Despite having advanced language skills, they repeat words, sounds or syllables. Their breathing and movements are disrupted when they speak. The picture is clear: your child stutters. Faced with this difficulty, you’re ready to do everything you can to help them. This fluency disorder, which has no link to language acquisition, affects around 8% of children aged 3 to 5. While stuttering resolves on its own in 80% of cases, a persistent disorder calls for a consultation and possible follow-up. In practical terms, what should you do? Who should you turn to? How can you give your child the best chance of putting stuttering firmly behind them? Here’s the answer in 4 key questions.
When should you see a specialist?
When your child’s repetitions and speech blocks become compulsive (some letter or syllable repetitions can happen 3 to over 20 times) and you notice breathing difficulties, unnecessary pauses in the middle of certain words, or facial tension, you can conclude they’re going through a stuttering phase. In the vast majority of cases, this is a period that appears between ages 3 and 5 and ends within a few months with consistent parental guidance. That said, 20% of these children don’t regain fluent speech on their own. For these children, intervention will be needed to stop the stutter from becoming established.
Between ages 3 and 4, it’s recommended to see a speech and language therapist if the difficulty persists for more than 6 months. Even more so if a family member stutters, or if the parents are anxious and affected by this temporary difficulty. It’s also important not to let the disorder become established if the child shows embarrassment or starts avoiding speaking…
If your child is over 4, it’s recommended to seek help as soon as speech difficulties appear. Indeed, at that age, it’s rare for stuttering to resolve on its own without support.
Which health professional treats stuttering?
No hesitation needed: for stuttering, you should see a speech and language therapist. They are the specialist in speech and language disorders. They are also the reference practitioner for treating dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysorthographia, ADHD, and aphasia…
Ideally, you should make sure the speech and language therapist is specialised and trained in treating stuttering. Indeed, compared to the United States, training on this type of disorder remains insufficient in French universities. So when booking an appointment, look for a therapist who specialises in this area, a requirement that, unfortunately, isn’t always possible in some medical deserts.
To help with this kind of issue, the ORA teleconsultation platform supports families with their children’s speech therapy care, wherever they are in the world. A 2.0 approach based on online consultations with health professionals. Appointments from home, flexible hours, choosing a professional based on the disorder to be treated, and quality comparable to an in-person consultation: all of this supports equal opportunity and better access to care.
What treatment methods are used?
Speech therapy follow-up. Its goal is clear: to restore fluent speech to your child. Over the course of the sessions, the professional will work on the expression of words, then sentences, until full fluency is achieved in everyday conversation. This varies case by case, depending on the child’s age and how long the stutter has lasted. Several approaches may be considered, but stuttering remains a disorder that generally responds well to treatment. Hiding the problem from the child by trying to keep quiet about it is therefore pointless, even counterproductive.
“Talking about the difficulties they’re having with their speech is precisely what stops it from becoming a problem”
Élisabeth Vincent, speech and language therapist
At the first appointment with the therapist, both parents and any siblings are expected to attend. The assessment begins with an examination of the child and an evaluation of how severe the stutter is. During this session, which lasts between 1 and 1.5 hours, the health professional will try to determine the origin of the disorder and will above all talk with the parents to understand the family’s day-to-day dynamics. Questions will focus on when the stutter began, how those around the child react to the difficulty…
At the end of this assessment, the therapist will set treatment goals. First, they’ll give recommendations to the parents. This list of DOs and DON’Ts will become your new game plan to help your child speak freely. This advice is accessible to everyone and fairly simple to put into practice at home.
If signs of difficulty persist, more regular follow-up will be suggested (with weekly sessions).
What attitude should you adopt day to day?
Take your time: slowing down the pace to let your child live at their own rhythm is often the best treatment for stuttering, and one that leaves no after-effects. To avoid anything that might encourage stuttering, parents will need to rethink their own pace of life, then their speaking pace, and finally the pace of their activities. Stuttering is often the result of a child feeling rushed by those around them and overwhelmed. So, day-to-day haste leads to hasty speech. Be a role model for your child by speaking more slowly and calmly. This takes effort on your part, but bedtime stories are an excellent exercise for learning to pace your voice and your rhythm.
“Speaking this slowly can feel very unnatural. But these are temporary adjustments; the goal is to create conditions in which the child will be able to speak fluently.
Marie-Eve Dumas, speech and language therapist
Be patient: now is not the time for demands or perfection. Focus on substance over form. Your child needs to feel like they’re succeeding. So, you’ll need to lower your expectations and be understanding about small language and phrasing mistakes. Fluency and self-confidence come first. If they get stuck on a word, help your child finish the word or sentence so they can keep expressing themselves and complete what they’re saying. Become an active listener, not a mistake inspector. What matters is that you’ve understood what they’re trying to tell you.
Take the drama out of it: the best way to solve a problem is to name it clearly. Do the same with your child. Talk openly about their difficulty, avoiding turning it into a taboo subject. Rather than frowning or glancing at another adult while your child stutters, put the situation into words with kindness and empathy: “Sweetheart, it sounds like the words are having trouble coming out today. I’ve got all the time in the world, I’m listening, don’t worry.”
Favour “I” statements over “you” statements, since the latter place extra pressure on the child, especially with phrases like “you should speak more calmly”, which are best avoided.
All this advice, as well as the guidance given by the therapist, should also be explained to those close to the child and to their teacher. In fact, it’s often the therapist who reaches out to their young patient’s teacher to explain the situation.
The good news is that you are not to blame for your child’s stuttering. The origin and causes of this disorder show that a genetic predisposition is needed for it to develop. The even better news is that, in the vast majority of cases, you can overcome stuttering with a few new habits that will very quickly prove quite pleasant for the whole family.
