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Advice for parents who have children who stutter

by Heather Craven (Subscribe to Heather Craven's posts)
Aug 1st 2006 3:00PM

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Filed under: Development/Milestones: Babies

Stuttering is an involuntary repetition or extension of certain sounds that can be triggered by genetics, other speech disorders, stress and neurophysiologic abnormalities. The Stuttering Foundation recently offered a few suggestions to the parents of children who stutter:
  • Speak slowly and clearly to your child.
  • Try to convey in your facial expressions and other body language that you are patient and listening to what she has to say, not to his or her stutter.
  • Let your child speak freely, and comment when necessary on what he or she has to say.
  • Have quiet time alone with your child each day, without interruptions or distractions. Having your undivided attention will help build your child confidence and encourage her to talk freely.
  • You and other family members should be conscientious about not interrupting, but listening carefully. Everyone should talk in turn, and not rush others.
Try not to be critical of your child, and be sure he or she knows that you support and accept the child's speech difficulties. These may not be all that useful to readers with babies, but who knows: they may prove useful as your child learns to speak and communicate.

Tags: interrupting, listening, speech development, Speech problems, SpeechDevelopment, SpeechProblems, Stuttering Foundation, StutteringFoundation

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