Friends, My daughter has been very fluent in talking ever since she started talking but from the last 2-3 days she has started stammering all of a sudden.she is 2.9 years.I am very much worried as she has been talking well all along.I can see that she herself has become cautious of her stammering and get irritated and then cry.It happens worst when she is excited about something and talks loudly.At times i feel may be because she has started talking like a grown up child,i mean complete sentences and like that,it could be a reason! I am telling her to calm down and talk slowly and trying to be attentive to her so that she don't have to put stress in talking.But she does not seem to understand those things yet. If any one here could advise or suggest if this is normal ?
Yumna, 1. does she stammer with the first syllabi? Eg: S.s.s.s.s soda 2. Does she stammer out of excitement. Occasional stammering at this age because of all the new words in mind is normal. Notice her face movements, whether she clutches something, or contorts her face during stammering. That can give you indications whether stammering will continue or not. One Indian home remedy is to put koozhangal - soft stone in your mouth and talk. Since your child is very young, we cant follow that. This is from the babycenter link. Please note that everyone insists never to say slow down to your child when shes stuttering. - Practice therapeutic techniques at home. - Whether or not a speech therapist recommends formal treatment, she can suggest effective ways to talk with your child. You can do a number of things in the course of your day to help your child relax and find his voice. Here are some of the most commonly suggested strategies: When your child stumbles or gets stuck during a sentence, maintain normal eye contact and calmly wait for him to finish. Don't finish his sentences for him. Talk to him in slow, relaxed tones. If you speak hurriedly, your child may rush to keep up with you. Keep a pleasant, relaxed expression on your face when your child's talking — smile if you can. If you look frustrated, your child will pick up on this and be even more self-conscious. There's no need at this point to let him know his stuttering is frustrating or worrisome for you. Avoid correcting him. Instead, simply repeat the sentence fluently yourself so that your child will know that you understood him and hear how it's supposed to sound. Set aside time each day for pleasant, stress-free conversation. Try not to interrupt your child, and prevent others from interrupting him. If you turn away and act hurried, your child will feel pressure to "get it out," and this will only make his stuttering worse. Let him know ahead of time when you're unavailable to talk — when you're cooking dinner, for example. Promise to tell him as soon as you're free to listen — and then follow through. Don't tell your child to "slow down" or "start over." Even if you mean it helpfully, you could unintentionally feed the problem by making him feel nervous and self-conscious. Let him know that you understand and sympathize with his problem. When he finishes a taxing sentence, he'll be glad to hear that "talking can be tough sometimes," or that his hard work is making you proud. If you pretend the stuttering doesn't exist, your child might assume it's something that can't be talked about. Encourage your child to tell you stories that you know he's comfortable telling. Spend time singing simple songs and reading nursery rhymes with your child. These will probably come to him more easily than unstructured speech. My husband stutters, but he now works for a very good organisation in a position where he has to talk a lot in public. So, dont lose heart.
Thank you dear for you explained response. She is stammering only from the last 2-3 days otherwise she was talking normally.Yes as i mentioned earlier too that she stammer most when she is exited.At times she says words normally and other times say same words with stammer like bb-bb-book,other times she say book clearly and stammer some other word. Thanks for your advise,will not tell her to slow down.
Hi Yumna... She must have something on her mind so please take time and have relaxed one to one chat with her to know what is bothering her...
Thank you Vjb,I am trying my best but she is not able to say what is bothering her.May be she is very small to give words to all of her feelings.I hope God willing,it will pass soon.Though i am really worried...!
Greetings, I am here to let you all know that thanks be to the Almighty...my daughter is speaking now without any stammer at all. I am sorry because I feel I should have posted it here long ago when she had started talking normally again...so that it may help any parent around facing same thing or may be it will in future. Her Doctor had advised us to wait for few months; in fact for about a year...and if she was still to experience the same problem,we had to start medical follow up. Then we had been to Home (India)...where mostly people speak in our native language (especially at their homes)and at that time she knew our native language almost completely.Every one noticed that she was stammering. But then as days passed,I noticed she was stammering lesser than before.And she was replying back in Hindi whoever talked with her in Hindi though with stammer.And same was the case with her English...though she was not that well versed with English at that time. By the time we came back here...her stammering had vanished as surprisingly as it had appeared.I was astonished to notice one day that she was talking without stammering at all.Thanks to Almighty! I seriously thought over it and that what could have been the reason for her stammering and what could be the reason for her not stammering any more. I reached to the conclusion that her stammering was a part of her Learning and Development. When she was Born,I knew that I had to move abroad,so I always try my best that every one should speak/play to her in our native Language and in Hindi as her second language. Because I wanted her to learn our native and Hindi as I knew that she would not get this opportunity later and she will be alone with no one to talk with her or play with her in native or Hindi language except her parents. Later when we came here,we continued to talk with her in our native and Hindi but I gradually introduced English.She picked up well but then this was the reason for her stammering (as I think).Because I - the same person was talking with her in three languages...and I feel this was the reason of her confusion at that early age and resulted in short term stammering.May be she was not able to pick all the words of one particular language in her mind to speak fast enough and that was making her excited and stammer. I am also thankful to that Doctor (at that time i was annoyed) who instead of prescribing her any medicines or therapies,strictly asked us to wait and give her time.
Hello ladies, i am new to this group here and this is my first post.. i have a daughter 3 years and 10 months.. and the preschool she goes to has strictly told us that she needs help with therapy coz she stammers.. anybody have been in similar situations? what type of therapy did u get for her? and did it help? i am very concerned abt this...
