It would probably surprise you to know that 10 - 15% of children or more go through a "phase" of speech "non-fluency". That is: Stammering, Hesitancy, Delay, and Stuttering.
Worldwide, 1% of people stutter. There is a higher incidence in males than in females, approximately 4 to 1.
There seems to be some hereditary predisposition because 25 - 60% of stutterers have other family members who stutter.
Assuming the child has been examined and has been tested and hears adequately, the physician must differentiate between true stuttering and other types of non-fluency.
Normal developmental non-fluency is an aspect of speech between the ages of 2 and 7. It is a common part of some children's cognitive development as they learn to speak a language.
You may notice that they repeat part words like; "ta-table" or "dow-down". The may repeat whole words such as "my, my, my"; or "let me, let me, let me do it."; or interjections like: "uh....," "um....", "err..." "ah..."
The important thing to notice is that these types of non-fluencies are usually not associated with any visible tension during the child's normal verbalization.
Their frequency may increase when he is in a hurry to speak or is under tension, but there is no facial contortion of obvious stress.
Stuttering, on the other hand, is an interruption in the normal rhythm of speech manifested by involuntary: 1- Prolongation of sounds, 2- repetitions, and 3- blocking of words.
There may be tense movements of a jaw and other parts of the body and the avoidance of certain sounds of words altogether.
In reality it is important to diagnose stuttering and institute therapy very early (before age 5 - 7) in order to have a good outcome; but parental attitude and willingness for treatment make the biggest difference.
True stuttering is classified into four groups; First, temporary developmental stuttering. Second, interference with normal development by emotional stress. Third, a result of a psychiatric illness caused by disturbed family relationships. And fourth, organic stuttering associated with brain damage or problems.
All children who stutter should be evaluated by a pediatrician and referred to either a speech therapist, child psychologist, or both.
There are, however, strategies recommended to the parents of children who are learning to speak.
1 -- Parents can reduce the tempo of their own talking which the child will then model, helping his own speech development.
2 -- Reduce the questioning of the child. Do more commenting on the child's daily activities, experiences, etc. The child then can choose to speak or remain silent.
3 -- Avoid the show-and-tell type of questioning. Beginning most of verbal interchanges with a question about what the child remembers can dramatically increase speech anxiety. Saying something like, "did, you see a fire engine today?" rather than "what did you see?" allows the child a lot more freedom of speech.
4 -- Increasing the amount of listening, along with looking at the child when he is talking helps a stuttering child. Give undivided attention as much as possible.
5 -- Parents should talk in shorter sentences and possibly while engaged in shared physical play. Be less focused on the teaching of vocabulary until later on.
6 -- In children under three, simply slowly repeating back to the child reassures him that you have understood what he has said. For children over three however repeating a child's statement might increase anxiety.
Longitudinal studies have shown that approximately 75% of children that begin stuttering between ages 2 and 7 are stutter free by age 12.
Parents of children who do not respond to the above types of measures should definitely seek professional help as early as possible.
If psychological family counseling is needed, it just may mean the difference between a life-long problem and a temporary one.
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