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Speech Therapy for a Stuttering Child

One of the most prominent symptoms of stuttering is difficulty speaking. It can be painful and can also create anxiety around speaking. A common misconception is that the child who stutters simply can't talk properly. The reality is that the child has a hard time planning the motor movements required to say words in their mind. Speech therapy for kids can help.


 About one percent of Americans stutter. That number may sound small until you find out that number represents more than 3 million Americans that stutter.


You may be surprised to learn that Tiger Woods, Wilt Chamberlain, and James Earl Jones are all examples of famous people who struggled with a stutter.


Speech Therapy for Ages 3-18

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James Earl Jones has a particularly inspiring story. He is now a well-respected actor known for his deep and powerful voice. You may know him as the voice of Darth Vader.


However, as he has explained in interviews, as a child he had a severe stutter and rarely spoke. Earl Jones had a teacher who started him on a path to finding his voice, and he worked very hard for many years to overcome his childhood stutter.


If your child has a stutter, you may be wondering what this has to do with you. It is nice that Mr. Jones was able to get over his issue, but how do you help your child?


Stuttering Help Is Available.

Since the time of Mr. Jones’s childhood, pediatric speech and language therapy has come a long way. Not all stutters or stammers can be cured, but there are ways to help lessen them and possibly to even make a stutter almost undetectable.


As a trained speech-language pathologist, we work with children to help them find their voices and overcome their communication issues.

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Stuttering (also known as stammering) belongs to a bigger group of speech disorders, referred to by experts as fluency disorders.


If your child is dealing with a fluency disorder, it can cause them extra stress, to be misunderstood, and to be frustrated. It is understandable that when your child has trouble communicating, they may become withdrawn or avoid speaking.


They may hesitate to get involved with activities where they might need to speak, which limits their opportunities.

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specialist on a learning/speech session with child

Early treatment may prevent certain types of stuttering or stammering from becoming a lifelong problem.


We work with your child to reduce the severity of disfluencies in speech production during conversation.


We work with building your child's confidence and encourage them to fully express themselves to family and peers.

FAQs

  • What is a Fluency Disorder?

    You may call it a stutter or a stammer, but this condition is more properly called a fluency disorder. Basically, a fluency disorder is any speech disorder where the flow of speaking is interrupted, blocked, or slowed in a way that seems not quite right.


    The exact physical or mental mechanics of why people experience stutters and other fluency disorders is still a mystery of science. However, what we do know is that there are several factors as to why someone may struggle with fluency. This includes but is not limited to developmental issues, genetic factors, brain injuries, and emotional trauma.

  • There are several types of Fluency disorders including:

    > Blocks: getting stuck on a sound or a word (May I have------------pizza?)


    > Interjections: Adding in words (e.g., I um went um to um the store um to buy um chips.)


    > Prolongations of consonants (e.g., Sssssspeak up please.)


    > Repetitions of sounds and syllables (e.g., Look at the b-b-boat, Ready set-go, go, go)


  • These disfluencies can affect the rate of speech and may cause:

    > Avoiding sounds, words, or situations that cause you to speak that causes….


    > Escaping behaviors (e.g., such as head nodding, mouth twitching, and eye blinking)


  • Stuttering can occur with specific disorders such as:

    > Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)


    > Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)


    > Developmental Disorders


    > Speech Sound Disorders


    > Learning Disabilities


Get Started Today! 

Take the Next Step to Improve Your Child's Speaking Skills.

The initial consultation is confidential and there is no obligation!

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Stuttering Treatment


Often, fluency disorder treatment focuses on teaching ways to lessen your child's stutter. There is no “cure” for stuttering. However, with treatment, great progress is possible. The nature of the treatment may differ based on many factors, such as the extent of the problem, a child’s age, and communication goals.


In addition to fluency shaping, we also address the feelings of anxiety that stuttering causes.


Parents or caregivers are included as a part of the solution. A complete treatment plan includes giving you strategies and methods you can use at home to support your child.

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Fluency Shaping


Fluency shaping therapy is a method that uses special techniques of breathing and slowed speech to develop vocal awareness and control.


These techniques may sound funny to the untrained listener, but they serve the purpose of developing forms and muscle movements so that a clearer more normal speaking voice can be achieved.


This type of treatment can be better explained if you think in basketball terms. If you practice shooting hoops from the 3- point line, it becomes much easier for you to sink 2-pointers. Similarly, by speaking in a stretched-out way, you are making it easier to later speak at a normal pace.

Stuttering Modification Techniques


Another of the tools in the SLP’s toolkit is to use modification techniques. Over time, many people that stutter develop a reaction to their stutter that makes them tense up or become anxious.


This reaction can cause a stutter to become worse. Modification techniques are used to try to counteract these reactions so that the muscle tension that happens at these times is lowered.

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Stammering Treatment


Stammering and stuttering are two different words that describe the same fluency disorder. That means the treatment for stammering is the same as that for stuttering.


Why is this? Stammering is the British English term, while the American version is stuttering. This is why some people get confused and think they are two separate disorders, while in reality, they are the same thing.

How Stuttering Therapy Works

Step 1. Schedule Initial Consultation

We'll have a brief call to discuss your concerns about your child's communications skills, developmental milestones, red flags, and other areas of assessment.

Step 2. Assessment

We evaluate your child to industry-standard speech and language development benchmarks. Based on the results, we create a step-by-step treatment plan built around your child's needs.

Step 3. Treatment

We implement the treatment plan in series of fun, 30-minute one-on-one in-person or virtual sessions with your child. You'll receive updates after each session with supplemental materials for practice and reinforcement.

Step 4. Results

You'll experience the joy of watching your child's confidence, interpersonal interactions, and communication skills transform as they master the building blocks set out in their treatment plan.

Get Started Today! 


Let Us Help Your Child Lessen the Severity of Stuttering


The initial consultation is confidential and there is no obligation!

Schedule Consultation
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Can Speech Therapy Make a Difference in the Life of Your Child?

It is possible to change. It takes time, but through commitment and working with a certified SLP your child can gain the freedom, independence, and self-confidence that comes from being able to communicate clearly.


With his strong educational and practical background, Myles Nobles is a nationally certified speech-language pathologist with the skills needed to make a difference. As he has been able to do with others, he will use his patience and perseverance to work with you and your child to help them reach their full potential.

Take the next step to give your child control over their voice and future.

Treatment can help reduce the severity of stuttering, enabling your child to speak and live with greater confidence. Take the first step and request a consultation to have your child’s stutter assessed and diagnosed.

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What is Fluency Shaping and How It Helps Reduce Stuttering

By Myles Nobles • 19 Sep, 2022
Fluency shaping is a speech therapy intervention to help children with stuttering, or other disfluencies speak more fluently. Learn more about this technique and how it can help your child.
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What You Should Know About Kids Stuttering

By Myles Nobles • 01 Jul, 2022
Kids who stutter usually develop the disorder in the first few years of life and can be treated with therapy to help them improve their speech. Learn what you can do to help your child.
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