"Look at th-th-this!" Four-year-old Tony ran to show his teacher the airplane he'd made of locking blocks. "It has th-th-three seats, um-um two wings and it can f-fly."
"Slow down," his teacher said. "Think about what you want to say." She admired the plane, but inwardly she wondered if Tony was beginning to stutter. He'd spoken normally up until two months ago. Suddenly he seemed to be thinking faster than his mouth could talk or talking faster than he could think.
As children learn to walk, they often stumble and fall. We expect and accept that. While they're learning to talk, they often go through periods of "stumbling" or "tripping" while talking. These are like speed bumps in the child's talking. They often occur when he is excited or talking rapidly. This slows his speech, but also robs it of smoothness.
What Causes Stuttering?
Talking requires timing skills and the coordination of the many small muscles of the lips and tongue. Young children are beginners at talking. They are learning new words at a rapid rate, and sometimes it's difficult for them to coordinate their thoughts, their muscles and their timing. So many children have periods of stuttering from time to time. Most children grow through this with no additional problems, but for others, the periods of stuttering increase over time.
Signs Of Stuttering:
"Children who stutter seem to have special problems getting words started, and many of these disruptions occur at the beginning of sentences," Dr. Richard F. Curlee of the University of Arizona's Speech and Hearing Sciences Department said. "When they stutter, they also tend to repeat parts of words like sounds or syllables rather than whole words or phrases. And they frequently repeat those portions of words two or more times before they are able to say what they want."
Some children give exaggerated, prolonged stress to a sound in a word. Some seem to be stuck with no sound or word coming out. Some seem to work very hard at speaking and others look away just as their speech is disrupted. All of these are signs of stuttering.
If a child exhibits these behaviors over a period of time and in a variety of speaking situations, encourage parents to consider having him tested by a speech and language pathologist (SLP), preferably one who specializes in stuttering. A pediatrician can help parents find a qualified SLP.
You Can Help
If a child is having problems with speech fluency, NEVER tell him to slow down and think about what he's saying. That just calls more attention to his speech and the added stress is likely to worsen things. Instead be a model for slow speech. Pause a few seconds before responding to him. This will give the excited child cues for becoming calm.
Speak slowly, pausing between your words and speak in short, simple sentences. Again, your slow speech helps slow down the child's impulses.
Listen to and respond to what the child is saying, not the way he is saying it.
Never finish a child's sentences. That gives the message that he isn't talking fast enough, and instead of slowing his speech, he'll make unsuccessful efforts to talk faster.
Stuttering Is Not A Handicap
Twenty-five percent of all children go through a stage of development during which they stutter. About 5% of children are likely to stutter for several months or more at some time during their lives, and 75% of these are male. But stuttering doesn't have to limit a person's likelihood of success. Winston Churchill, Sir. Isaac Newton, King George VI, Bruce Willis, Carly Simon, Bob Love and James Earle Jones are people who have achieved greatness despite stuttering.
The Stuttering Foundation of America (1-800-992-9392) provides information to parents and teachers of children who stutter. They can also tell you the name of a near-by SLP who specializes in stuttering.
Things That Help
1. Provide a calmer, less-hurried life style in the child care setting and at home.
2. Speak less hurriedly when talking to the child.
3. Allow the child to finish his thoughts.
4. Pause a second or so before responding to the child's questions or comments.
5. Advise parents to turn off the television and radio during dinner time; this is a time for family conversation, not listening to television or radio programs.
6. If a child begins to talk to you while you are doing things that require concentration (for example, driving a car, using a knife to cut vegetables) tell him that you can't look at him right now but that you are listening to him and that he has your attention.
Printed with permission of the Stuttering Foundation of America; PO Box 11749; Memphis, TN 38111-0749
Things that Hinder
1. Finishing the child's sentences.
2. Rushing the child to finish his thoughts or sentences.
3. Interrupting the child while he is talking.
4. Encouraging or requiring him to talk rapidly, precisely and maturely at all times.
5. Frequently correcting, criticizing, or trying to change the way he talks, or pronounces sounds or words.
6. Speaking to the child using a rapid rate of speech, especially when telling him to slow down his own rate of speaking.
7. Maintaining an overly rapid lifestyle within the child care setting or the home (or constantly feeling or acting as if "everything had to be done yesterday").
8. Making him give little speeches, plays or read aloud in front of friends, relatives or neighbors.
Printed with permission of the Stuttering Foundation of America; PO Box 11749; Memphis, TN 38111-0749