Sudden stuttering in my 2 yo

[blessedmama59]

My DD is almost 26 months old and has suddenly (like in the past week) started stuttering. She is very verbal and has spoken pretty clearly for months now. She's also fairly intelligent for her age ( atleast we think so)..i.e having been able to count to 15 and say entire alphabet around 21 mo, picking up on songs quickly, helping to read her books at night, identifies basically anything (animals, objects, colors, etc.), and other things that have seemed to come very naturally to her. We have no reason to believe she's behind devlopmentally. It's almost as if she's having a tough time getting a word out..."Mmmm..mmmmmaa..mmaaamm..mama.." and I don't know if this is something we need to be.concerned about or if it could just be a precursor to a huge language explosion or something. Any advice, mamas?

[bonamarq]

Totally normal at this age - brain is working faster than she can articulate most likely - be patient and don't draw too much attention to it other than perhaps to help her slow down... if it continues and you feel concerned go ahead and get an eval from EI before she turns three (it's free) but I'm guessing she'll be fine in a few months - this is pretty classic actually...

[crunchy_mommy]

Yes, several of my friends mentioned their kids doing this right around age 2, and my DS did it a very tiny bit as well. Just a couple of months later, none of their kids are doing it anymore... I'd give her at least a few weeks before even considering worrying.

[kitikatuka]

This is very common. My dd also went through a sudden onset stuttering starting around 2.5. The speech language pathologist we spoke with gave us some general guidelines - first, slow way down your speech; do not tell her to "slow down", instead allow her to finish what she is trying to say - get down to her level, smile, listen, and wait - avoid finishing her words for her.

It is common for it to come and go - so you may notice that she stops for a week or a month, and then has another recurrence. This is normal. It may also increase if she is tired or stressed. If she cannot get words out, is becoming frustrated, and/or if you notice it's starting to involve facial muscles (grimacing or a tic) those are red flags.

It really freaked us out when our dd started doing this - talking with a few professionals (an early interventionist and the SLP) was really helpful - calming. Good luck to you!

[Peony]

My DD2 did it as well at age 2. It lasted several months and then was gone. Like others have said, it is normal, their brain is working faster then their mouths can keep up. 

[blessedmama59]

Thanks for the replies ladies! Our second DD decided to arrive so things have been a little busy, to say the least I am very glad to hear this is normal..I will definitely keep an eye out for anything to become concerned about. We've been very patient with her and haven't been trying to rush her or finish her words.