Add to Technorati Favorites

Site menu:

Recent Posts

Meta

Site search

Categories

September 2010
M T W T F S S
« Aug    
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
27282930  

Tags

How To Cope With Child Stuttering

Childhood stuttering can leave young kids feeling frustrated, nervous and self-conscious. Attending speech/stuttering therapy sometimes reinforces the idea that they are somehow “different” or “defective.” They may truly want to read, communicate their thoughts and feel confident, but their occasional problem with stuttering undermines their every move. Parents face a different set of challenges when dealing with child stuttering. They may be conflicted between seeking out early intervention and letting the problem disappear on its own. They may also suffer from some sort of misguided guilt, mistakenly believing that they must be bad parents to produce a child who stutters.

Stammering stuttering is a common type of disfluency that most kids have at some point while growing up and learning their words. Some stuttering in childhood is in the form of stop-and-go speak patterns or periods of quick speech followed by breathlessness. Their little brains seem to be working much faster than their mouths, causing a hodge-podge of verbiage to come spilling out. Some children may begin to stutter in nerve-wracking situations, such as before auditioning for a play, when asking someone on a date or if caught in a lie. Other times, a person who stutters may interject too many “ums,” “likes” or “uhs.” Usually, the stuttering speech disorder clears up or only emerges on rare occasion. However, a child who stutters for more than a few months may be in need of greater attention.

Occasional stuttering is common in kids ages 3-8, but there are other signs of child stuttering that may require parental intervention. For instance, a child may need a stuttering/speech program if he or she stutters in over half of all sentences, repeating each syllable 4 to 5 times and experiencing blockages where he or she cannot produce a sound. Stuttering often resolves itself within a few months, but in some cases, frustration and disappointment can lead to a continued slump of disfluency. Knowing what to do when a child is struggling can be the best help for a stuttering problem, experts say.

At home, parents can encourage an end to child stuttering by listening carefully and patiently to what the child is trying to say. Parents should never interject the predicted words the child is attempting to pronounce, or command the child to “speak clearly” or “slow down.” Household rules should be that everyone waits for each other to finish speaking before saying something, which will take some of the fast-talking pressure off the child. Another rule should be that no one is allowed to tease the child who has the problem stutter, as this will undermine his or her confidence. Most importantly, the child must feel loved and accepted, as this will balance out the lost esteem and self-consciousness that come along with stuttering.

Jeremy Larson is a foremost expert in the acid reflux medication. He has had extensive experience and conducted countless experiments in finding its cure. He is also a highly acclaimed writer in the medical field and you can find out more at remedyforacidreflux.com.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Write a comment