Best Way to Interact with a Stuttering Child
Statistics suggest that stuttering (also known as stammering) occurs in approximately 4 percent of all children, although this figure drops to about 1 percent by the time they reach adulthood. The onset of stuttering is usually between the ages of two and eight years. Encouragingly, most childhood stutters spontaneously disappear without any additional help—approximately 75 percent of stutters have grown out of this speech difficulty by the time they reach the age of five or six years.
A stutter usually develops gradually, building up slowly until the child’s parents suddenly realize that this has become part of their child’s speech pattern. Stutters also fluctuate in intensity, perhaps being extremely noticeable one week, virtually nonexistent the next, then returning with great severity soon after that. The main forms of stuttering are repetition of the initial sounds of a word, repetition of the first syllable of a word, or repetition of the entire word at the start of a sentence (or even midway through it). Less commonly, a child who stutters might repeat a phrase of two or three words, or may extend the initial sound of a word. Whatever the nature of your child’s stutter, your child almost certainly will be embarrassed by it, perhaps to the point where she will avoid speaking to anyone else apart from you.
Here are some suggestions for interacting with a stuttering child:
- Never make fun of your child. This form of verbal abuse increases the child’s anxiety, thereby indirectly increasing the rate of stuttering. A stuttering child stutters more frequently when anxious. She cannot be cajoled or teased into shedding her stutter.
- Let your child speak. Listening to a stuttering child can be very frustrating, because you probably anticipate accurately what she wants to say to you. But give her time, let her say what she wants to say, and don’t guess the missing word for her.
- Don’t correct your child. Once your child has said the word, encouraging her to repeat it properly without stuttering has no benefit. The correction focuses attention on her previous errors, and makes her feel even more self-conscious about them.
- Slow down your child’s speech. You’ll find that when your child speaks more slowly, the rate of stuttering decreases. So calm your child down, encourage her to talk slowly to you, and try to keep her relaxed. This creates a calm atmosphere that helps her.
- Observe your child. Make a note of the times when your child stutters most, and try to identify a common link between them. You may discover that she stutters most when, say, she goes to a party. In that case, make a special point of calming your child before she attends.
Chances are, your child’s speech difficulty will clear up spontaneously. However, if you are concerned, seek advice from a speech and language therapist, who is professionally trained to help children overcome a stutter.
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