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From: Dale Williams
Date: 10/13/00
Time: 10:02:09 AM
Remote Name: 131.91.248.210
Betty,
Your post struck a chord with me because I have a 2 yr, 4 mo old son who is also quite verbal (actually, he never shuts up). And I hear occasional disfluencies that make me nervous, e.g., yesterday he told me, "My my my my my my basketball is in the potty" (Don't ask). This is a multiple unit syllable repetition, a behavior consistent with incipient stuttering. Yet when I watch him do this, I can see the wheels turning in his little head as he tries to formulate the utterance as he speaks (not an easy task for a 2 y/o). In other words, I see the repetitions as a linguistic behavior. Still, while I do not think he is stuttering, I certainly intend to continue monitoring his speech.
So the bright side is that your daughter's behavior could be linguistic, as you suggest ("not being able to think of the word she wants to say right of way"). The other side is that moms are usually right when they suspect they hear something unusual. In order to help determine whether your daughter's behavior places her at-risk for stuttering, and whether you should seek help, it is really necessary to know what she is doing and how long it has been going on.
Dale