What is stuttering:
“Stuttering is a disruption in the forward flow of speech that can take many forms, and may be accompanied by physical tension, secondary behaviors, negative thoughts and emotions, or decreased communication skills”. (12 minutes 52 seconds) Stuttering 101: What Every SLP Should Know. Craig Coleman. Typical dysfluency is something anyone can experience, a temporary mental block of words, revisions and interjections such as “uh” or “and”. However typical dysfluency is not usually accompanied by physical tension, or disruption to communicative ability of the individual, neither is typical dysfluency assocaited with “negative thoughts emotions, or decreased communication skills”.
What About Spontaneous Recovery?
Age is closely related to “spontaneous recovery”. The risk of ever stuttering is cut in half by age 3 and virtually all risk of stuttering is nearly gone by age 12. Children who spontaneously recover generally do so within 14 months post onset. Recovery can occur at any age. Children who are highly sensitive or perfectionistic may have stronger reactions to these stuttering moments. Nearly 20%-68% of preschool children do not recover spontaneously. The old “wait and see” approach to early chdilrhood stuttering or “ignore it” of the 1950’s is not acceptable. (Bennet, 2006)
When Should I Contact A Speech Langauge Pathologist?
How to determine if treatment should begin: Curlee and Yairi (1997) discussed beliefs Speech Language Pathologists have, some clinicians prefer to begin immediate treatment thereby increasing the rate and speed of remission, additionally once a child has begun to stutter withholding treatment for any period of time places a child at a higher risk for chronic stuttering problems. Furthermore, advocates of immediate treatment point out that early treatment does no harm and clinical treatment of young preschoolers who stutter is highly effective. However, not all clinicians adhere to these beliefs, some prefer to wait a certain amount of time to determine if children will spontaneously recover. Their arguments include the high rate of spontaneous recovery for children 1-2 years post onset. They point out that remission and persistent stuttering are related to a child’s family history of outcomes. Furthermore, no evidence indicates that waiting a year or more to intervene with young preschoolers will make treatment goals more difficult to achieve. There is no evidence to suggest that waiting to work with young preschool children makes treatment or results less satisfactory. (p. 9) In conclusion, “ There is no evidence that employing intervention will cause stuttering to increase or persist over time, nor can we assume children will recover without treatment” (Bennet, 2006: p. 237). As a clinician I encourage families to evaluate their own feelings and emotions surrounding stuttering. When your child or you as a parent are concerned it is time to contact a trained Speech Language Patholgist like myself who has experience treating stuttering in young children. Take Home Speech LLC is available at any time for your free phone consultation.
Resources:
National Stuttering Association www.westutter.org
Friends: The Association for Children Who Stutter www.friendswhostutter.org
If you wish to begin a support group for individuals who stutter please contact Take Home Speech LLC