Stammer

[campari]

My wonderful granddaughter aged 2 and a half has started to stammer. She spoke perfectly up until last week when out of the blue she began to have trouble with some words, this has now developed into quite a sever problem, She is getting upset and is talking a lot less than usual, Can anyone offer any help; my daughter in law said she isn't too concerned as friends of her's children have had the same problem and they have grown out of it. Any advise please

[annie0000]

I think it is quite common at that age - her vocabulary and brain have basically developed faster than her mouth's ability to get the words out - she will be a bit frustrated for a while, but I am sure it will come right - I was a bit concerned with one of my two for the same thing, but as my Dad had a bad stammer, I thought that it it had passed down the family.

[B00]

Apparently it's very common, as my own daughter went through the same stage and I took her to a speech therapist. They do grow out of it, and my own little horror is testiment to that!

I was told by the therapist that what I was doing, telling my daughter to slow down when saying her sentances was wrong. The idea is to totally ignore the stammer altogether, as otherwise you're drawing attention to it and making it worse.

However, there's no harm in booking to see a speech therapist to put your mind at ease though.

[shaz68]

My daughter developed a stammer about 3 to 4 months after my son was born.
I completely ignored it as i felt it was an insecurity issue with the new baby, and within a couple of months it had subsided and then stopped whan she realised i could give my attention to both of them.
If your worried,seek advice but i think it will settle itself down in time as long as its not dwelled on. Don't keep cerrecting the speech, it will only reinforce in her mind that she is doing something wrong and make her more insecure.
All the best for your grand-daughter

[yvette303]

At this age, it is totally within normal expectations for this to happen. As little ones learn so many new skills, sometimes other ones go by the way side for a while. It is difficult for them to hold everything new that they are learning.

Don't draw attention to it as this will increase your daughter's anxiety. Allow her the time to speak and get her words out without feeling pressured. This is a phase that will pass.

If you continue to have concerns once your daughter reaches three years old, you could ask your GP for a referral to a Speech & Language Therapist. It is unlikely that an SLT would intervene before the age of three years, at the earliest, due to the developmental changes that can occur in a child's speech and language.

Yvette

[zzxxee]

my daughter developed a lisp at this age but grew out of it a year or two later any concerns get her health visitor on board with any concerns