Posted on – Posted in Child Development

By: Brittany Mendes, Speech-Language Pathologist

As a speech-language pathologist, one of the most common questions I get asked is

“ Why is my child always repeating his words? ”

Below is a chart that outlines the two different types of stuttering that you may encounter in your child.

1

TIPS for parents of children who are starting to stutter:

PAUSE and give your child plenty of time to answer you.

SPEAK SLOWLY and DO NOT RUSH

TRY your best to reduce your rate of speech as much as possible.

TRY your best to provide a calm environment and allow plenty of time during the daily routines (eating dinner, getting ready in the morning, bath time).

PRAISE and ENCOURAGE fluent speech a few times every day.

KEEP IT SIMPLE:  “I like how you said that sentence”; “Smooth talking”.

AVOID interrupting your child’s fluent speech.

AVOID drawing attention to the stuttering as this can lead to negative association with talking.

GET DOWN TO THEIR LEVEL

 

CROUCH DOWN and look them in the eyes. This lets your child know that you are ready to listen to them no matter how long it takes.

REDUCE the pressures of speaking. Instead of always asking questions, try and take a conversational approach by telling them about your day or by commenting on something that happened to them. Your child will likely just jump right into the conversation!

AND THE MOST IMPORTANT TIP OF ALL…

Please let your child finish what she is trying to say.

* Should your concerns persist after trying these strategies at home and after a period of 6 months, a consultation with a speech-language pathologist is recommended.

HAPPY TALKING!

References

  1. Craig Coleman, CCC-SLP, BRS-FD Last Updated 12/27/2016. Source Copyright © 2015 American Academy of Pediatrics and American Speech-Language-Hearing Association

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