Stuttering in Pre-Schoolers
Between the ages of two to five years, every child experiences a period of normal dysfluency. Most children (approximately 85%) out-grow this dysfluency, however some children do not and may develop a stutter.
Warning signs of stuttering in pre-schoolers
Eventhough every child experiences “normal dysfluency”, there are differences between “normal dysfluency’s” and “stuttering-like dysfluency’s” Warning signs of stuttering include:
If you think that your child is stuttering:
Between the ages of two to five years, every child experiences a period of normal dysfluency. Most children (approximately 85%) out-grow this dysfluency, however some children do not and may develop a stutter.
Warning signs of stuttering in pre-schoolers
Eventhough every child experiences “normal dysfluency”, there are differences between “normal dysfluency’s” and “stuttering-like dysfluency’s” Warning signs of stuttering include:
- Frequent sound and syllable repetitions
- Syllable repetitions with the ‘uh’ vowel instead of the correct vowel e.g. “pu-pu-pot” instead of “po-po-pot”)
- Frequent prolongations of sounds that are longer than one second
- Trembling muscles around the mouth and jaw while talking
- Rises in pitch or loudness of voice during sound prolongations
- Tension and struggle behaviour while saying certain words
- Look of fear in the child’s face while saying a word
- Avoidance of or delay in saying certain words
If you think that your child is stuttering:
- 1. Don’t tell the child to “Think before you speak”, “Take a deep breath”, “Stop and start over” or “just relax”
2. Be Patient - Don’t complete words, supply answers or interrupt
3. Don’t avert your eyes, turn your head away, or look pained / pitying
4. Avoid imposing time pressure and firing too many questions
5. Maintain natural eye contact - concentrate on what is being said (ie the content) and not how it is spoken (ie the manner)
6. Contact a Speech Therapist who has a special interest in Stuttering