How To Deal With A Child’s Stuttering
May 14, 2009
Stuttering is common to children within the age of 2 to 3. This is because the child makes a huge effort to talk and is not sure of words, in this case the child may start s sentence several times. Hence we conceive that the child is stuttering when that is snot actually the case.
How must you respond?
When your child is attempting to have a conversation with you do not abrupt him and give him your entire attention. This helps him to not get upset, seek attention or get frantic. Ask your child to slow down or calm down while speaking helps him to think before actually starting the sentence.
In another case you can just ignore the child’s manner of speaking and respond to what his requests are. This makes the child satisfied that he has been understood and hence the child id happy and will automatically slow down in the future as a habit.
Never let the children know that you are in a hurry; this gets the child stressed out and makes him try to think and speak faster. This is not possible as he is just getting the hang of words. Anything that you can do to lower the child’s stress levels is likely to helping them.
Get the child to spend time with children of his own age or a few months older. This helps them to converse with their own level of speed and understanding. Make sure that the child has toys to play with; often you find your child talking to his toys, this helps them to build their vocabulary.
When you are with your child let him take lead in the conversation. Never interrupt him even if he is struggling with words, you can help him out when he is done with the sentence and give him an alternative to the words he has spoken.
Do not pressurize your child to perform, never compare children’s growth. It upsets them and they tend to compete for your attention, this is harmful at such a young age.
If you feel that the child suffers from severe stuttering then you must see a doctor immediately. You will know it because you will notice the child getting extremely conscious about his speech and compares it with the way others speak. This is the time to see a doctor.
There is no reason to fear as speech therapy helps to resolve this issue. The sooner the child starts the therapy the better the results will be. Even if the therapy does not cure the stuttering; it will definitely help avoid getting worse.
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