When a family notices that their child is stuttering, it is natural to want to do whatever possible to help prevent it. Stuttering can cause stress in everyday situations because it makes fluent speech more difficult to navigate. Treatment focused solely on reducing the stutter can lead to frustration for both the child and their family. Since there is no definite cure for stuttering, the best thing to do is to learn how to accept stuttering and move past fluency as the only goal. However, stuttering speech can be improved by electronic devices for stuttering such as SpeechEasy.
It’s Something We Do
Stuttering is not something that happens to someone, it is something they do. Children who stutter may display certain behaviors when coping with their disfluency, such as pausing their speech, bodily movements, starting over, using filler words such as “um,” etc. It is important to know the difference between behaviors that are from stuttering and which ones are avoidance or compensatory behaviors. Avoiding stuttering does not only involve not speaking; it can be any action used to get around stuttering or push it away. Electronic devices for stuttering, such as the SpeechEasy delayed auditory feedback device, can be used to help those who stutter communicate more effectively.
Be An Impact
As a family member of someone who stutters, there are many ways you can positively impact that person’s life when it comes to their disfluency. Take a step back and think about how you and other members of your family respond to both fluent and disfluent speech. While you may mean well when you compliment a child for speaking without stuttering, they may interpret that to mean that that’s what you want to hear every time, which can lead to avoiding words or not talking at all in fear of stuttering. Adjust your expectations regarding fluency as well as the way you reinforce speech behaviors. You may also consider introducing a delayed auditory feedback device like those from SpeechEasy.
Find Your Circle
Help your child find other kids who stutter to help them recognize that they are not alone. Perhaps the SLP at their school meets with other children who stutter, so they could meet one another. If your child is the only one who stutters at their school, reach out to an SLP to find colleagues in other schools and set up video chats or pen pals. There are also local and regional stuttering groups, such as The National Stuttering Association and the Stuttering Foundation of America.
SpeechEasy | Electronic Devices for Stuttering
SpeechEasy is a combination of proven technology and techniques which can be used to reduce stuttering. Worn in one ear and similar in appearance to a hearing aid, SpeechEasy has helped thousands increase their ability to communicate effectively and confidently. The program that comes with every SpeechEasy device is supported by a team of fluency professionals who truly care about your success. Contact us today!
