son repeats words and sentences

jackell

my son who 4 and half will repeat words and sentences in a whisper after he gets done saying them.even when I answer questons for him he repeat what i said.noticed this gradually over last 6 weeks but in last 2 weeks he doing it all the time.Has anyone any insight into this

thanks

Zynks

Maybe he is a perfectionist and is repeating to check if it sounds right. Kids tend to adopt unusual learning techniques. My 3 1/2 boy keeps repeating sentences to himself when he is alone. In any case I wouldn't draw his attention to it so it does turn into an issue.

Having said that, there is something called dysfluency characterised by the repetition of sounds, words, or phrases after age 4. This is supposed to be easy to handle with some good guidance.

Dysfluency has many different levels, with stuttering being the most extreme, and repetition of words and sentences being one of the mildest. All of them are common and in most cases temporary. They are part of learning to handle more complex sentences and communications requirements. I suggest you research a bit about dysfluency.

From my research, there are differing views about how to handle it. Many experts consider sentence repetition a "normal dysfluency" which, when handled correctly, disappears after three months or so. Others think a language therapist should be engaged - I personally am inclined to give my children a chance to handle their learning process for a while before engaging an army of expensive specialists.

What I suggest also is to not make the child feel pressurised in any way about his speech. Make him feel he can take as long as he needs to express him self.