Dear Dr. Sylvia,

Although I have been teaching for some time, I have not been associated with many speech-related problems. Since our son turned 3, my husband and I have noticed that he has been doing quite a bit of stuttering. At first, we would ask him to slow down and think about what he was saying. It seemed to work. Then my husband and I got concerned because it wasn't getting any better, so we started researching. Of course, everything we read said to do nothing.

My son loves to talk, and we try so hard to be patient with the stuttering, but at times that's very difficult to do. We feel as if his mind is just working faster than his mouth. There are times when there is no stuttering at all, especially when he is trying to really get our attention. For example, if he wants milk, he can very plainly say, "Daddy, may I have more milk please?" However, if he is trying to tell my husband something that happened that day, it is more like, "Dadadadadaddy, Jajajajajason wasn't atatatatat school today."

Because I'm a teacher, it's very important for me to handle this in the correct manner. If there is a major problem, we will certainly see a professional. What do you suggest?

The advice you've read about, to ignore the stuttering and patiently wait, is also the advice I would give at this age. Many children seem to stutter temporarily as they try to put complicated language together to communicate to parents and peers. However, if the stuttering continues for more than six months, I recommend you arrange for a speech evaluation. Your school district can provide that for you, and the speech pathologist can tell you if this problem is anything more than normal development.

I do know that teachers are often very sensitive about their own parenting skills and may feel as if they need to be super parents to prove they are also excellent teachers. Perhaps your best experience for teaching is to realize that parents don't need to be perfect. Your realistic expectations for your own children will help you to be more understanding of other parents.

Dr. Sylvia Rimm,Phd

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