How To Help Child Who Stutters
Q: Is there a way to get special education when the school says certain programs have been cut? My 8-year-old daughter stutters and I need tips and advice from other parents on the best way to help her but do not earn very much as a single mom.Stuttering is a complex speech problem. It can be very episodic and situational. Many school therapists (usually the administrators) set criteria that don't work with stuttering (i.e., to be seen for services, a child must exhibit five disfluencies per minute). A child who stutters in some situations may not stutter at all in a testing environment, or may not talk as much or even change words when they expect to stutter which may camouflage the problem. Stuttering is both a physical and mechanical issue (the actual disfluencies or struggle to get the words out) may be perpetuated or worsened at some point by the person's emotional reactions (beliefs, attitudes and expectations). Start by consulting with the following websites and organizations that provide great information. Call hospital speech departments and ask for specialists in your area that they refer patients. Here are three resources: Stuttering Foundation of America, (800) 992-9392, www.stutteringhelp.org National Stuttering Association, (800) 937-8888, www.westutter.org, and www.stutteringhomepage.org. - Bonnie McKenzie M.S., CCC-SLP, Speech Pathologist/Fluency Specialist, in St. Louis, MO
My father had a very severe stuttering problem as a child and going into young adulthood. The doctor at the time told his mother to make him sing his questions and answers around the house and to keep it up daily. He also suggested that the family help by singing as well, rather than using speech. The reason for this is that most individuals don't stutter when they sing. I did not know that my father stuttered. The singing worked. At least have her practice the "singing system" and see if it helps. - Maureen Coleman in London, Ontario, Canada
From Jodie: Because of the age of your daughter, it is probably going to be harder to correct the challenge as it has already developed into a habit, as well as any physical inhibitors that have set in. As far as singing goes, to this day, experts on stuttering have been perplexed with it. In fact, even during whispering, the stuttering may disappear. While filling in for a teacher who was on maternity leave, I was honored to work with a couple of kids who stuttered. I was told by the school therapist that when an individual whispers, no vocal sound is produced and there is no flow of sounds that can stop, which causes the person to stutter. When a person sings, it is a different pressure behind the "outflowing breath stream," and is stronger and firmer, proving to have less of a tendency for the flow to stop.
There are organizations beyond school that should be able to help and some things you can do at home that might help (and a possibility of even correcting it). Check out the websites listed above for helpful information. The Stuttering Foundation of America, has a really neat CD, For Kids By Kids, that your daughter would probably really enjoy.
The president, Jane H. Fraser, is extremely dedicated in the work of the foundation and helping anyone with challenges in stuttering. See www.stutteringhelp.com for details; call (800) 992-9392, and ask for any free material and how to order the CD.
Can you help?
I have a 9-year-old son who has Attention Deficient Disorder and really needs extra time on most school projects. Someone told me that by law, teachers' are supposed to allow children who have this disability extra time in class on projects, reading, math and for homework. How would I find this out?
© 2006 Jodie Lynn
Please share your tips and help other parents. Send them - or other parenting questions - to: Parent to Parent, 2464 Taylor Rd. Suite 131, Wildwood, MO 63040. Send e-mail to: here or through the ParentToParent.com website. Jodie Lynn's latest book is Mom CEO (Chief Everything Officer) - Having, Doing, and Surviving It All!, (Stacey Kannenberg Unlimited, an imprint of Cedar Valley Publishing, $14.95).
