When your child stutters
AS children make the transition from the mere use of sounds into intelligible words, it’s quite natural that they will stumble over words. Parents will also have to endure repeated words and phrases, as well as children dragging on syllables or words for a little too long than makes them comfortable.
And even while stuttering is not uncommon in children, paediatrician at Gateway Plaza, Old Harbour, Dr Anona Griffith, said that stuttering, commonly referred to as stammering, can be a cause for concern for parents and children.
“Stuttering is a disorder of speech and refers to a problem with fluency of speech. It can be embarrassing for children as well as parents and a source of bullying for the child affected with resultant poor self-esteem and self-imposed limitation in verbal communication and expression,” Dr Griffith explained.
She pointed out that stuttering is usually identified between the ages of two and five years as the children begin to learn and use words; however, it may occur at any age. She explained further that some children may eventually outgrow it, but for others, the condition persists throughout their lives causing much unwanted attention.
Dr Griffith said while there is no clear cause of stuttering, experts have deduced that there may be a genetic component to the development of stuttering. Other influences on speech development such as neurophysiology [where the language is said to be processed in another part of the brain than in children who don’t stutter] and a family history of stuttering were also identified as possible contributors. She said that boys tend to be affected more than girls in a ratio of 4:1.
“Disfluency or interruptions in the production of speech sounds is the baseline difficulty in stuttering. These may manifest as the repetition of letters, words or phrases or even the interjection or prolongation of speech sounds. For example, “C-C-C-Come here” or “I want to go but I-I-I-I-I’m not sure how to get there,” Dr Griffith shared.
There is a phenomenon which Dr Griffith describes as blocking, where she says the person makes an attempt to produce a word and the mouth is positioned to do so but no sound is forthcoming.
Dr Griffith said compassion is sometimes hard to come by and children as well as adults may be teased and this could significantly impact their self-esteem and in general their development academically and socially. With this in mind, Dr Griffith said that parents and guardians could engage a speech and language practitioner so that the child may be appropriately evaluated and investigations to establish a diagnosis completed so that appropriate strategies for intervention may be identified.
“Some practitioners may subscribe to the wait-and-see method of management as some cases resolve without intervention especially in younger children. However, where experts believe treatment is necessary, it’s usually behavioural based and aims to achieve proper wholesome and effective communication using fluent speech. For example, it may take the form of encouraging a slower rate of speech. It will also involve building self-confidence since this is one of the areas of personal development that is affected most.
She said that there are also devices which are auditory feedback devices that allow the wearer to hear themselves speak and therefore allows for self-regulation.
Also, of equal importance Dr Griffith said is that the peers of children who stutter should be educated about the challenges faced by their peers and taught tolerance and patience in allowing that individual to express themselves.
