By Sherry Younger Artemenko MA, CCC-SLP
“My my my car go.” There is so much to say and so little time. But as your child’s thoughts tumble out faster than he can express them, his system can get “overloaded” and he gets stuck. Occasional easy repetitions of whole words or phrases at this age can be typical and is referred to as “normal dysfluency,” not stuttering, by a speech-language pathologist. Often it occurs when a child is experiencing a surge in his language development. Tips for responding:
• Don’t draw attention. In the same way that you wouldn’t correct your child’s pronunciation, don’t draw attention to these repetitions. Just listen attentively and be affirming.
• Be patient. Give him your full attention with ample time to express himself. He’ll get the idea that he doesn’t have to hurry and you are interested in what he is saying.
• Slow down yourself. Answer him in a slow, relaxed rate of speech yourself, creating a calm environment in which to share. I often tell parents to use their “Mr. Rogers” voice. By your modeling a slower pace, you can affect his rate of speech.
• Don’t finish up. It’s easy for a parent to want to finish his child’s sentence but it is important to let him complete his thought. Interrupting is disruptive and will not promote fluency.
• Shorten up. Respond to your child with some shorter, less complex sentences, pausing between phrases. “Let’s get your shovel and truck. We’re going to the park today.”
Be Aware:
If your child begins to show signs of dysfluent speech that are different from the typical examples given, such as repeating parts of words, “m-m-m-my car” or prolonging a sound in a word such as “mmmmmy car” and this persists, you should seek an evaluation from a speech-language pathologist. To find a professional in your area refer to The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) website at www.asha.org.
July 30th, 2008 at 11:14 am
Thank you for this advice. My son is now 5 yrs old he started stuttering when he was 2. I took him for an evaluation at 2yrs old and she told me he is young and to wait and see if he grows out of it. This is the thing he is 5 now and some days he rarely stutters but some days he can hardly get a word out. I’m not sure if he is aware of it or not but he’s getting older now so I think he may become aware soon. I’m worried about his self confidence as he is starting kindergarten in September. I will try to get speech services for him through the school. Also I could not find any therapists that specialize in stuttering in my area do you know of any? I live in Parlin New Jersey 08859 . Is there still a chance he can grow out of it? He turned 5 in April. After what age would I know if this is going to be a permenant problem? Thank you again.
Susan
September 3rd, 2008 at 10:40 am
Hi Susan,
Those are good questions. Typically we see “normal dysfluency” between the ages of 2 and 5. Kids tend to have bouts of dusfluency that we refer to as “normal” because it is simple repetitions of whole words and it comes and goes.
If your child starts to repeat parts of words such as m-m-m my or prolongs a sound, He should be checked by a speech pathologist.
As for finding someone who specializes in stuttering in your town, the best way to find someone is to ask you local school district’s director of special ed what private therapists they recommend or go on ASHA’s website (asha.org) and enter your zip code. Usually if you talk to a few private therapists, they can tell you who specializes in stuttering in your area.
I hope that helps and good luck! Sherry