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From: Ken St. Louis
Date: 10/20/00
Time: 3:54:05 PM
Remote Name: 157.182.12.51
Dear Kathlyn,
I give an enthusiastic "second" to what Nan Ratner has advised. I believe the more something is not mentioned the more unmentionable it becomes. Stuttering is no exception.
I wanted to add that my daughter began to stutter severely as a 2-3 year-old. We also had the family history connection. (Me!) And that was back at the time when we were just beginning to consider treating youngsters, but the conventional wisdom still more strongly favored the "ignore it and it will go away" diagnosogenic thinking. We tried to ignore her stuttering, but after several months of watching it get worse, we sought an evaluation and started some semi-direct therapy. Maybe she would have spontaneously recovered, but my daughter completely recovered. Until her grandmother mentioned it when she was a teenager, she did not even know that she had ever stuttered. I can't say that all outcomes are like this, but I have had several cases where young preschoolers completely recover.
If you think you are having a hard time being objective, seek out a specialist in stuttering to guide you. It seems to me your main job is being the mom. It's fine to let someone else be the clinician.
Good luck.
Ken