commentr/StutterOctober 17, 2023

Content

Hi! I see you got great advice here already🙂 We've been through the same process, our son is now 4.5 years old and still stutter/stammer. He started overnight when he was 2.5, and next day it was repetitions and blocks. I knew immediately it was stuttering since I stutter myself, but rest of the family was afraid of all kinds of neurological conditions. Since I stutter myself I knew it was important to find a speech therapist that specializes in stuttering. In norway where we live a speech therapist typically has had one course that covers stuttering, and that's pointless , it's a complicated subject. I had one course of chemistry in university, and trust me I know nothing about chemistry🙂 Anyway, we started on a program, developed in the UK, called palin PCI. You can buy the book if you're interested. It's a great start to create an environment that reduces communication preassure and builds his confidence. https://www.routledge.com/Palin-Parent-Child-Interaction-Therapy-for-Early-Childhood-Stammering/Kelman-Nicholas/p/book/9780815358329?gclid=Cj0KCQjw4bipBhCyARIsAFsieCy8m46Wlu6DnUYs6Ki-fG0SeIZ_gEIrOVXB2wPxXJabC7UF0Tb-LpMaAvaTEALw_wcB Recently we started on a program called mini-kids, which focuses on voluntery stuttering and desensitization, which is the most important part if he continue to stutter (in my opinion). If you start googling different approaches you might think the lidcombe program must be the obvious choise, but recent studies (and logic) say otherwise. It's a whole story of its own, if you're interested let me know and i will send you links and info. Sry about info dump, but I spent far too long filtrering through bad studies and pseudo science, maybe this saves you some time😄 If he has tension when he stutters, it might be a good idea to get advice from a therapist even if it's early days still. I've read therapists look for tension as a sign to separate real stuttering symptoms from kids just learning to speak. The most important indicator though is genetic, if someone in your family stutters. It might skip generations so not always easy to identify. Around 80% of children that start to stutter just fix themself, and it's nothing a speech therapist can do to better those odds, speech therapy is for those that continue to stutter, and reducing the impact it has. Therapists that specializes in stuttering suggest not the typical "wait and see", but seek help early. The earlier the better. Btw, his language understanding is just as good as before, it's just hard to get the words out, which might lead him to make shorter sentences and so on. He seems to have very supporting parents, it means a lot☺️

Themes

Parent & CaregiverTherapy & ProfessionalCoping & AdvocacyIdentity & DisabilityCauses & Variability

Subthemes

Early Concern & OnsetHome SupportSeeking TherapyVoluntary Stuttering & ExposureMedicalization / NeurodiversityGenetic & Family Factors