[Next]
From: Dale Williams
Date: 10/3/00
Time: 10:12:08 AM
Remote Name: 131.91.248.210
Lisa, The issues of spontaneous recovery and early intervention are controversial ones (see last year's conference). Allow me to wade in with some thoughts.
A common misconception is that all children go through periods of stuttering and, thus, the best plan of treatment is to wait it out. Stuttering is, by definition, a communication disorder and therefore not part of normal development. Furthermore, abnormal fluency may be a symptom of a disorder other than stuttering.
Parents may also be hesitant to seek help because some children stop stuttering on their own. But while estimates of spontaneous recovery vary greatly, it is clearly not a universal phenomenon. More to the point, there is presently no way to identify which children will recover. Thus, even if spontaneous recovery is as high as 80%, as the most optimistic reports have suggested, there is no guarantee that your daughter will not be the unlucky 1 in 5 whose stuttering persists.
It has been my experience, generally speaking, that the earlier the stuttering is treated (relative to its onset), the easier it is to manage. I am not necessarily referring to regular sessions with an SLP. Early stuttering can sometimes be ameliorated via adjustments in the home and other environments.
My suggestion is to first get an evaluation by a speech-language pathologist. Then you can determine whether direct treatment is indicated at this time, if there are adjustments you can make in the home that will help your daughter, or both (or neither). At the very least you will have more information than you have now.
Hope this helps. Best of luck.
Dale Williams