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From: Woody
Date: 10/13/03
Time: 12:48:24 PM
Remote Name: 216.240.101.40
Hi Jennifer:
Sorry for the late reply. I have been meeting my two new grandchildren in Ohio and away from my computer.
In the Temple Clinic we did not find that modeling simpler language was very helpful. We did find, however, that it was helpful to have mothers tone down the language stimulation, which was in some cases, very extreme. It was more the quantity than the quality of the stimulation that was the problem. Just getting the parents to talk less was most helpful. But we tried to have them not cut down on time spent with the child, so it came down to finding more nonverbal, but fun, things to do together. A slower rate is also always helpful, apparently because it gives the child a sense that she has lots of time to talk. In many of these families where language overstimulation seems related to stuttering, there is a huge amount of verbal activity, usually with long sentences that tend naturally to be spoken very quickly. So, less talking and slower talking seems to take care of the problem.
Woody