Stammering Post Reply

[preet82]

Hi, My son recently turned 4 and is stammering more and more frequently. He repeats both sounds at the beginning of words and also the words themselves. He has always had a bit of a stammer, mostly when he was tired or anxious and I thought he would grow out of it but it is getting worse rather than better. He doesn't seem to realise he is doing it. I have spoken to his nursery and they said I should wait until the end of reception year (which is almost 2 years away) to see if any intervention is required as it normally resolves itself but a quick Google search says early intervention is key with stammering. Just wanted to see if anyone had experience of this and could offer any advice?

Thanks!

[kaboodle]

Don't listen to your nursery.

Speak to your GP or alternatively we have used speech and language service by self-referral, which many accept. If you need any details of a local trustworthy therapist, I know of several. You're welcome to email me.

[klw]

I completely agree with the previous poster. My son had a minor speech issue which we tackled in the two terms before he started school. I was advised by an SLT that this was a good time to intervene (he hadn't lost confidence, experienced difficulties with reading yet or in making friends etc, which I was concerned about if we waited until school) He made such brilliant progress before he started school. Good luck!

[danijeanne]

I think it is worth getting a professional opinion in any case as there is nothing to lose but for reassurance my son had a stammer at that age that kept getting worse. We told him not to worry and take his time, eventually it just stopped! He was seeing a speech and language therapist about something else at the time and she said it is very common at that age as their brain is working much faster than they can get things out.

[ESA]

From my own experience, I'd definitely get a referral from your GP as soon as possible.
My son suffered from a stammer from the age of 3 and we had treatment locally and then at the Michael Palin centre for some years. Early intervention is important as there are lots of things that you can do to help him and understand why it might be happening.
I am so glad that we sought help early and believe that in our case it made all the difference as he has perfect speech now.

[MrsOctober]

A paeds speech and language specialist once told me that although a lot of stammering is temporary, it is vital that treatment is sought to prevent it becoming 'habitual'. Your GP will put you in touch with the right people.

Someone I know acted on the advice of their child's teachers. They said 99 times out of 100 these things fix themselves and if we fuss about it we'll make it a 'thing'. She latched onto this advice because it was what she wanted to hear. Unfortunately she now has a 12 year old son with a very severe stammer. His therapists told her that had they got to him at 4, he'd have no trace of a stammer now.

Your nursery is completely wrong and you need to put them right to prevent them dispensing such poor advice in the future. When my kids were at Marmalade Cat, they arranged for a Speech & Language Therapist to hold a session for the parents. It was fascinating. It sounds like your nursery staff could benefit from such a visit.

[melymoss]

Hi,

My 3 year old son also developed a stammer, it comes and goes but we're monitoring it closely. Smallwood children's centre was recommended to me as a first port of call, they run a free fortnightly session called 'talk time' where your son can be seen by a speech and language therapist. We found this helped us. Details here: http://wandsworth.childrensservicedirec ... g8LUFv9hvM

You can give them a call to see when the next session is. They're on Wednesday mornings.

I hope you're able to get the help you need from either Smallwood or your gp. You can also order some information packs from the British stammering association that gives a lot of information.

Wishing you all the best.

[lucywhippet]

My son developed a severe stammer when he was 2 and 4 months, which was very shocking because over night he went from speaking fluently to not being able to get any words out. I know he is younger than your child but I thought I'd pass on that I have had fantastic advice and support from The British Stammering Association who put me in touch with a speech therapist who I spoke to on the phone for at least 30 mins, they found me a local speech therapist (they have to specialise in stammers) to go and see, and they also put me in touch with the Michael Palin Centre who also put me in touch with a speech therapist who I spoke to on the phone. They have all given consistent advice - early intervention is crucial, you must slow down the pace of life and then they talked me through the principles of 'special time' ie a time in the day where the child has 1:1 time from a carer with their choice of play, no questions, slow speech from the adult etc. I did special time for at least an hour every day and cut back activities/play dates and I saw a vast improvement in the space of a month. Since then the stammer has come and gone and is definitely linked to anxiety (starting nursery, me going back to work/nanny starting) and tiredness. Because it is still here 6 months on, we will then start to have speech therapy intervention which will start in the new year. I hope that helps. Best of luck.

[preet82]

Thank you so much for all your responses- they've been very helpful and I have already made an appointment with my GP and will go from there. Really wish I had started the process earlier!