How Pediatric Speech Therapy Can Help Address Stuttering and Fluency Difficulties
Specialized care will help your child thrive in their communication!
Have you noticed your child speaking with unusual speech patterns? Perhaps they repeat the first sound in a word or take long pauses between words in a sentence. If so, they may have developed a stutter, a type of fluency disorder. Fortunately, pediatric therapy at Skills on the Hill can help address stutters and other fluency difficulties.
Everyone stumbles over their words sometimes. We forget what we want to say, throw in filler words like “um” or “like,” or speak too fast for our brain to follow. Similarly, it’s fairly common for young children (three and a half years or younger) to develop stutters, although 75%-80% will stop within a year or two.
Unfortunately, those who don’t outgrow their shutters may continue to have fluency difficulties into adulthood. That’s why bringing your child to Skills on the Hill is essential if you notice any issues with your child’s speech patterns. We can assess them and provide tools to help them overcome their stuttering–and the earlier therapy begins, the more likely we are to resolve it!
If you want to learn more about how our pediatric therapists can help your child address stuttering, schedule an appointment at our Washington, DC or Arlington, VA clinic today!
Understanding the Signs of Stuttering and Other Fluency Disorders
Stuttering is an example of a fluency disorder, a term for continuous interruption in the flow or rhythm of a person’s speech. Those interruptions are known as disfluencies. An occasional word-related stumble isn’t evidence of a fluency disorder. Instead, look for frequent struggles with speaking–as well as the emotional or psychological effects these struggles can cause.
A child who stutters will exhibit specific patterns in their speech that make communication difficult. For example, they may…
- Repeat part of a word (“I w-w-want a hug.”)
- Repeat single-syllable words (“I want-want-want a hug.”)
- Drag out sounds (“I waaaaant a hug.”)
- Stop speaking between words (“I want [pause] a hug.”)
Often, emotions can affect a child’s stutter. For example, they may be more likely to stutter if they’re frustrated or excited. You may also notice that certain physical tics accompany your child’s stuttering, such as blinking or head nodding, or that they will avoid saying certain problem words.
While stuttering is by far the most common type of fluency disorder, some children may develop cluttering. A child with cluttering will speak in a way that feels overly fast and disjointed, with pauses in unexpected places or a tendency to blur syllables together (i.e., saying “ferchly” instead of “fortunately”).
Fluency disorders, in general, often occur alongside other disorders, including the following:
- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
- Autism
- Language or learning disabilities
- Social anxiety disorders
- Developmental delays
How Our Pediatric Therapists Can Help Your Child
While stuttering or cluttering can profoundly impact your child’s communication ability, pediatric speech therapy with Skills on the Hill can help minimize their occurrence. Essentially, we can help change how your child speaks and reduce the likelihood that their disfluencies will continue into adulthood.
We take a personalized approach to therapy, working closely with you, your child, and other loved ones to provide a treatment plan that addresses your child’s particular needs. It’s important to remember that there’s no cure for stuttering or cluttering. Instead, we’re helping your child develop strategies that will allow them to speak more fluidly.
What this looks like exactly will depend on your child and the particular disfluencies they struggle with. For example, we may encourage your child to sound out each syllable to help them avoid sound repetitions. Or we may work on strategies to help your child slow down their speaking rate.
Our speech therapists can also work with your child on specialized exercises for their tongue, lips, or face muscles, which may help them properly form sounds. We can also show them breathing exercises, help them increase their vocabulary, or develop speech modification strategies to avoid disfluency triggers.
What You and Your Child Can Expect from Pediatric Speech Therapy
The initial appointment will allow our pediatric therapists to carefully assess your child’s speech patterns to better understand the nature of their disfluency disorder. This won’t feel like a formal test; instead, we’ll talk with your child and observe their disfluencies that way.
From there, we’ll develop your child’s customized treatment plan, which will consist of regular sessions at our clinic (usually 1-2 a week), plus exercises and strategies you and your child can do at home. In fact, creating an environment outside of our office where your child can practice their fluency strategies will go a long way toward ensuring their success.
During our in-clinic sessions, we strive to create a fun, supportive environment where your child’s therapy feels more like play. We’ll provide engaging exercises and opportunities for your child to practice their new speech strategies.
Schedule an Initial Appointment Today!
When it comes to addressing fluency disorders, early intervention is key. If you’re concerned that your child is exhibiting more disfluencies than they should, schedule an appointment to have them assessed by the Skills on the Hill pediatric speech therapists. We’ll let you know the next steps you should take!
Sources:
https://www.stutteringhelp.org/prevalence
https://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/stuttering/