Stuttering Web Page

By: John W

About my stuttering:

Hi my name is John. I have been stuttering since I was four. I stutter like th-th-th-this. My speech teacher is Miss Kristin. I am nine years old and I manage my stuttering very well.

Facts about stuttering:

Over three million Americans stutter.

Stuttering happens more in boys than girls: 85% are males.

We don't know the actual cause of stuttering.

People who stutter can usually sing, whisper, or speak in unison without stuttering.

There are lots of different ways to stutter.

Kids who stutter are not different in any way from kids who don't (except for the way they talk)

My favorite myths: What causes stuttering?

Allowing a baby to look in the mirror.

Cutting a child's hair before he/she says his/her first words.

A mother seeing a snake during pregnancy.

Tickling a baby too much.

Leaving a baby out in the rain.

Having too short of a tongue.

The child being scared as a baby.

Switching hands from left to right for writing.

A pregnant woman drinking from a cracked cup.

My favorite myths: Ways to cure stuttering

Telling the child not to move his/her feet while talking.

Hitting the child in the mouth with a dish towel.

Have the child hold nutmeg under his/her tongue while talking.

Whisper for one week, louder the next, and whisper even louder until the stuttering is gone.

Talk with a penny under your tongue.

Put three marbles under your tongue while talking.

Famous people who stutter:

King George VI

Bill Walton: Basketball player

Winston Churchill

Aesop: Greek

Clara Barton: Founder of the Red Cross

General Joshua Chamberlain: Hero of the Battle of Gettysburg

King Charles I

Claudius: A Roman Emperor

Harley Earl: A great car designer

Moses: From the bible

Henry Luce: Founder of Time and Sports Illustrated Magazines

Joseph Priestly: An English chemist who discovered oxygen

Alan Turing: Founder of computer science

Horace Grant: Orlando Magic

Porky Pig

Ron Harper: Chicago Bulls

Bob Love: Chicago Bulls

Isaac Newton

 

Speech tools & how they help:

A tool is something that helps us make talking easier. The first tool that comes to mind for me would be an "easy B". An "easy B' means an easier beginning. That is where you start the first word of a sentence smoothly and you let the rest go. A pull-out is when you stay with the letter you are stuck on and then ease out of it when you can. Canceling is when you get stuck and you stop and start over with an easy beginning. When you use canceling you can also use wait time. That's when you stop and wait. You can use a signal like holding your finger up to let the listener know you're not done talking yet. Chunking is when you say sentences in two or three parts and you pause in the middle of the parts. Easy bouncing is when you stutter easily on purpose. Eye contact is when you and the other person look in each others eyes when talking and listening. These tools take alot of practice.

Ways people stutter:

There are lots of ways people stutter. Sometimes they block when they try to say something and nothing comes out. Sometimes they repeat a whole word or a sound (like like like like this or li li li li li that). Sometimes they might prolong a sound (l-----------ike that). Some people don't say what they want to say. They do this because they don't want people to know that they stutter. Sometimes they don't talk or they substitute one word for another if it's hard to say. No two people stutter in the same way.

Ways kids help stuttering:

Some kids go to speech therapy. They work on tools that help make talking easier. They also learn alot about stuttering and talking. Some kids go to the National Stuttering Association convention every summer. Some kids teach their teachers about stuttering. Some kids even make classroom presentations about stuttering.

Ways parents & teachers can help kids who stutter:

"Do's":

1. Always keep eye contact

2. Be a good listener

3. Tell the person it's O.K. to stutter (in private if you think it would help them)

4. Find out how they feel about talking at school and at home.

"Don'ts":

1. Finish a sound, word, or sentence that the person is stuttering on.

2. Tease people because they stutter.

3. Tell kids to use their speech tools.

4. Make a big deal about it because a person stutters.