Stuttering
We service both adults and children! However, stuttering treatment for young children looks different than stuttering treatment for adults.
Treatment for children can be:
Direct: Addresses moments of stuttering and creates awareness of stuttered moments.
Indirect: Modifies the child’s speaking environment and parent reactions to stuttering in order to facilitate fluent speech. This method is best for children who are not yet aware of their stutter.
Stuttering treatment for teens and adults can consist of:
Education of the speech mechanism
Mindfulness exercises
Somatic exercise (i.e. vocal activations, breathwork, body scans)
Fluency shaping and stuttering modification techniques
Have you noticed tension or struggle in your child’s speech? About 5% of all children go through a period of stuttering. Some children will be able to spontaneously recover, and others might need the support of a speech-language pathologist.
When Should You Seek Support?
You should seek support for your child when you start to see signs of tension while speaking, avoidance of speaking, or stuttering-like disfluencies. Stuttering-like disfluencies during speech include:
Part-word repetitions – "I w-w-w-want the toy."
One-syllable word repetitions – "I see a-a-a ball"
Prolonged sounds – "Mmmmmy mom said so"
Blocks or stops – "I want (pause) ice cream."