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Episode 4: Helping the School Aged Child Who Stutters
Lori Melnitsky starts the episode by explaining that school children have different types of stutters that range from mild to extreme. It is firstly important to recognize if the stutter is mild or extreme, so it can be determined whether it needs immediate intervention or wait for a few months before intervening. Stutter may be progressive or sudden. Some children might go through a disfluent period of speaking. It is also not unusual for disfluencies to be apparent and then to go away for a period of weeks or months only to come back again. While helping a stuttering child, Each person who stutters will have a different surface behavior and degree of difficulty with their speech so, it is important to remember that each child may need a different solution to help them.
Parents should consult speech pathologists who specialize in stuttering and give their children enough time to practice speaking. The speech pathologist will not only treat the child but also help on training the parents to recognize the stutter and to hold conversations that aid the treatment. Children and adults who stutter also frequently experience psychological, emotional, social, and functional consequences from their stuttering, including social anxiety, a sense of loss of control, and negative thoughts or feelings about themselves or about communication which is why therapy must be positive—it should make them feel empowered to speak for themselves.
Highlights:
• Children are often forced into therapy by parents or schools, which makes it harder to treat. Parents should not force their children into therapy; instead, they should meet a specialist to help children make informed decisions.
• Due to various hormonal changes, older children might need to be in therapy for longer.
• The goal of speech therapy is to speak more naturally. This goal is best achieved through informal practice with family members.
• All children with stutters do not achieve fluency. They may not want to change their speaking style or
• Children should be told that stuttering is okay, and be given examples of people who stutter. These examples may include celebrities like George Springer, a famous baseball player.
• Therapy should be evidence-based, and should not take a child’s voice. They should be empowered and encouraged to speak for themselves.
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By Lori Melnitsky
5
1212 ratings
Lori Melnitsky starts the episode by explaining that school children have different types of stutters that range from mild to extreme. It is firstly important to recognize if the stutter is mild or extreme, so it can be determined whether it needs immediate intervention or wait for a few months before intervening. Stutter may be progressive or sudden. Some children might go through a disfluent period of speaking. It is also not unusual for disfluencies to be apparent and then to go away for a period of weeks or months only to come back again. While helping a stuttering child, Each person who stutters will have a different surface behavior and degree of difficulty with their speech so, it is important to remember that each child may need a different solution to help them.
Parents should consult speech pathologists who specialize in stuttering and give their children enough time to practice speaking. The speech pathologist will not only treat the child but also help on training the parents to recognize the stutter and to hold conversations that aid the treatment. Children and adults who stutter also frequently experience psychological, emotional, social, and functional consequences from their stuttering, including social anxiety, a sense of loss of control, and negative thoughts or feelings about themselves or about communication which is why therapy must be positive—it should make them feel empowered to speak for themselves.
Highlights:
• Children are often forced into therapy by parents or schools, which makes it harder to treat. Parents should not force their children into therapy; instead, they should meet a specialist to help children make informed decisions.
• Due to various hormonal changes, older children might need to be in therapy for longer.
• The goal of speech therapy is to speak more naturally. This goal is best achieved through informal practice with family members.
• All children with stutters do not achieve fluency. They may not want to change their speaking style or
• Children should be told that stuttering is okay, and be given examples of people who stutter. These examples may include celebrities like George Springer, a famous baseball player.
• Therapy should be evidence-based, and should not take a child’s voice. They should be empowered and encouraged to speak for themselves.