Stammering

What is a stammer?

Stammering is a disorder in communication that is characterised by disruptions in the fluency of a child’s speech. Stammering is also known as stuttering or dysfluency and the terms describe the same thing.

Everybody will have experienced some disruptions in their fluency in varying degrees when they are talking and this is considered a normal part of speaking for both children and adults.

A proportion of children also experience periods of dysfluency as they are developing their language skills, typically between the ages of 2 to 4 years old. Most of these children will not go on to stammer as an adult.

However as some of these children will be at risk of continuing to stammer into adulthood and it is not possible to predict who they are without a Speech and Language assessment. Therefore it is important that your child is referred to a Speech and Language Therapist as soon as you notice, as early intervention is very effective.

Typical signs of a stammer include one or a combination of the following speech behaviours:

∙ Prolongations – where speech sounds are stretched out for example - "Sssssseven"

∙ Blocks – the child’s voice appears to get ‘stuck’ and no sound, or only a strangled sound, emerges before they then go on to say something

∙ Repetitions – the first sound of the word, syllable or whole of the word may be repeated, for example ‘b-b-b-ball’, ‘car car cartoon’ and ‘you you you do it’

∙ Over use of Fillers or Pauses – for example ‘er, er’, ‘like’, ‘you know’, ‘I mean’

Children may also display some of the following physical behaviours alongside the stammer:

∙ Grimacing

∙ Nodding of the head

∙ Tapping of the foot

∙ Signs of increased tension in the neck jaw or shoulders

∙ Avoiding eye contact

∙ Avoiding talking

∙ Blushing

∙ Coughing, gulping or swallowing repetitively

Strategies to help

  • Don’t tell your child to ‘speak slowly’, ‘take a breath’ or ‘think about what they are saying or going to say’

  • give your child time to speak, and listen to WHAT they are saying instead of HOW they are saying it

  • if your child has siblings ensure they have equal opportunities to speak to you and have your attention, teaching how to take turns and avoid interrupting or talking over each other can be very helpful

  • Pitch the level of your language to the same your child’s. Use the same sort of sentences your child does – keep them short and simple

  • Keep natural gentle eye contact with your child when speaking to them

  • Praise your child for things he/she does well, to help build their confidence and self esteem

  • Reduce the number of questions you ask and give your child time to answer one before you ask another. It is easy to fall into the trap of firing off one question after another and this can lead to your child feeling under pressure.

  • Rather than ask questions you could make comments, for example, when you pick them up from school rather than asking what they have done, comment on things that they have brought home such as pieces of work or a new reading book, this will invite your child to make their own contributions when they are ready. As a general rule, ‘for every question offer a comment’.

  • Try not to let your child see that you are anxious or upset by their stammer. Reassure them that talking can be tricky sometimes, but that you are listening and interested in what they are telling you

  • Try to establish regular sleep patterns and bedtime routines – stammering can increase when a child is tired, angry, upset and excited.

  • spend time on a one-to-one with your child in simple play activities that involve turn taking and interaction e.g. jigsaws, lego, board games, lotto games, building etc. This provides your child with the opportunity to engage with you without any pressure. Offer comments as you play, opposed to multiple questions.