Are you concerned that your child is stuttering?
Do you want to do something, yet worry that it will make your child more self conscious and stutter even more?
Here are some tips from a speech therapist with more than 27 years’ experience helping children or adults with stuttering…
1. Model, and speak slowly and fluently yourself.
Don’t just tell your child to slow down- slow down your own speech…(and you will find that changing your habit takes effort too!)
2. Make it okay, not taboo to talk about stuttering.
You can’t change what you don’t identify. That does not mean you have to be negative about it.You can talk about stuttering in a non-judgemental tone. Use words your child will understand (e.g. ‘got stuck’, ‘trip over the word’ ‘bumpy sentence’ etc)
3. Prevent potential stuttering
Preventing a stutter is better than trying to correct it after it has happened. Remind your child to slow down if he looks like he is rushing, or trying to say a long word or sentence and may stutter.
4. Show your child what to say where necessary…
… so that she doesn’t have to struggle with finding the correct vocabulary, or struggle with putting her idea into a sentence.
5. Show him that he can develop control over how he talks…
Experiment with talking loudly, softly; quickly, slowly; using different story character ‘voices’.
Your child will develop better awareness and control of his speech and learn to talk more fluently without stuttering.
6. Give your child positive feedback when she is talking fluently.
Don’t just notice the stuttering.. Bring your child’s attention to times when she is fluent. “Wow, you managed to say such a long word!” “Yes, you sound like you are excited, I am glad you told me about it!”
7. Demonstrate how it’s okay to correct your own speech, or to make mistakes when learning something new…
“Oops I have to say it again, that’s okay, I meant ..””Oh that was hard for me, I’ll try again..”
8. Help your child improve speech muscle co-ordination…
Read rhymes or tongue twisters together; use rhymes in everyday speech, “See you later, alligator” “easy-peasy-lemon-squeasy” etc.If your child can read, encourage himto read aloud as much as possible,rather than reading silently.
9. You don’t have to feel frustrated or helpless. Seek help from a speech therapist.
Research has established that stuttering is not a psychological disorder.. It is not an IQ or intelligence issue..
… It is a neuro-motor speech disorder, or difficulty with the physical co-ordination of the speech muscles. A speech therapist is professionally trained to help your child to stop stuttering.
Seek help early so that your child can stop stuttering and speak confidently.
If you like this post, please Like and Share with your friends! Thank you very much.