My son has a really bad stutter....

Okay well my little boy will be turning 4 on july 16 and he has a pretty strong stutter. My poor little guy struggles to get the first couple of words out when talking, I have a brother who has had a stutter for his whole life, I have no idea if stuttering is a hereditary trait or what. Any way I had kind of waited to bring it up to the doctors as an issue because my oldest daughter had a slight stutter when she was younger but she had out grown it by his age. So far I have set an appointment with his ped. to bring the issue up as I have been told that some times stuttering can occur from hearing issues although I dont think he has hearing issues its worth bringing up. My family brought my brother to speech therapy for years with no change and now he is an adult with a stutter. I dont really know what my question is I guess I am just worried about him. I hope that it is something that he will eventually out grow and I really am hoping that I did not mess things up by waiting. He Is going on 4 years old so its not likely that I waited too long. ugh any way I love him so much he is such a smart little fella I only want whats best for my little guy.

Quoting mommy of 3 bratz:" Okay well my little boy will be turning 4 on july 16 and he has a pretty strong stutter. My poor little ... [snip!] ... I waited too long. ugh any way I love him so much he is such a smart little fella I only want whats best for my little guy."

He could be tongue tied.. My lil brother was and he had stuttered, and out grew it also.

I sure hope so. He does have two sisters one older and one younger and things can be quite crazy with every one trying to talk all at once and perhaps he has a hard time getting things out because he gets distracted in what he is trying to say before he gets a chance to say it. The stutter does seem to be worse when there is alot going on.

Try to get him to slow down when he speaks. Also, if he's going to preschool in the fall make sure they offer speech therapy. That way he can be tested and possibly referred if need be. Or you can contact your local educational service agency to see how they go about speech screenings for preschoolers. Tell them you have speech concerns and would like him tested. This is a service that I believe if offered everywhere if you know where to go. If you need help finding one let me know and I can search for you based on your county.

Quoting lolajessup:" Try to get him to slow down when he speaks. Also, if he's going to preschool in the fall make sure they ... [snip!] ... everywhere if you know where to go. If you need help finding one let me know and I can search for you based on your county."

I was unaware that preschools even offer speech therapy but I sure will look into that. I am bringing this up at his next doctors visit as I was unsure how to have him screened and thought that would be my best bet. He is very smart and has an amazing vocabulary its just that stutter with the first few words Im worried about. I have been trying to get him to slow down when he begins to talk, it seems like he starts to say something and forgets what he was going to say and just continues the first word to keep his sentence going until he remembers what he started out to say.

Quoting mommy of 3 bratz:" I was unaware that preschools even offer speech therapy but I sure will look into that. I am bringing ... [snip!] ... he was going to say and just continues the first word to keep his sentence going until he remembers what he started out to say."

I teach preschool and all of our state funded and headstart preschools here in Michigan are required to offer speech for children who qualify. If you used a private you would have to get speech therapy from the educational service agency.

Quoting lolajessup:" I teach preschool and all of our state funded and headstart preschools here in Michigan are required ... [snip!] ... for children who qualify. If you used a private you would have to get speech therapy from the educational service agency."

well that is great to know.I plan on having him in a state funded because i cannot afford private preschool. Its still weird to me that my little guy is going to be going to preschool this fall, in fact I need to get him enrolled before too much time has passed. I am in denial i guess.

Quoting mommy of 3 bratz:" well that is great to know.I plan on having him in a state funded because i cannot afford private preschool. ... [snip!] ... be going to preschool this fall, in fact I need to get him enrolled before too much time has passed. I am in denial i guess. "

yes do get him enrolled. We have been enrolling for months already, feb I think, and some preschools already have waitlists. I would call tomorrow   and ask about the speech thing too. If they dont offer it they might be able to direct you to the appropriate place for testing. GL!