Stuttering: finding help

How can you tell if your child has a stuttering problem?

If your child has been stuttering for only a few days or weeks, it’s very alarming but it is probably best to wait to see how the stuttering changes. Waiting a month or two does not seem to affect how well your child will respond to later treatment and you might be surprised at how quickly the stuttering goes away.

However, if the stuttering has persisted for longer than two months, is getting worse instead of better, or went away and is back again, we recommend that parents complete the Risk Factor chart. If 2 or more of those factors are true for your child, contact a speech-language pathologist to find out whether your child should be screened.

What can parents do to help?

The first thing you can do to help your child is to get information about stuttering. The more informed you are, the more you will be able to make decisions about your child’s needs. There are many materials and resources available on this website

If you have decided you would like your child to be screened for a stuttering problem, call either your local school district to find out about speech screenings or the local hospital; also, check the Stuttering Foundation’s free referral list of speech-language pathologists around the country who specialize in stuttering. A third recommendation is to make a daily rating of your child’s stuttering, on a scale of 1 – 10, with a 1 = no stuttering that day, and 10 = the worst stuttering you have ever heard. This rating can be made on the family calendar or in a planner if you keep one. That way, you can see over time whether the stuttering is getting any better, and if there are any circumstances (e.g., stuttering is worse on the weekends, when your child is out of a normal daily routine) that will help you understand what factors might be contributing to changes in stuttering.

Finally, if your child shows signs of frustration or of being aware of the stuttering, it’s perfectly ok to say, “Wow, some words are hard to say, aren’t they! Sometimes my words are hard to say too,” or read more