Speech Pathologists Can Help Children Who Are Teased Because They Stutter

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Re: Success in Stuttering Modification as Success in Attitude Mod...

From: Bill to Gunars
Date: 10/22/00
Time: 2:36:15 PM
Remote Name: 128.210.251.12

Comments

Hi Gunars, You ask many good questions but to respond to them correctly I would need to write a book. Briefly let me just say that I agree with you regarding your comments that when techniques are used to "hide" stuttering the person will have less long term success and never truly get on the recovery road.

REBT would not work for children. It's too cognitively based. But children can be taught to not be afraid of stuttering and parents can reinforce this behavior. You begin by playing games with "stutters". Give rewards for who can do the longest stutter, the hardest, the easiest, etc. "Stutters" can be formed in clay and smashed. "Stutters can be painted or drawn and then ripped up or burned. Many experiential activities like these exist. See my video published by the SFA. It's chalked full of desensitization activities for kids who stutter. It only costs $5 bucks ( I make no money from the sales).

Learning to slip into the ZONE takes many years of practice. Lots of guided practice with clinician and client must be repeated over and over. The subject must actively be discussed, as the client becomes older. As the client ages and can take more responsibility, it's up to them to slip into the ZONE. Group work is good for this as well as acknowledging we can't always be perfect and sometimes will stutter. Letting children have older role models who are successful but still occasionally stutter is also beneficial.


Last changed: September 12, 2005