Fluency At Home
Important Considerations For Home Practice
Why do some people stutter?
The etiology of disfluency is unclear, but there has been some research that suggests a link between a family history of stuttering, brain differences, and/or environmental factors may contribute to a person becoming disfluent.
Read more about etiology of disfluency here.
Prevalence & Risk Factors
"About 5% of all children go through a period of stuttering that lasts six months or more. Three-quarters of those who begin to stutter will recover by late childhood, leaving about 1% of the population with a long-term problem. The sex ratio for stuttering appears to be equal at the onset of the disorder, but studies indicate that among those children who continue to stutter, that is, school-age children, there are three to four times as many boys who stutter as there are girls. 4 Risk factors that predict a chronic problem rather than spontaneous recovery include: family history, age of onset, time since onset, & gender."
"At present, none of these risk factors appears, by itself, sufficient
to indicate a chronic problem; rather it is the cumulative or additive nature of
such factors that appears to differentiate children for whom stuttering comes and goes versus those for whom stuttering comes and stays."
(quote taken from Stutteringhelp.org, see link below)
Click here to read more about the Prevalence and Risk Factors of Stuttering.
Fluency risk factor chart.pdfWhat can parents do to help?
Be a patient listener. If your child repeats words, parts of words, or parts of phrases, wait. Let your child finish without interruption. You may recall during our sessions a phrase that I use often when I see or sense frustration or self consciousness: "It's ok, I'm listening, take the time that you need."
Avoid correcting your child. Create an environment where your child feels free to speak (fluently or disfluently) without correction to "slow down".
Avoid finishing your child's words, phrases, sentences, & thoughts. Finishing your child's speech & language sends a message that they have limited time to express themselves and reduces opportunities they have to practice speech & language skills. It can also create communication frustration for your child.
Slow your own rate of speech. Modeling slow and relaxed speech and language will benefit all children regardless of fluency or disfluency. Life is hectic and fast paced. It will benefit all to be intentional about slowing the overall rate of speech, but still keeping it natural.
Schedule one-on-one time with your child. This should be a pressure free time, engaging jointly in an activity or conversation of your child's choice. Just you and the child engaging in conversation free of interruption if possible.
Speak honestly about stuttering. If your child brings it up or mentions frustration regarding stuttering, be honest and kind. A parent may respond with something such as, "It's ok, I love to hear what you have to say. We all have a hard time sometimes." or "I hear you saying your frustrated because it's hard to get your words out. I'm listening and you take the time that you need to get your words out."
Being honest, but also gentle will ease any pressure a child may feel, creating an environment of ease and comfort.
Focus on the words not the stutter, your child will notice.
Reviewing our talking helpers with your child
It's important for you and your child to be aware of talking helpers. When we refer to a specific talking helper such as lips, tongue, jaw, lungs, etc. your child's awareness of such structures, how they move, and what sounds they make, will add to their success in producing correct sounds. Further, for fluency awareness, it will help you and your child discuss where they may feel tension (in my lips, in my jaw, in my lungs with by breath...).
Our talking helpers are involved in creating sounds, putting sounds together to form words, and putting those words together to form sentences. When a child is experiencing disfluency the flow of speech sounds, words, sentences, and connected speech are interrupted which reduces the child's ability to be understood. Discussing talking helpers creates awareness and helps normalize discussion surrounding disfluency or stuttering. Click the link below to learn more about talking helpers.
Belly Breathing
Otherwise known as Diaphragmatic Breathing
What is Diaphragmatic breathing?
Diaphragmatic breathing is Diaphragmatic breathing, or “belly breathing,” involves fully engaging the stomach, abdominal muscles, and diaphragm when breathing. This means actively pulling the diaphragm down with each inward breath. In this way, diaphragmatic breathing helps the lungs fill more efficiently.www.medicalnewstoday.com May 27, 2020
Why is diaphragmatic breathing important?
Diaphragmatic breathing is used for many reasons, a few benefits are:
Strengthening the diaphragm,
Stabilizing the core muscles,
Slowing breathing rate,
Increasing the amount and control of airflow upon phonation,
Promoting relaxation of the nervous system,
Awareness of breath control and breathing patterns,
One of many self regulation strategies
We will use diaphragmatic breathing techniques to assist with controlling airflow upon phonation as one technique which may reduced incidence of stuttering upon initiation of phonation (when we begin to speak).
Below you will find two different techniques to practice awareness and control of intentional breathing such as diaphragmatic breathing. Practice with your child for a short amount of time, make it part of your daily routine when you wake up and before you go to bed.
Make it fun by placing a favorite stuffed animal on your child's stomach while laying down to see if your child can make the stuffed animal rise and fall with each breath. Other fun ways to practice breathing are:
Bubbles (see how many bubbles you can blow with one sustained breath and try to beat your record each time)
Pinwheels (see how fast you can make yours spin)
Whistles (definitely suggested to be an outdoor activity)
Cotton/puff ball races with straws (blow air through a straw to move a cotton/puff ball forward see who wins)
Party blowers
On mirrors or shower doors to draw pictures (may be a fun bath time activity)
Blowing dandelions (can you blow off all of the seeds in one breath)
Blowing up balloons (this may be very challenging for some children as some balloons are harder to inflate)
Diaphragmatic Breathing
Laying Down
Diaphragmatic Breathing
Sitting Upright
Learn to belly breathe with Rosita!
Mindfulness
That's a big word for a young child!
Do you think a three or four year old child is even capable of being “mindful”? I do, and so does a growing body of researchers! In fact, a few years ago our very own school district adopted mindfulness techniques as part of the curriculum as well as part of staff training. It turns out that mindfulness is not hard to understand at all, in fact, it is quite simple and a practice that has many proven benefits.
Mindfulness, simply stated is noticing. When a person (adult or child) notices how they are feeling in a moment, they are able to be present in that moment and adapt, adjust, self-regulate, make choices, and pay attention or notice.
We know that there are many feelings a child may experience and/or acquire about their disfluencies, which is something that being mindful may help with. It may help you and your child learn to recognize your thoughts and feelings, but not become too attached to the negative or fearful feelings you or your child may have about stuttering.
The handy handout I've provided is a 2 minute read with quick and easy ways to practice being mindful with your child. Take five minutes with yourself and with your child to make mindfulness a daily practice and see how you feel.
Mindfulness for Children Handout.pdfMind Jar Recipe
Add warm water to your jar or bottle until it reaches around a third of the way up.
Add the glitter glue and stir until it combined with the water. Or you can add clear glue and glitter separately; it doesn't have to be glitter glue.
(Optional) Add around 3 drops of food coloring and stir
Pour in the glitter!
Fill the rest of the jar with warm water, until it is almost full.
Screw the lid on tight. You can even glue it on if you want.
When you're done shake the jar and watch the glitter fall to the bottom. Use your breathing techniques as you watch the glitter fall. The glitter can represent all the thoughts swirling in your brain, the noise in your environment, your feelings, etc. Watch the glitter fall and settle as you breathe.
"Stuttering is more than just Stuttering"
A visual that may help explain why stuttering can change or be inconsistent depending on the situation a person is in, depending on the complexity of language use, and depending on the thoughts and feelings persons may have about fluency.
Fluency PyramidofDemandsRelatedtoFluencyStuttering.pdfSelf Regulation
The article below was found on pbs.org
Close your eyes and picture this. Your 2-year-old is racing around the house when they suddenly notice a sibling playing with a shiny toy. The toddler rushes over and snatches away the toy, screaming “Mine!” As the kids start to chase each other, they miss a step and tumble. All you hear is screams . . .
Does this sound familiar? I’m raising a toddler and a tween, so tumbles and tantrums seem like everyday occurrences in my home. I am here to tell you that we can decrease breakdowns by understanding our role, as parents, in developing our children’s self-regulatory skills.
What is Self-Regulation?
Self-regulation is the process that your child’s brain goes through that gives them the ability to control their behaviors and emotions in response to a particular situation. It’s having the skill to calm yourself down when you get upset, to adjust to a change in environment or expectations, and to handle frustration without outbursts. When children share, listen to others, or wait their turn, they are practicing self-control. It’s what we as parents call a “win!”
Self-regulation is a foundational skill of early childhood. It’s the seed we plant that allows children to grow into adults who can manage their emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. If we give children strategies to stay calm in stressful situations, they develop strong habits that they can apply in the future. Remember, there is not a single event that will magically kickstart a child’s perfect self-regulation. Just as children physically develop at different rates, they develop self-control at different rates as well. Building your child’s self-regulation toolkit requires thoughtful planning and understanding.
Simple Ways to Teach Self-Regulation
Throwing tantrums and acting out are natural but ineffective ways to handle high-stimulation situations. We can help our children by teaching them how to calm down effectively or to avoid impulsive reactions. Think about how we teach kids to ride a bike: It takes practice, patience, and more practice!
In the same way, we can coach our kids as they build their self-control muscles! For example, perhaps playdates with peers is a time when your child experiences negative emotions or has a hard time with social skills. Use these playdates as a chance to coach positive social behavior — offering breaks and using lots of descriptive praise for small accomplishments. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t see immediate results.
Here are some simple ways to support your child’s self-regulation skills on a daily basis:
1Rest and Nutrition!
We have all seen how lack of sleep, dehydration, or a hungry stomach can derail a day! If we want to teach kids social-emotional skills, we also need to attend to their rest and nutrition. Sometimes what a tantrum-throwing toddler needs most in the moment is a snack or a nap.
2Breath in the Fresh Air
Provide opportunities for free play and outdoor play. Let the energy out. Increased heart rate = more blood flow to the brain = more brain power. When my older daughter starts to feel emotionally dysregulated, she often takes a walk in the fresh air. As her body begins to fill with happy hormones, her affect becomes calmer. You can also check out these active games that support self-regulation.
3Blow Away Troubles
Blowing bubbles is a kid-friendly way to practice deep breathing — and deep breathing calms the body down. Plus, who doesn’t like bubbles?! When you blow bubbles too quickly or too slow, it doesn’t work. You need to breathe from the belly, at a regular tempo. Speaking of deep breathing, yoga is another great way for kids to connect with their bodies and stay focused and calm. Try adding 15 minutes a day or a quick session after a meltdown.
4Read All About It!
Read books about emotions as a way to discuss all the feelings kids have. I love Todd Parr’s books (including The Feelings Bookand It’s Okay To Be Different) and the way he displays an array of feeling vocabulary. In addition, sensory “touch and feel” books can help hold your child’s attention during reading time and stimulate their senses.
5Listen Up!
Calm music can help settle children down. And fun, simple songs can help children remember self-regulation strategies. Check out these Daniel Tiger songs about anger, taking turns, and waiting.
Brandy Wells is a licensed independent social worker specializing in childhood mental health. She is mom of two little girls, Kennedy and Karter. And soon-to-be “Baby K!” She writes about practical parenting skills using her knowledge as a mental health professional on My Motherhood Magic. - www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mymotherhoodmagic.com%2F&sa=D
Other Strategies for promoting self regulation when upset:
Visuals to support fluency
You may recall seeing the following visuals during our sessions. These three visuals are used by the clinician during structures speech therapy sessions to discuss and create awareness about dysfluency with a child. These visuals should not be used at home by parents unless the clinician has instructed parents to do so. They are posted here as a reminder of strategies that the clinician has discussed with your child.
3 Fluency Strategies.pdfStuttering Strategies
Fluency Road.pdfFluency Monitoring Chart:
Fluency Slide.pdfEasy Onset: How to ease into fluent speech.
Stuttering Resources
Books for Kids:
• Sometimes I Just Stutter (“Je begaie”) by Eelco de Geus
• Jeremy and the Hippo by Gail Wilson Lew
• Jason’s Secret by Ellen-Marie Silverman
Books for Parents:
• If Your Child Stutters: A Guide for Parents 8th edition. The Stuttering Foundation Online Store.
Support Groups:
• Stuttering Home Page Chat Room www.mnsu.edu/comdis/kuster/chat/chatroom.html
Websites:
• National Stuttering Association: www.nsastutter.org/
• Stuttering Foundation of America: www.stutteringhelp.org/
• American Speech and Language Hearing Association: www.asha.org
• International Stuttering Association: www.isastutter.org/
• Fundación Americana de la Tartamudez: www.tartamudez.org
• Stuttering Homepage: http://www.mnsu.edu/comdis/kuster/
Resources list from:Bilinguistics Speech and Language Services