North-East London

Tel : 07775 684 478

email : corinne@cantalkltd.co.uk

 

Help for Children Who Stammer

What we know about stammering

  • Parents do not cause stammering
  • Many children grow out of stammering
  • Stammering often runs in families
  • Stammering is more common in boys
  • Treatment is most effective in younger children

What is Stammering / Stuttering?

Stammering or stuttering as it is also known is a difficulty with the fluency of speech. It typically starts between the ages of two to four years and can begin very suddenly or gradually.

About one in 20 children will stammer at some stage and this can be a very worrying time for parents.

If your child is stammering, they might be repeating words or the first sound of a word e.g. m-m-m-mummy or prolonging a sound such as mmmmmmmummy or they might be blocking where their speech is very tense and effortful.

Sometimes children might also do other things when they stammer such as blinking or stamping their foot.

As children get older, they might start to avoid speaking or saying certain words for fear of stammering.

Specialist Stammering Assessment

This includes the gathering of information about your child’s stammering and general communication skills through discussion with you, observation of your child and structured assessment if appropriate. This will enable us to jointly decide whether some speech therapy would be beneficial at this stage.

Therapy

Therapy is tailored to meet your child’s needs based on assessment findings. I will work with you and your child directly to help to achieve the best outcome for his / her speech.

The Lidcombe Program of Early Stuttering Intervention

The Lidcombe Program is a highly effective treatment for younger children who stammer.

It is a behavioural approach that has been well researched.

Therapy is conducted by the parents not the speech and language therapist. My role is to teach you how to carry out the treatment with your child in your everyday environment.

During Stage One of the program, we work together on a weekly basis to help your child become fluent. In Stage Two, we meet less frequently as we work on maintaining your child’s fluent speech.