just to play with different toys, lol..

Thanks ladies! I hope she enjoys it too. I'm just nervous of the unknown I guess. The lady seems lovely so I hope it all goes well xx

Yes my boys sessions were all about playing games and she would create conversation. They loved it and kept asking to go back.

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How did your appointment go?

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Hey Meg's! Thanks for asking!! It went so well! DD loves the speechy and she was excellent with her. She only has a mild grade of stutter so we will continue on a fortnightly basis and she thinks that she will be right in a few months time. I'm so relived!
Thanks again for asking :)