Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Stutter and stammer

I am worried.

Osh Osh has been stammering for the past few months and it doesn't seem to be going away. He's just turned 3 in July.

He has trouble getting the first word out, for example, when he wants to say "You want to eat chicken?", he'll repeat the word "You" several times and looks like he has difficulty getting it out but when he gets the word "You" out, the rest of his sentence is fine.

He stutters not only when he's excited but even when he is calm.

We have taken him to see his doctor in July for his annual check-up and brought up this issue of stammer. He said we're not to reprimand him or correct him but just to be patient and encourage him to sing more songs.

I must admit that I do correct him and slow him down to say the first words of his sentences correctly. For example, when he stutters with "La... La... La... Later", I'll just look at him and say "Later". I read articles which I've researched online that doing this as in correcting him, will lower his self esteem and make him more aware of his stutter. Sigh. Part of me finds it very difficult to just let him be.

Any advice or words of comfort for this very worried Mummy?

3 comments:

Louisa May said...

Many children do go through this phase of stuttering. I remember my god-daughter doing this when she was of similar age (2+/3) but has since outgrown it and speaks perfectly fine now. Yet, i understand your worry. I would be too. For ease of mind, why not consult a paedeatric speech therapist. They would be a better judge of whether it is indeed an issue or something that would pass. If so, early intervention is always good.

Anonymous said...

I would check with a speech therapist as well and yes it is hard wacthing your child have speech problems(trust me I know) My DS wh is also 3 can't even say most words...he signs or just doesn't say them at all. Speech therapists are a great help with him so one may be helpful for your Ds too. I would ask what you can do as far as helping DS first then if you see improvement with out help then go for it your self...but if you see that he needs more halp than you can give then by all means seek it out!
{{hugs}} I understand the worry! :)

Anonymous said...

Obviously, I'm not an expert but I agree with the others. If you're really worried, make an appointment to see a speech therapist or get your doctor to refer you to one (not sure how it works over there). A couple of my friends' kids have/had stutters and they were told not to correct them or say the words for them. Just let them say it at their own speed (although it can be very frustrating for the grown-ups I know!). Also, I think they were encouraged to talk to their kids and encourage them to talk/answer in shorter sentences kinda thing. One of them has grown out of his stutter and the other one isn't stuttering as much as before. (hugs)