In the world of speech pathology, there are many different kinds of stutters that a person might experience.
Whether it’s a fear of speaking in front of others or simply stumbling over your words, anyone can suffer from some kind of stutter at any point in their life. However, the most common type is called developmental stuttering, which primarily affects children between ages 2 and 6.
This frustrating speech impediment can be hard for both the child who is struggling to get their words out and their parents as well. But luckily, there are many techniques and methods you can use to help your child manage their stuttering so that they feel more confident and less afraid to speak when they need to.
What is Stuttering?
Stuttering is not a condition that needs to be hidden or ignored.
It is, in fact, nothing to be ashamed of and must not be regarded as something that is unacceptable. Rather, it should be thought of as a speech disorder and not an identity marker.
Also known as stammering or fluency disorder, this speech problem may appear during childhood or adulthood owing to several reasons like nervousness, fear of speaking in public, or trauma from past experiences.
Strategies for treating stuttering for Kids
Having a child who struggles with stuttering can be an extremely challenging experience for any parent. If you’re looking for ways to help your child deal with this speech disorder, read on to find out more about some of the best strategies you can use from home speech therapy to give them the support they need to overcome it.
1. Understand why your child stutters and help build their confidence
The first step towards helping your child get over stuttering is to understand why he/she is stuttering in the first place.
Young children who are around three to five years old usually start stuttering owing to their immature brain development. This phase usually passes off on its own within a year or two.
For older children, stuttering can be triggered by a number of reasons. It could be due to anxiety, nervousness, lack of self-esteem, or emotional trauma caused by an event or situation in their past.
When your child feels comfortable telling you what triggered their stuttering, they will feel a lot more confident and empowered to get over it. Apart from that, it is also essential to build your child’s confidence by validating their feelings and emotions.
You can do this by listening to them and validating their feelings. Let your child know that there is nothing wrong with what they are feeling and help them to let out their feelings by talking about them. Your child may also express their feelings by writing in a journal or by drawing.
2. Help your child to breathe properly while speaking
When you notice your child stuttering, you can use this as an opportunity to help them to breathe properly while speaking. This is because when most people stutter, they tend to take quick and short breaths while speaking.
So, what you can do is suggest that your child take a deep breath before they start talking. Besides encouraging your child to breathe properly while speaking, you can also help them to slow down their rate of speech by offering some time to let them collect their thoughts.
This way, your child will have time to even out their breathing and speak at a normal rate. In addition to this, you can also help your child to use proper articulation techniques while speaking. This can be done by asking them to slow down while they are speaking and to articulate their words properly with the help of facial expressions.
3. Speak slowly with your child, who stutters
You can help your child who stutters by slowing down her rate of speech and speaking at a normal pace. This will give your child the time to respond to what you say and help them to feel less anxious about speaking to you at a normal pace.
Besides that, if you are also a person who stutters, you can also help your child by letting them know that you stutter as well. You can let them know that this is a normal thing and almost every person stutters from time to time. Nevertheless, you can tell them that there are plenty of ways to overcome stuttering.
4. Find a suitable place for speech therapy for kids
If your child is under the age of eight years and stutters, you don’t have to worry too much. However, if their stuttering persists after they turn eight, it is recommended that they seek the help of a speech therapist.
A speech therapist is a trained professional who can help your child overcome their stuttering by conducting various therapy sessions. You can find a speech therapist in your area by doing a simple internet search.
You can also choose to visit an audiologist or a pediatrician for further assistance. Apart from that, you can also try to incorporate certain activities at home that can help treat stuttering in kids.
This can be done by playing games or doing certain exercises that promote good speaking skills. You can also make use of some apps that are specially designed to help treat stuttering in kids.
5. Install an app or game that can help treat stuttering
There are plenty of apps or games that can help treat stuttering. You can either find them on the internet or download them from the app store.
These apps and games can be used to treat stuttering by letting your child practice their speaking skills in a safe environment. You can choose to install these apps or games on your child’s smartphone or tablet to help them practice whenever they are alone.
This way, your child can learn to speak fluently with the help of these apps and games. These apps and games can also help your child to get rid of their fear of speaking in public. Besides that, these apps can be used to help your child improve their confidence and self-esteem.
Stuttering happens to around 3% of the population which makes it a very common condition. However, when it comes to children, stuttering can be much more difficult to deal with. It can lead to a lot of anxiety and frustration in children which can affect their self-esteem and confidence.
Stuttering therapy for kids involves a combination of various methods to help reduce the symptoms of stuttering. Parents should be aware of the various stuttering therapy methods that are available so that they can help their child overcome this condition.