Dr. Robert Needlman
Specialist in pediatric behavior and development.
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 Ask Dr. Needlman
Preschooler Having Trouble Speaking Smoothly | | | QUESTION | | | Dear Dr. Needlman,
Hello! I am the mother of a 3½-year-old boy. I've noticed lately that my son is having trouble speaking sometimes. It is almost like he is having a hard time getting the word out. I know it's not stuttering. I don't know if its just excitement or frustration for him to get his point across, but it's getting more noticeable to me. It's usually a word towards the end of the sentence. I'll give an example of it. My nickname for him is pumpkin pie, and he'll try to say, "I'm Mommy's pumpkin pie." He'll repeat, "I'm Mommy's" several times before he can get the entire sentence out. Should I be worried?— Loriesfeller in Alabama | | | ANSWER |
July 24, 2002 | | | Dear Loriesfeller,
The problem you describe is not stuttering exactly, but it is closely related. It is what's called a speech dysfluency--a disruption in the smooth flow of speech. Speech dysfluencies are very common in children your son's age. The problems are usually most obvious when the children are tired, excited, or stressed.
Most children grow out of these problems on their own. The best way to handle such problems is to help your child relax by not pressuring or correcting and by giving him enough time to get his ideas out. Instructing a child to speak slowly doesn't help. But speaking at a reasonably slow pace yourself, so that conversations are relaxed, does.
Signs that a child needs speech therapy include stuttering or other dysfluency that has gone on for more than six months, displays of frustration, shame, or strain (for example, a child who screws up his face with effort or turns red in the face), and a child who begins to avoid speaking.
If your son's difficulty is fairly recent, and you haven't noticed any of the other signs described above or in the article on stuttering, then you can probably take the low-key approach and expect that the problem will most likely pass on its own.— by Robert Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P. |
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