• Repeating parts of words or whole words
e.g. “I want want want milk”, “I wa wa wa wa want milk”
• Stretching out sounds e.g. “I waaaaaaaaaaaaant milk”
• Finding it difficult to get any sound out at all
• Jerky, tense speech
• Using other non-speech sounds before getting started
e.g. coughing, throat clearing, sniffing
• Body movements when your child is speaking or trying to speak e.g. jerking the head, fiddling with an object, tapping a foot, clenching hands
Pre-school aged children (2-5year olds) often go through a period when they repeat words and phrases and use lots of fillers such as “um” and “er”, whilst they are planning what to say next. Some children and young people will stop stammering, some will continue to stammer - it is impossible to predict what may happen for each individual person. If the stammer is having an impact for the child and/or their family then please contact us.
Stammering
Children learn to talk at different rates, it takes time, practise and doesn’t always happen straight away.
Up to 8% of children stammer for a time when they are learning to talk. This most commonly starts between the ages of 2 - 5years old. Young children often stop, hesitate, pause and stumble over words. Some children will speak more fluently as they get older but others may continue to find it difficult to get their words out. We call this stammering. You might also hear the terms stuttering and dysfluent speech - this all means the same thing. Stammering isn't caused by nerves, it's a neurological condition, which means it's to do with the way the brain is wired and develops, and is often related to the child's language development. As with other neurological conditions, stammering can run in families.
If yur child is stammering, you may hear or notice some, or all of the following:
Up to 8% of children stammer for a time when they are learning to talk. This most commonly starts between the ages of 2 - 5years old. Young children often stop, hesitate, pause and stumble over words. Some children will speak more fluently as they get older but others may continue to find it difficult to get their words out. We call this stammering. You might also hear the terms stuttering and dysfluent speech - this all means the same thing. Stammering isn't caused by nerves, it's a neurological condition, which means it's to do with the way the brain is wired and develops, and is often related to the child's language development. As with other neurological conditions, stammering can run in families.
If yur child is stammering, you may hear or notice some, or all of the following:
