stuttering therapy

There are various forms of stuttering therapy available and while many of the methods may improve stuttering to some degree, it needs to be stressed that there is at present no definitive cure for stuttering. Stuttering therapy, however, may help prevent developmental stuttering from becoming a life-long problem. A speech evaluation is recommended for children who stutter for longer than six months as a good starting point for stuttering therapy.

Stuttering therapy for developmental stuttering often revolves around educating parents about restructuring the child's speaking environment to reduce the episodes of stuttering. Parents are often urged to refrain from criticizing the child's speech, or reacting negatively to the child's dis-fluencies, as part of the stuttering therapy. One of the worst thing a parent can do is to ask the child to repeat stuttered words until they are spoken fluently. This will destroy confidence and create insecurity. Family should listen attentively to the child when he or she speaks and encourage them to speak slowly and in a relaxed manner. A couple of other fundamental pieces of stuttering therapy that should be adopted by family, friends, teachers, colleagues, anyone really; is to wait for the stutterer to say the intended word. Never try to complete their sentence and in the case of children talk openly about their stuttering If he or she brings the subject up.

Many of the popular stuttering therapy programmes for persistent stuttering, focus on re-learning how to speak and eliminate the faulty ways of speaking. This psychological stuttering therapy also addresses the side effects of stuttering that often occur, such as fear of speaking to strangers, or speaking in public. Other types of stuttering therapy utilise interventions such as medications or electronic devices. Unfortunately, medications or drugs which affect brain function often have side effects that make them difficult to use for long-term treatment. Electronic devices are well intentioned stuttering therapy, and can help an individual control fluency, but usually they are more of a bother than a help in most speaking situations and are often abandoned as a result.

Evidence shows that stuttering therapy centring around speech and language analysis can make a positive difference to stammering, especially in the under 5s. By the time children are older, in teenage years, and in adulthood, stuttering has generally become more complex. At this later stage psychological issues (including anxiety, fear and self consciousness) have begun to encroach and become inherently linked with the stammer itself. Some, or possibly all these forms of stuttering therapy might work, but it needs to be remembered to sidestep working with anyone/anything who/which promises a "cure" for stuttering!