What might stammering look like in a child who is under 5 years?

The guidance below has been written to support you in recognising the characteristics of stammering in a pre-school-aged child. If you think a child in your early years setting may be stammering, or you are not sure, it’s important to seek guidance from a Speech and Language Therapist. 

Putting support in place early on leads to the best outcomes. Speak with the child’s parent/carer if you think it might be helpful to refer to speech and language therapy. You can ask the person responsible for Special Educational Needs within your workplace setting about the local Speech and Language Therapy service for your area or get in touch with the Support Hub Advisor for more support. 

When does stammering usually begin?

Stammering usually begins in the early years - between the ages of 2 and 5 years of age - when children are rapidly developing spoken language. For some, stammering may begin later in their childhood.

As you may have noticed in your own work, the speech of any young child is never fluent all of the time, and they typically experience a normal, short phase during the development of spoken language in which they may:

• Repeat whole words and phrases;
• Hesitate and use fillers such as “um” and “er”;
• Rephrase their sentences.

The above are known as ‘typical dysfluencies’, and are considered to be different to the characteristics which would be classed as stammering. These typical dysfluencies tend to sound easy to the child, occur occasionally and do not cause them distress or frustration.

Characteristics of stammering in Pre-school aged children

Characteristics that you might see or hear when a pre-school child is speaking and which may indicate that they have developed a stammer include:

• Repeating speech sounds (for example, “p-p-p-play”)
• Stretching sounds (e.g. "sssssoft")
• Stopping or ‘blocking’ speech sounds – this is where the child is not able to produce certain sounds with ease (the sound almost gets stuck)
• Visible tension in their face, breathing and body
• Appearing frustrated or upset when speaking

Remember - it is the role of speech and language therapists to identify and diagnose childhood stammering. 

We’re here to help with any questions you have about stammering or about accessing professional support for a child you work with. Please do get in touch with our Support Hub Advisor.