[ Contents | Search | Next | Previous | Up ]
From: Peter Reitzes
Date: 12 Oct 2006
Time: 12:12:39 -0500
Remote Name: 165.155.216.149
Tara, great question. I find that very few parents use the term stutterer. And when they do, it is typically said in a way such as, “We are coming to speech therapy so that our son does not become a stutterer.” In fact, many parents do not refer to their child as “a child who stutters” or a “person who stutters” either. I find that parents are much more apt to say things like “my child has a stuttering problem” or “he/she stutters.” Some parents even come in for an initial evaluation and will say, “I think my son is going through some normal stuttering” or “I read online that my daughter has some normal childhood dislfuencies.” My experience has been that parents of children who have been stuttering for several years or more may use the terms “stutterer” or “person who stutters”, but that many more will stick to saying “he/she stutters” or “he/she has a stuttering problem.” As I mentioned in my paper, some parents do use the terms “stutterer” or “person/child who stutters” and when they do, I have no interest in acting in a way that may make parents feel guilty.