The Child Who Stutters

Our first daughter spoke at a very early age and we were so proud of her that we frequently prodded her to repeat what she'd said earlier that day when she was with our relatives or friends. After a week or two of our showing her off, we noticed that she was having some trouble when she'd begin speaking.  There was a hesitation, and soon it appeared that something was BLOCKING her from speaking.  She was struggling to get the first sound out when she wanted to speak. I quickly realized that she was having the beginning of stuttering and I knew it was important to help her immediately so the problem didn't get worse, or permanent.

I found a guide for helping children with mild stuttering and followed its recommendations:

Try to model slow and relaxed speech when talking with your child, and encourage other family members to do the same.  Don't speak so slowly that it sounds abnormal, but keep it unhurried, with many pauses.  Children usually can't help from acting the way they see people close to them behaving.  So they will tend to imitate the slower, relaxed pace.

Slow and relaxed speech can be the most effective when combined with some time each day for the child to have one parent's undivided attention.  Set aside a few minutes at a regular time when all you plan is to listen to your child talk about whatever is on her mind.

When your child talks to you or asks you a question, try to pause a second or so before you answer.  This will help make talking to your child less hurried, more relaxed. (And the child will see that she, too, can take her time speaking when YOU are done.)

Try not to be upset or annoyed when stuttering increases.  Your child is doing his best as he copes with learning many new skills all at the same time. Your patient, accepting attitude will help him immensely.

DO NOT tell the child to "slow down" or "take your time". This will likely make him MORE upset by his trouble.  You can SHOW the child that they can slow down by patiently waiting  and listening to them and looking at their face with love.

Don't put the child on display where they must perform to show off under pressure.  Don't question them in a way that they must answer under pressure.

Make certain that when your child speaks to you, your focus is ONLY ON HIM.  The child should NOT have to compete with computers, phones, TV's, or newspapers for YOUR ATTENTION.  SHOW the child how important he and his ideas are to you.