Ds1 has started stammering

[Saker]

Ds1 who talked very early and has always spoken clearly and fluently has suddenly started stammering. He stammers a bit on individual letters but mostly on phrases so he repeats each part of the sentence several times before moving onto the next one. It started mildly a few weeks ago and seemed mostly when he was trying to find the right words for a difficult idea or concept but now seems to have spread to nearly all his speech. My gut feeling is that it is a phase that he will grow out of but I wondered if anyone had any experience of this or any advice. We haven't said anything to him about it in case of reinforcing it.

[KBear]

how old is he?

My DS is almost five and has just stopped a 6-month phase of stammering - I think it started because he had lots of ideas in his head and couldn't get them out quick enough or choose the right word etc. Seems fine now.

[Saker]

Sorry he will be seven in couple of weeks. I thought that was the explanation to start with but now it seems to be even with a simple thing that I know he could have said before.

[BettySpaghetti]

Is stammering the same as stuttering?
If so, my DS (2.2) has started this in the last few weeks especially with the words "in" and "on".
Like your son he started talking clearly and in sentences very early on and this stammering/stuttering has just come from nowhere.
I'm hoping its just a phase -a recent thread on here suggested it can be linked to changes.

[marz]

CAn't say I have had any experieince of it...but distant friend has a son who stammers...you are not supposed to finish their sentences for them, I know that much.
I hope it works itself out.

[pudgygiraffe]

My DS1 had a stutter when he moved up to the pre school room at nursery at 3. So it could be linked to change. He'd had good speech beforehand and I felt he enjoyed pre school so much he was just excitedly falling over his words rather than getting stuck on them. We tried to keep his eye contact, be patient and not make a big thing out of it. Nursery were similar which was helpful. Family did concerned faces and 'helping him finish' which wasn't helpful. Anyway it went on for weeks maybe a month or two and did get worse before it got better but it was a phase.

[Saker]

I did wonder if was related to him worrying about starting with a new teacher next term. His new teacher has a reputation for being strict and he is concerned about that, plus his best friend has moved up to Scotland so he is undergoing some change at the moment. Thanks for the support.

[somersetmum]

Hi Saker

I don't post very often, but needed to send you a reply.
My ds, whose speech was fluent and advanced very early, also developed a stammer at around the age of five. In our case, it coincided with the arrival of his baby sister. He would seem to get stuck on certain words, particularly "and". It would come out as "A-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-and". His reception teacher said it was because he had too many ideas in his head, but that he wanted to get your attention, so he started the sentence before constructing it. It seemed to last forever, but he did grow out of it (he's now 8 and I only notice it very occasionally and nowhere as near as pronounced as it used to be). We were told to tell him (gently) to calm down and to stop and think before he spoke. Also, exagerrating or stretching the word he's stuck on seemed to help him.

I just wanted you to know that you're not alone, this is common and he will grow out of it. It is quite worrying at the time, I know, especially if someone (particularly a teacher!) makes a cutting remark. ds had one friend who he became closer to whilst he was stammering. The reason they became close was because the new friend loved listening to ds trying to speak (in a nice way, but I only learned this recently as his mum didn't have the heart to tell me).

Please try not to worry too much and try not to make an issue of it. I'm sure he will grow out of it just like my ds. Give it six months and if you're still worried speak to your hv who will refer to a speech therapist. ds had an appointment, but never actually went because we moved house.

[gemmiegoatlegs]

My ds also has the stammering thing. At around 2.5, he started jumbling his speech. More noticeably when he's tired. The general advice seems to be that it is almost always a phase due to a developmental leap and to just try hard to listen and be patient, not finishing your son's sentences etc. Peculiar thing is it tends to be a problem mainly affecting boys.

[Saker]

Thanks Somersetmum, it's comforting to hear that it is not uncommon and that your son has grown out of it. I am glad we haven't mentioned it to him today. I have been a bit harassed during the holidays with both children at home (as Ds2 has special needs which makes it harder work) and I perhaps haven't been listening properly to Ds1 because he does do it to get your attention as well sometimes. I have tried to slow down today and he seems more relaxed and calmer.

[sugarplumfairy]

My DD2 stammered for a few months when she was about four, again because she couldn't get her words out quick enough, we just tried to ignore it.
My friends DD also stammered for a 3 week holiday in America a couple of years ago when she was 11 and they just put that down to all the excitement of everything that they did. So it's really weird how it just comes on but hopefully will just go away as well.

[Saker]

Bumping this up again for any more advice or experience. The stammering seems to be getting worse every day so that he is repeating nearly every word is the sentence. It gets worse towards the evening presumably because he is tired. He burst into tears the other day when he got stuck on a sentence so we have acknowledged that he is doing it but are trying not to make too big a deal. Dh finds it harder than me not to say something and has told him to slow down. I just can't believe how quickly he has gone from being extremely articulate to nearly incoherent at times. Any ideas, recommendations?

[pointydog]

Saker, there was another thread on this not so long ago although we were talking about younger children (2 & 3 yr olds) - have you seen it?

My experience was with a 2 yr old but it was very similar to how you are describing it. Over a few weeks, dd's speech (which had been very clear and articulate) deteriorated until we got to the day when she could not say a single word, just a stream of awful stammering noises. I alternated between almost shouting at her to speak properly, telling her calmly to slow down and crying, hugging her. Very soon after this point, it quickly improved and then disappeared, never to return.

ANyway, on the other thread someone said it was common amongst 2/3 yr olds and just part of speech development.

Perhaps any big language spurt, regardless of age, can cause this stammering, made worse with tiredness and any other external factors (my dd was coping with dd2 coming on the scene). Seems perfectly plausible. But I don't have experience of it at this age.

[Saker]

Thanks for the reply Pointydog. I haven't seen the other thread, I will look it up. I do feel more concerned with Ds1 because he is nearly 7. However as I mentioned he is going through a few changes at school, plus Ds2 who has special needs is making some progress and talking a lot more so I think Ds1 is getting talked over more than he is used to. (Ds2 used to be pretty passive). Dh suggested to him to talk more slowly tonight and he did improve a lot and was very pleased about it so I am hoping if he believes it will improve that will be half the battle.

[MrsApronstrings]

my daughter is like this and she too spoke really early. we went to the doctor and he called it pressure of speech - brain working soo fast and soo much to say - rather than a true stammer which focuses on individual letters. We went to the doc when dd was about 5 or 6 . she is 10 now. for us it comes and goes in phases - sometimes almost disappears and then weeks at a time when it is really noticeable.

hope am not repeating others - just quickly skimmed rest of the thread