Within the last week or ten days, two-year-old Ilsa has developed a stutter. At first, it sounded like an echo, or like she was mimicking my phonics instructions to Juliette. For example, she would say, "Me have book-k," with just a little extra sound at the end of hard consonants.
In the space of this last week, however, the little echo has grown into a full stutter. "Me read-d-d-d-d-d-d dinosaurs." "Me brush-sh-sh-sh-sh-sh teef-f-f." I am curious as to whether this is merely a funky moment in her language skills or a more long-term problem with her speech development. Interestingly, as with most I have heard about stutterers, Ilsa does not have a problem copying Juliette's sentences. In "parrot mode," where someone else has come up with the word or phrase already, she has no stutter.
I might talk to her new pediatrician about it; she has three children of her own and seems wonderfully laid back. I do not want to consult some doctor who is eager to put a label on her and straight into speech therapy at age two! But I would like to know if there is anything I can do, can expect. At the moment, I am forcing myself to let her finish her word or sentence, without interrupting to save her the effort. But I do the same with Juliette when she's working hard to produce a particularly trying verbal thought.
In the space of this last week, however, the little echo has grown into a full stutter. "Me read-d-d-d-d-d-d dinosaurs." "Me brush-sh-sh-sh-sh-sh teef-f-f." I am curious as to whether this is merely a funky moment in her language skills or a more long-term problem with her speech development. Interestingly, as with most I have heard about stutterers, Ilsa does not have a problem copying Juliette's sentences. In "parrot mode," where someone else has come up with the word or phrase already, she has no stutter.
I might talk to her new pediatrician about it; she has three children of her own and seems wonderfully laid back. I do not want to consult some doctor who is eager to put a label on her and straight into speech therapy at age two! But I would like to know if there is anything I can do, can expect. At the moment, I am forcing myself to let her finish her word or sentence, without interrupting to save her the effort. But I do the same with Juliette when she's working hard to produce a particularly trying verbal thought.
1 comments:
Letting her finishing the word is the best you can do to encourage and not frustrate or pressurise her: giving her time to articulate a word (or a sentence in Juliette's case).
However, if she repeats fine what other people say, then I wouldn't worry too much. She is just so little and is starting only now to enter the speakers' world.
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