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From: Nan Ratner
Date: 10/13/00
Time: 1:49:44 PM
Remote Name: 129.2.25.203
As some of the other discussions on spontaneous remission indicate, there is a high degree of recovery from early stuttering in the first year after symptoms show up. So, a child who has been demonstrating the symptoms you describe for about three months, without undue stress, tension or struggle, would not seem to be a child highly at risk to continue. Roughly 80% of children who start to stutter do stop. As the notes here and elsewhere point out, though, if the behavior continues beyond a year OR the child begins to demonstrate struggle or concern about his own speech, then it is time to consult a professional, who can help the child manuever through frustrating stutter events, and who can begin to teach the child ways of speaking that make it less likely that the child will stutter. A professional can also help you problem solve conditions under which fluency is maximized for your child. There is widespread belief that bringing in a child or calling his attention to the stuttering is bad, but there is actually no evidence to support this, and the reported success of the Lidcombe programme (also reported at this conference) flies directly in the face of arguments like this. Quibbling over the relative merits of Lidcombe aside, if paying attention to stuttering were harmful, Lidcombe children should get worse, not better, and that is clearly not the case. Hope this helps. Nan