Ways of Helping Stuttering Kids
Stuttering is a common speech disorder worldwide. There are millions of people who have this condition and they all need our help. We must be informed on how stuttering affects them especially the kids. Once we know how kids are being affected by this speech impediment then we can come up with ways on how we can effectively help them.
Awareness is a must
Knowledge is power. We must know what stuttering is so that we can help kids effectively. Stuttering or stammering is considered as a speech impediment that disrupts the flow of normal speech involuntarily. Ordinarily, sounds, syllables and words are repeated in a specific pattern such as “li-li-li-like that” or prolonged manner such as “llllllike that”.
Often, there is the absence of sounds in syllables and words. There are also abrupt stoppages when a person is talking. In some cases, especially in kids, stuttering begins from the start of a word or phrase. There are also cases when the difficulty is at the end of the word or phrase.
Knowing what causes stuttering are the next step to help kids who suffer from this condition. Studies have shown that causes of this speech disorder range from unknown origin at all to inherited and genetic reasons. A growing number of experts believe that stuttering is caused by genetics since there are cases that this speech impediment runs in the family.
Some experts claim that anxiety, stress, rejection and other forms of negativities can be associated to this speech problem since these factors affect the child’s ability in expressing himself.
Another cause being looked at can be traced at the stage of a child’s language development. This theory says that this speech disorder may be caused by developmental glitch when kids who are learning to talk have difficulties expressing themselves fluidly especially when it comes to expressing their needs and wants. Usually as kids grow older they naturally outgrow this disorder. The proper encouragement given by parents, siblings, teachers and peers can immensely help in the improvement of their condition.
Stuttering as some theorized is neurogenic. It means that the connection between the brain and the muscles are affected somewhere. Experts say that this is apparent to people who have suffered from mild heart attacks, cardiac arrests and repeated strokes. This is of course more applicable to older people but can manifest in kids who had accidents, head injuries and undergone operations or medical procedures.
Once you have narrowed down the possible causes of stuttering, you can now proceed with the alternative solutions available. These come in the form of therapies and drills. Nowadays, there are various therapies that can help improve this condition but still keep in mind that there is still no cure. In treating developmental stuttering, parents actively participate in restructuring the child’s speaking technique in order to reduce occurrences of stuttering.
Other effective solutions that can help improve this speech disorder are by providing a relaxed speaking environment. An environment that has few distractions can improve this condition. By refraining from being too critical about the child’s condition and practicing active listening one can help alleviate this speech flaw. There are cases that medication may be prescribed. Also, the integration of electronic devices can improve fluency.
There are also some therapies that focus on unlearning faulty ways of speaking or relearning how to speak correctly. It is still highly recommended that parents consult a competent, licensed and certified speech language pathologist to find the most appropriate treatment for their child.