Slow Down, Breathe, Take Your Time ….
People who stutter face a lot of stress when speaking. Most of the time they are nervous because of the embarrassment. We think we’re helping when we are telling them to slow down, breathe, take your time, and think about what you’re trying to say. We are actually doing the opposite! We are putting more stress on the person who stutters. The best way we can help a person who stutters is to LISTEN!! Don’t try to finish their sentences or give advice. Be patient with the person, maintain eye contact, and most importantly LISTEN carefully.
It’s important to remember that young children have normal disfluencies during the time when they are starting to develop more advance language. How can you tell if your child has normal disfluencies or if they are truly stuttering? See chart below.
Typical Disfluency
Stuttering
Speech Characteristics
• Multisyllabic whole-word and phrase repetitions
• Interjections
• Revisions
Speech Characteristics
• Sound or syllable repetitions
• Prolongations
• Blocks
Other Behaviors
• No physical tension or struggle
• No secondary behaviors
• No negative reaction or frustration
• No family history of stuttering
Other Behaviors
• Associated physical tension or struggle
• Secondary behaviors (e.g., eye blinks, facial grimacing,
• changes in pitch or loudness)
• Negative reaction or frustration
• Avoidance behaviors (e.g., reduced verbal output or word/
• situational avoidances)
• Family history of stuttering
**Coleman, C. (2013). How can you tell if childhood stuttering is the real deal? Available from http://blog.asha.org/2013/09/26/how-can-you-tell-if-childhood-stuttering-is-the-real-deal/
If you have a child who stutters, locate a speech language pathologist in your area and have your child evaluated. It’s ok to seek help. Educating yourself is the best way to help your child.
Remember the most important way you can help a child who stutters, LISTEN CAREFULLY!
For more information regarding stuttering and ways you can help your child visit: www.westutter.org.
-Jennifer Henderson, M.S. CCC-SLP
**If you have any concerns with your child’s speech, language, and/or feeding development, please contact Sidekick Therapy Partners at (865) 693-5622. We have a team of experienced speech-language pathologists that would love to meet with you and discuss options for your child. **