Children Who Stutter Are In-Born?

December 4th, 2009 Posted in Anxiety and Depression

The National Stuttering Association calls stuttering a “debilitating handicap” affecting 4 million American families and 60 million households worldwide. “Classic stuttering is known as developmental stuttering and typically begins in early childhood [average ages 2 to 8] but sometimes sets in closer to adolescence,” explains Catherine S. Montgomery, executive director for the American Institute for Stuttering. “Acquired stuttering into teen years or adulthood is extremely rare and usually occurs because of some sort of brain trauma or injury [such as stroke or accident with head injury].” The best way to approach help for children who stutter is to catch the problem early-on and seek activities to help alleviate the slip-ups.

Parent reaction is particularly important in encouraging a child who stutters to speak more fluently. Sometimes it’s a knee-jerk reaction to correct people who stutter by interjecting the attempted word as it should be said. Other times, parents aren’t sure what to say and authoritatively command their kids to “think before speaking,” “focus and try again” or “slow down.” Unfortunately, these sentiments of disappointment or alarm can undermine a child’s self-confidence and create a flood of negative emotions that accompany the act of communication. In most cases, stuttering and anxiety go hand-in-hand. While younger children may be able to shrug it off, elementary school kids, teenagers and adults develop aversions and deep-seated insecurities associated with language that makes treatment more challenging. Therefore, it’s important that parents meet with local community support groups to learn more about childhood stuttering.

A great way to address children who stutter is to buy instructional booklets and coloring sheets that will help alleviate any anxiety or negative emotions that inevitably show up during speech lessons. There are several books available online, such as Sometimes I Just Stutter (www.stuttersfa.org/sijs/sijs.htm), Jeremy and the Hippo (www.mnsu.edu/comdis/ISAD3/papers/jeremybook/jeremy1.html), Boo Goodnight to Halloween (www.mnsu.edu/comdis/kuster/kids/boo/index.html), Angel Loves to Talk (www.interactivedesigns.org/nsa-caz/angel.pdf), More Friends for Jackson (www.interactivedesigns.org/nsa-caz/jackson.pdf), Funny Bunny’s Better Idea (www.mnsu.edu/comdis/kuster/TherapyWWW/funnybunny.pdf) and Our First Talk about Talking (www.mnsu.edu/comdis/kuster/TherapyWWW/ourfirsttalk.pdf). Speech problems often go away on their own if the child can maintain a normal level of self-confidence and simply work through difficult words or syllables.

Over at www.speechville.com/diagnosis-destinations/stuttering/books.html, there is a host of links directing parents of children who stutter to books, articles and movies aimed at stuttering treatments. For example, “Ben Has Something To Say” by Laurie Lears and Karen Ritz focuses on kids from 5-9, whereas “Fun With Fluency: Direct Therapy with the Young Child” by Patty Walton and Mary Wallace covers ages 2.5 to 7. For a scientific approach, try “A Handbook On Stuttering” by Oliver Bloodstein, which pledges to be “90% science and 10% therapy.” The Mary Marony series by Suzy Kline “portrays a seven-year-old girl who stutters” and finds a loving support network behind her. Taking a little bit of time to confront the speech problem will save a lot of frustration and self-esteem damage in the end.

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