Stuttering - when to worry?

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Little Mo is nearly four years old and once in a while he will stutter. It seems like it happens mostly when he's excited or angry - like his mouth just can't keep up with his brain.

I've read that this is not uncommon and that it is usually nothing to worry about.

It freaks Mr. B out, though. He has a (grown) nephew who stutters terribly. Nephew had some hearing problems when he was little. His parents kind of hung out waiting for God to cure it. His grandma finally insisted on him seeing a doctor and it turns out that the problem was easily remedied. But apparently the damage had been done and Nephew's speech skills never developed properly.

Mo seems to hear just fine, although, like most preschool aged kids, he can be selective about what he wants to hear.

At what point should I start to worry about stuttering?

How much is normal and how much is too much?

Thank you!

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sozlet, she of the golden tongue, has those moments, too. "And then I..." yes? "I....!" uh-huh? "I said SURE!" (Or whatever.)

I think it's really normal. One of the main things I've read is to not make them self-conscious about it, just wait it out. I read something somewhere (don't know how reputable) that some percentage of older kids and adults who stutter do just because of how it was reacted to when it a normal stage. Over-thinking/ trying hard not to stutter can help create the problem.

That's all separate from hearing test though, why not have a test, see what you find out. One of those it can't hurt and may help a lot kinds of things. (As you note, early hearing loss can have far-reaching consequences...)

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(P.S. didja see this?

http://www.able2know.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=36307

was hoping for your take...)

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I usually just say "Hey! Slow down!" and that seems to get him back on track.

I suppose there is no harm in scheduling a hearing test - I do wonder how reliable the results would be for a kid his age.

How do they do a hearing test on such a little kid?

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Lots of ways... the two main ways are standard "say if you hear something" kind of test (push a button, raise your hand, etc. -- I think they have special, more-interesting ones for little kids) or they also can do some kind of external reading with instruments -- that's what sozlet had when she was a newborn. (Put something in the ear, makes a noise, spits out a graph. It's cool.)

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I went to watch when my 8-month old niece was given a hearing test. I couldn't imagine how it would work, but they have a system.

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I often stuttered as a child when I got too excited too. I think that the brain is working faster than the mouth can go so the result is a stutter, trying to spit it out.
Mine wasn't really that noticable but I knew it was there. I still do it occasionally but have learned to slow down when talking to people. Sometimes people do notice and say "spit it out" and it used to bother me but it doesn't anymore. I just stop cpeaking completely, breathe and start over. I function very well; I did drama in high school. I am a communication major and am able to public speak. Unless it is very very noticable and problematic, I wouldn't worry.
However, if you are, take him to a speech pathologist and get a consult. Good Luck!

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i stutter, but only when i start to get excited or try to talk to fast and dont think through what im about to say... its funny at times, Im 22 and never really stuttered as far as the word goes... i dont think its anything really major to worry about...yet...

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My daughter (9) stutters sometimes too when she's had a very
exciting day and wants to cramp everything into one sentence.

Frankly, I was worried for a while as well, thinking this could
be a permanent speech impairment, but it happens so infrequently and she's given me plenty of other things to worry, that I have bypassed
this one

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I'd have Little Mo tested to settle Mr. B's nerves.

Meanwhile, assure him that the stuttering comes from a highly intelligent child trying to explain a complicated world with syntax and muscles that haven't yet matured.

You say the problem is situational.

Quote:

It seems like it happens mostly when he's excited or angry - like his mouth just can't keep up with his brain.

If he were stuttering all the time--or even more than half the time--I'd worry. Meanwhile, don't worry about him--worry about soothing Mr. B.

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one form of therapy that they use for severe stutterers is speaking in rhythm - so perhaps poems and nursery rhymes and say them together - as a fun game not presented as any form of therapy.

Look at Roald Dahl's Revolting Rhymes, which is a funny retelling in rhyme of the nursery stories - I posted some on another thread somewhere here - I'm sure they'd appeal to Mo.

see if it helps at all?

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Thank you all for sharing your thoughts, experience and advice. It doesn't sound like anything I need to worry about.

I can understand Mr. B's position since Nephew's stuttering has really been a handicap but he did seem to be a bit paranoid.

I think Noddy's "soothe Mr. B" advice is right on target!

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glad to hear you take that tact, Boomer. I think I might start to worry at 6-8 years, but not this early. Is it a true stutter?

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Thanks little k.

Is there a "false" stutter?

It seems to happen most on the work "I" and when he's trying to get something important (important to him, anyway) across. It doesn't seem to frustrate him at all - which is unlike Nephew's stutter.

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Note my example!

Really common, I think.

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I don't know if there's a fake stutter. I guess I was thinking about the stutters I know vs. the excitable children I know. I see kids jumbling and hesitating a lot over their words. I've also known kids who stutter so badly it seems almost like a teeny tiny epileptic seizure, for lack of a better description.

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I did notice that, soz. Maybe it has something to do with speaking in first person.

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When Mo is saying "I" he's talking about something that is very important to him--and from what I know of his past, he hasn't always had doting listeners.

Right now he's spelling "enthusiasm" with several misplaced 'i's' " but his spelling and diction will improve.

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So I get up this morning and I'm going about my day and I go in to make Mo's bed and I find this weird splotchy weirdness on his pillow and one of the splotches in a perfect little seashell ear shape and I freak out completely and call the doctor and we go in and everything is fine.

Whew.

I explained about the stuttering (perfectly normal) and Mr. B's tendency to freak (normalish) and I explain about our frequent swimming and "AHA!"

Seems Mo got some water in his ear and it dissolved all the ear wax and it all drained out on Mo's pillow last night.

Apparently ears are pretty dirty places but it all serves a purpose and you shouldn't try to get that stuff out unless it just comes out on its own.

Anyway....

His ears are fine.

I shall happily assume that his stuttering is a mere developmental and perhaps, psychological phenomonon!

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zsSsaz?

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Stuttering - when to worry?

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