Stuttering | ADHD Information

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I don't believe this problem disappears entirely when ds in on meds.  It just seems to improve slightly.  I should have mentioned that I did give ds meds this morning as we had to go somewhere together that would require him to sit still.  It was during this time that I noticed his speech process was not really all that different to when he is not on meds.

My husband is not my son's real father.  The biological father does not have ADHD, however personality disorders were prevalent.  There has been no contact with him for 7½ years.

My son (8 yrs old) is currently on holiday from school.  I am not medicating him during this time.  I noticed months ago that he battles to process his thoughts and verbalize them clearly at the same time and ends up stuttering - not in the conventional sense but he will say a word over and over until he seems to be able construct the actual sentence.  Or start the sentence over a couple of times before being able to complete it.  It seemed to improve for a time but now that I am spending the entire day with him I have noticed just how bad it is.  Poor child has also become aware of it and frustrated and worried. 

It is probably because he is not on meds at the moment.  What angers me is that my husband refuses to understand and makes fun of him when it happens.  All this does is make the child feel as though he is stupid.  I am so tired from trying to boost his confidence after things like this happen. 

I have spoken with my husband on numerous occasions but I just get the same old thing that I blame everything on my son's ADHD.

Sorry ... I rambled away from the stuttering.  Anyway - thanks for letting me talk.

I would take your husband aside and tell him how much it hurts you and how sad it makes you feel when he does this to your son. Ask him if he will please try to change this behavior out of his love for you, even if he doesn't think it is a problem.

In my book, he's handing out emotional and verbal abuse - and bullying. Protect your child's heart. AmyLee, does your child have any other language difficulties?  How are his reading and writing skills?  The kind of stuttering you describe is indicative of dyslexia.  Do you have any other reasons to suspect dyslexia?

AmyLee,

I'll give an example of difficulties the dyslexic child may have with speech, and you can tell me if this is what you are hearing with your son:

"I went to the store, and I saw a, uh, uh, whatchamacallit, a, a, uh,"

"You saw a stereo?"

"Yeah!  I went to the store, and I saw a stereo. A stereo.  It had um, um, spakers."

"Speakers?"

"Right.  Spakers.  I mean, uh, speakers.  Speakers.  Speakers.  Yes, it had speakers."

Is this the kind of stuttering you are talking about?  The dyslexic child may hit his hand on his head, light up when he finds the right word, or stick his tongue out and give an exhausted expression, when speaking like this, too.  Another speech problem that is extremely common with dyslexics is an articulation disorder. 

lillian38812.5362615741

That sounds like real stuttering to me.  How do you see it as being different?

Well, I don't know if I saw it as being different, it's just that rather than stuttering on the actual start of the word, he just seems to be drawing the word out a lot.  (Although that is part of stuttering isn't it?)

He is starting play therapy soon.  I shall ask his doc to check this out again.

Thanks again for your support.

Yeah, it sounds like it could be real stuttering.  If it is, your husband criticizing it will only make it worse.  Anxiety and stress are two big triggers.Amylee, the next time your husband teases your son about this, give dh a great big kick in the pants!  JMHO If my husband ridiculed one of my kids for stuttering, he'd find his luggage on the lawn. Aside from that, stuttering is a speech disorder. My oldest stuttered and went for speech in school and it really improved. He doesn't stutter anymore. If his stepfather is very hard on him in all areas of life he could be reacting to stress too. And it's not the child's fault or something he can control. [QUOTE=AmyLee]

 he will say a word over and over until he seems to be able construct the actual sentence.  Or start the sentence over a couple of times before being able to complete it.

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I know what you're talking about and see the same speech patterns in my 9 year old ds.  He started "stuttering" in kindergarten and at first we figured it was anxiety relating to the complaints about his behavior.  Really though, he seems to have so much to say and will begin to say something repeatedly (sometimes in several different ways) before he gets his thought out.  He just has trouble organizing his thoughts and seems to assume that we know what's going on in his head.  He'll leave out important pieces of information.  He has similar problems with trying to write out a coherent paragraph.  It's all about recognizing what info is important to get his thoughts across and how to organize that info. 

My dh remebers having similar problems as a child and trained himself to overcome the problem.  My dh said he got up in front of his class for public speaking as often as he could so he could "practice" getting his point across.  While he recongnizes the difficulties my ds has, my dh also thinks I blame everything on ADHD.

I think if you speak to dh and help him to understand how the problem effects your ds that he might be a little more sympathetic.  ADHD doesn't even have to come into the conversation.  Just remind him that everybody has strengths and weaknesses...we are all good at some things and bad at others.  Your ds just has a little trouble communicating right now but it is something that can improve in time with some support and guidance.
  I know what you are trying to say -- our son doesn't stutter at all in the "conventional" sense, but it's almost as if his brain is moving faster than his lips and tongue can!  He is in speech therapy, by the way, and I think that is helping some.  Sometimes I can see the wheels in his head turning and he is just trying to let it all spill out at once (but it obviously cannot!).  I make sure and let him complete his thoughts w/o trying to put words in his mouth or hurry him along and definitely NO making fun of it at all!  In fact, we just alltogether ignore that it is even taking him longer to get his thoughts out.

Hi Lillian.  No, my son does not have dyslexia.  He underwent a complete battery of tests late last year and scored highly in most academic fields.  His reading and writing are above average.  He scored highly for verbal communication skills on his report card - but that was last year.  Hearing and eyesight are also perfect.  (Emotional scores were very low though).

Something about the word articulate stands out for me though.  He doesn't seem to be able to "articulate" himself very well.

An example.  "I-I-I s a a a w the shi i i i i p ship shi i p today"  He seems to draw words out a lot.

I appreciate the input

 

Amy,

My son also stutters...I had him tested and the speech path said it was a "mild stutter" and that he did not qualify for treatment at this time....my son repeats the last word of a sentence I think it is because he is thinking so fast

I am keeping my eye on the stutter and will have him evaluated again next year if it gets worse.

FYI...I noticed more stuttering this evening as his meds was wearing off

Thank you so much to everybody for understanding.  I am mostly just so relieved to hear everyone verbalize exactly what seems to be happening to ds.  I also just ride it out while he tries to collect his thoughts ....... I will have to switch my efforts to getting dh to do the same.  Ask your husband if he wants your sons stuttering to become worse.  Because he is making it worse by not being patient with him.  He needs education, and respect for his child.  Sorry but like alot of moms here it made me cringe to hear what he's doing.  I've had to kick my hubbie in the pants a few times too so don't feel too bad.  We all know how frustrating our kids can be, and how easy it is to turn into a child again when we react to them.  Good Luck.My three kids (one is ADHD others not) have all gone through some periods of stuttering, repeating the  beginning of the sentence or being completely stuck.  It all appeared to be related to the wheels spinning faster than the mouth can get it out.  Ds ADHD in particular had a lot of trouble at 9-10yrs in having the idea in his head and not being able to say anything.  His rate of speech on meds is slower and obviously more thoughtful than off.  Off meds he is quicker more impulsive in comments.  My youngest  (14yr.ds) seems to repeat half of a sentence about three times while he is thinking of other things.  If I mention that he has already said that three times, then he quickly gets to the point.  Usually we just wait it out.         

Good job, AmyLee!

Seems as though there might be some progress.  I mentioned the stuttering at the doctor's today.  My husband was with (which is rare) but just sat in the background.  Fortunately he respects and has known this doctor for years (one of my reasons for using him today ).  Anyway, the doctor nodded about the stuttering and made some positive (and obvious) comments as to why it was probably happening.

Not a word from my husband for the rest of the day - and ds truly didn't stop chattering (or stuttering) ... and not one word.

Bliss!  My son's eyes are shining!

Hallo, new in this forum.

Have a girl 9 year old, asumed ADHD not on the meds, YET.

Last year she did the same thing,  a kind of stuttering but not a real one. It sound like : Mom, buy..buy..buy.. me a something; or I want you..you..you .. something just like she think faster then she can say a phrase.

We talk about, and have a deal: anytime she stuttered I gave her a specific LOOK so only she know that means THINK THEN SAY.

We need a month or so, then "stuttering" was gone.

 

P.S. English is not my mother language so sorry if I spell wrong.

Amy, you are a smart woman!! And a good mother.

My dad stuttered as a child and was teased by kids all the time.  He was chased by bullies each day after school and he ran all the way home to avoid them. It breaks my heart to think of my dad having to go through this as a child or any child for that matter.

A teacher in high school took my dad aside and helped him slow his speech down.  My dad quit stuttering after working with this teacher.  I don't know if he had special training or anything, but my dad does not stutter now, so I know that some stuttering can be worked with.

Good luck to you.