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Expert Q&A
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| By Mindy Hudon Speech and Language Pathologist | ||
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My 2-year-old has started repeating words. Should I worry?
Children often go through a period of normal non-fluency during language development. You may hear your child repeat sounds, words, or even phrases. This is normal. Your child is trying to organize and process his thoughts to convey a message and often will demonstrate little "stutters" while doing so.
Stuttering becomes problematic if your child is having trouble consistently. If he is struggling to get his words out, then a speech and language evaluation may be warranted to rule out any serious problems. It will also answer any concerns that you may have.
For now, don't tell him to slow down or stop stuttering. Don't try to make your child aware that he is doing this because it can sometimes make things worse. Instead, allow your child time to get his words out, model a slower rate of speech when you are talking, and, if you have other children, make sure that you teach them to give each other "talking time." Sometimes siblings compete for speaking time with their parents and may unknowingly interrupt one another. Giving each of your children talking time will help decrease his demand to talk quickly to get his ideas across to you.
Mindy Hudon, M.S., CCC-SLP
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