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Stutter, speach
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Our ds7 seems to have a bit of a stutter. I don’t know much about stuttering — I can’t even really say he’s always had it. I don’t think that it is a nervous thing or that it stresses him in the least, but he can often be talking and suddenly repeat a syllable a few times then keep going just fine. His teachers at PS never noticed it, and some of our family members didn’t really notice either until my sister-in-law spent a week carrying for the boys while my husband and I were on vacation in March. I am wondering if it may be a side-effect of the ADHD – like his brain has picked up on something else interesting that has momentarily interrupted his thought pattern. Anyone have experience like this?
My daughter developed a stutter during her illness, the doctors said as she did not have it from the start of her speaking that it was likely stress induced. I have noticed that when she is feeling better she does not do it, but when she is ill it is quite noticeable. She is also quite a quick girl in the way she does things, and sometimes I think she just gets excited to tell us something and she trips over her words. As she is a young adult now, her doctors have said not to worry about it too much, that they expect it to resolve once she is well again. If not then I would seek some assistance for her. If he only just started stuttering maybe it is to do with the ADHD or some stress in his life. Perhaps there are those on here with more expertise than me who can advise better, but this has been our experience. Linda
I’ve had a child with dysfluencies (commonly called stuttering. I think “dysfluency” sounds better!) I don’t know if it’s a side effect of ADHD or not. How rapidly is he speaking when this occurs? One thing to try when it happens is to slow down the speech AROUND him. My dh and older son and I took a therapist’s recommendation to touch each of our fingers with our thumb for each spoken syllable when we spoke. When WE slowed down, so did he, and his dysfluency decreased. We did end up having to have speech therapy in the end also, but this did help and it might help you pinpoint what is happening. It may not be making him nervous now, but you probably want to work on it because it could make him uncomfortable in the future. If slowing down speech and making him aware of the problem doesn’t help, I would recommend trying to find a therapist. There are some things that can be done at home (mispronunciations, for example) but I really wanted a professional to help me with the dysfluency. I didn’t want him stuck with that for life!
I would NOT make him aware of it unless he already is. That can actually increase the dysfluencies! Do NOT rush him or show him that you are disturbed by it. Those can also make it worse as they become self conscious of it.
At 7, this could go either way. It could be stress induced, caused by a disrupted thought or just be him trying to gather his thoughts as he talks. Or it could even be his way of keeping his place in the conversation.
What exactly is he repeating (sounds, syllables, words, phrases)? How many times does he repeat it? And how many words per 10 (or so)? Are they tense repetitions or relaxed? Is it every time he talks or just occasionally?
Since it seems to have started when you and your husband were on vacation and he was in a different environment and on a different schedule, I’m thinking that it’s related to that. BUT dysfluency can become a lifelong thing and be very disruptive. True “stuttering” has certain characteristics and that will need help to get past it. BUT, at the same time, most children will “stutter” at some time while in the language development phase. You may want to look into getting a speech eval and talking indepth with the therapist on what to watch for and how to respond-if that would make you more confident in dealing with it-or you could also just keep an eye on him for a bit and see if it improves as you resettle into your normal home life.
I was a speech path before my kids were born. If you are at all nervous, I would go for the eval. Most therapist truly love kids and want to help them (and you’ll know if you get one who doesn’t and can walk away and find another one).
-Rebecca
No, this speach pattern didn’t develope while we were on vacation — that’s just when someone other than myself really noticed that he does it. I’ve been trying to watch to see if he does it most when he’s excited, distracted by something, or trying to do something else at the same time. He is a very active boy — doesn’t ever really stop moving, even in his sleep. He doesn’t do it so often that most people having a pasing conversation with him would even notice — which is likely why no one at the PS really noticed it. Most teachers don’t have the opportunity to really have a conversation with their children in the run of a day, let alone a week.
I don’t think that he’s even really aware of it, and I’ve never mentioned it to him. He tends to talk alot (that is part of the ADHD) and sometimes very quickly, but I can’t even say that the speed of his speach is part of it. I have noticed it happen when he is doing something physical which may take some concentration, such as climbing up onto a bar-height stool while talking, but also the other day while choosing ice cream flavours. He was hopping up and down looking at the choices in the display, asking if he could “have it in a co-o-o-one”. But then there are times he is just sitting in the van going somewhere and he’ll repeat a syllable 3-4 , (rarely more) times before continuing. Sometimes he does it while reading (he is a very fluid reader — the phycologist who did his learning assessment at the ADHD clinc tells me he reads at a grade 12 level). I see no sign of a physical struggle to get the word out. I am hoping this is something that he will just grow out of, but I don’t know.
The one thing that concerns me in what you just wrote is that he is repeating sounds in the middle of words. That is unusual.
Do you have a place where you could take him to be evaluated? A rehab center (if insurance will pay) or the schools (since you have already been there)? I think I would get an evaluation just to be sure of what is going on and if it needs more attention.
-Rebecca
Middle of the word is unusual? Hmmm…
I’m in Canada and our family Dr. is excellent for getting our children in. I’m sure he can make a referal, but can’t say exactly how long before they could get him into a specialist.
Ended that last post before I meant to, sorry!
Thanks, Rebecca. I appreciate the advice from someone with some expertise in this field.
Now, if I take him to a speach specialist I will have to give some explaination why. He’s pretty easy going though, and finds visiting doctors, hospitals, dentists, etc, very interesting.
An explanation for your son: You could just say that your getting a “healthy speech/talking check” like when you go to a Dr for a healthy child check : ).
I wouldn’t worry about how long it takes to get in. Since he isn’t showing any tension in his repetitions and isn’t doing them often, he should be fine for you to wait. I’m just a bit concerned with the middle of the word reps.
-Rebecca
Thanks for posting this…hope you don’t mind if I jump in. My nearly 9yo son has dysfluencies, since 2 or 3 yrs. old. We switched dr.’s around that time, and they kept saying it’s normal for boys…but never heard him speak. Finally took him to a speech pathologist last year for an eval., a lady rec. by the state head of sp. path. (or something like that!) She said he had no dysfluencies and didn’t need therapy, but I could bring him back later if I was concerned (it’s a 35 min. drive and I was hesitant to use the school’s). He also does mid-word dysfluencies. My daughter and I are very fast talkers….and fear we’re at fault here. My mom has dysfulencies and is a fast talker. I’m occasionally dysfluent (I think, but my husband hasn’t noticed!)
Some sentences are totally fine, it’s mostly when he first starts speaking….maybe trying to hurry it out. He doesn’t seem aware, but others have commented (including a speech path. friend). He has no fear of speaking in front of others in our presentation group. If I ask him to slow down, or tell him to take his time reading to me he does well. I rarely do this…..and usually within the context of I talk fast, too, and maybe we can work slow down together. Bookworm’s comment about not wanting her son to be stuck with this for life really hit me. Should I try having us all really focus on slow speech for a while, or get a 2nd opinion soon? The speech path. we saw was really highly rec. for this type of problem. Thank for any advice! Gina
I would like to ask another question in addition to 4myboys. How old is too old for a speech evaluation? Anyone ever had their older child, like 11 or older, tested?
Sorry momto2blessings, I just saw that you asked another question too. I did not mean to cut in line. 🙂
My daughter was evaluated by a speech path when she was 17 and it was determined she does not have a true issue, hers is purely stress/illness related and speaking way too fast-it only started after her illness she did not have the problem before – and I can tell when she is feeling ill or stressed it is worse, at other times she does not have it at all. I noticed a lot of older teens being evaluated, so I don’t think it is unusual. Rebecca our speech path may no for sure…but tha was our experience. Linda
When training for being a speech path, you get overall training for all ages and all disorders. Then you tend to specialize-kids or adults and for various environments (schools, hospitals, nursing homes, etc).
As far as too old, no, any age child is fine. I worked with kids from preschool to high school (school district). It is more common to work with younger kids but all ages are worked with. So, simple home, I would definitely have my 11 year old tested if you think it would be worthwhile. (that is actually still elementary school age : ).
momto2blessings: why don’t you do both? Try the slower speech at home having everyone work on it. It may be easiest to have a “set” time to do so (like during narrations or meals or ???). That way you don’t feel overwhelmed by trying to do it all the time. And set up an eval too. I’m thinking that the speech path didn’t hear any dysfluencies while you were in her office. So you may want to transcribe (basically write down EXACLTLY what your child has said with the exact number of dysfluencies and any other behaviors you noticed-like tension, eye closing or blinking that is not normal, etc) or even make a tape or video of them so they can see them even if they are not present that day.
Occasional dysfluencies are normal for everyone (more so in young children as they are learning language and learning many other things). These are usually repetitions of words or phrases (occasion sounds/syllables). They can increase with illness, stress, etc.
True “stuttering” is characterized by multiple dysfluencies. They usually get worse (both in amount and tension). These are usually repetitions of sounds and syllables, sometimes with “stops” between repetitions (stops are filled with tension of the mouth and face). The child becomes self conscious of it and that makes it worse also. These can also be made worse with illness, stress, etc but there is a marked difference from “normal” dysfluencies and they do NOT disappear once the illness or stress is gone although they may lessen slightly.If I can help more, let me know.
-Rebecca
Hi Rebecca,
Thanks for the reply. My son has no tension when he has dysfluencies…truly seems unaware. Has not gotten worse, I don’t think. Doesn’t stop, just keeps speaking. But to me, he is a bit difficult to listen to sometimes because it takes him longer to get his words out. I’m afraid that as he ages others might not be kind/patient with this. And I don’t want to inhibit anything in his future. He’s been told a couple times by other kids that he ‘talks funny’ or a kid has asked me (in front of him) if he has trouble getting his words out. Do you think it’s risky to go to a public school sp. path? I’ve heard great things about the neighboring district supporting homeschooling, but don’t know about ours. Thanks again!! Gina
P.S. Thanks for the tip on trying to slow down speech at certain times…it is overwhelming to change something so ingrained.
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