What Should I Do if My Child is Stuttering?
Three Steps to Get You Started With Speech-Language Therapy for Stuttering
First, find the right therapist
The speech-language therapy profession is a big tent. Us therapists are trained to treat close to 20 different types of communication and swallowing disorders (from late talking, to feeding, to brain injury rehab and so on). Some therapists develop into a jack-of-all-trades, while others prefer to specialize in one area.
Fluency, or disfluency (aka stuttering), is an area that lends itself well to specialization. It is unique from other types of communication disorders, mostly because there is a large psychological component to the experience of a person who stutters, and to the intervention that is required. It’s special, and those who dedicate their practice to it are very good at what they do.
Next, consider your child’s age
IIntervention for stuttering is very different for toddlers and preschoolers, than it is for older children and adults. There is a period in a child’s early development, between ages 1-3 years, when it is common to have what we call “typical disfluency”. You may recognize this when you think about how young children speak. There is often a lot of repetition, or pausing. For instance: “I I I I….want…some!”; One might also hear “sound prolongations”. For instance: “shhhhhhe took it from me!”. Oftentimes children grow out of this bumpy speech phase, however if this is particularly pronounced, if it creates an emotional challenge for your child, or you have a family history of stuttering, it is best to chat with an expert about it. Stuttering intervention for children in this age range is about prevention of persistent stuttering, supporting their emotional experience, and training their caregivers in the best ways to communicate with them.
For children older than 4 or 5, and especially those in later elementary school or adolescence, a stutter is most likely what we call “a true disfluency”, in that it is not a temporary phase, but a feature of their communication patterns. Therapy for children in this age range is about mitigation- reducing the intensity or frequency of disfluencies, as well as fostering self-awareness, self-advocacy and providing emotional support.
Then, learn the basic principles of stuttering support
“When My Child Is Stuck, Should I Give Them The Word?”
As empathetic beings, the pull to help someone who is struggling to communicate, or the discomfort you feel as a listener in those moments is universal and normal. The best ways to support a person who is stuttering are less instinctive. This is why a large component to speech-therapy programs for disfluency is the education and training of a person’s key communication partners (e.g., parents, siblings, grandparents, teachers). A supportive communication partner can change the game for a child who is stuttering.
Here are some do’s and don’ts for parents of children who stutter:
Do not chime in with the word your child is stuck on, it creates a negative psychological experience for them
Do wait and listen patiently. Try not to show physical signs of discomfort
Don’t add unnecessary pressure to a situation by trying to rush them while they are stuttering, or making comments like “spit it out”
Do learn ways (with your speech therapist) to speak plainly about stuttering, and to normalize it within your household. This will look different depending on your child’s age.
Do not avoid talking about it with your child. We don’t want them to feel like it is the elephant in the room.
Do educate yourself and your extended family about stuttering. Your speech therapist will help.
Do seek emotional support. Parenting a child through a struggle is really hard. For some children, stuttering is pronounced and difficult to ease. It can trigger feelings of shame and pain for both the child who is stuttering, and for those that love them most. The way we respond to anyone who is stuttering comes from our place of emotional charge. It is best to explore your experience as a parent with your own psychological support system.
Therapy for Stuttering Foundations with BKST
At Brooklyn Speech Therapy we aim to provide gold standard intervention for all families. If we do not have a fluency specialist available when you call us, we offer two options. One is a referral: We can help you find one.
The other option we offer is Fluency Foundations. This introductory program for disfluency is designed for:
The mitigation of persistent stuttering in children under the age of four years
The basics of stuttering education and fluency shaping strategies for older children.
No matter your child’s age, our programming centers heavily around training parents and caregivers to be the best support they can be to their children.