What Happens in Stuttering Therapy
Goals of stuttering therapy
There are usually two main goals in stuttering therapy:
- Making talking easier, and
- Developing healthier attitudes and feelings about talking.
Making talking easier is achieved by teaching children speech tools. These tools help the child produce speech in a different way, such as reducing the amount of tension in his speech system, beginning a sentence with more air, or stuttering in an easier way.
Developing healthier attitudes and feelings about talking is achieved by helping the child learn to respond to speaking situations with less anxiety, become more confident in his ability to use his speech tools, and use problem solving skills for difficult speaking situations.
Not all children need to change how they feel about talking. Many children are confident and willingly talk to others. For some children, however, talking can produce feelings of anxiety or fear, even guilt and shame. Overcoming these negative attitudes and feelings can be just as important for the child as learning to talk more easily.
Talking more fluently is only one part of being a good communicator. Learning to take turns, not interrupt, and using eye contact when speaking are also important communication skills. Sometimes, the harder a child tries to use his tools and be fluent, the more he will stutter. Again, it’s important to let children know that they shouldn’t be ashamed to stutter, it’s ok to stutter.
For more information on what happens in speech therapy, two Stuttering Foundation videos may be of interest to you. Tape #79, Therapy in Action: The School-Age Child who Stutters focuses on elementary-age children, and Tape #76, Stuttering: Straight Talk for Teens is for adolescents. More information about these tapes can be found under the Resources for Teachers tab on this site.
Why children may not use speech tools all the time
For any of us, learning to change the way we talk is very difficult. Think about times you’ve had to try to slow down or use a different style of speaking, and then consider whether you’d be able to do this in all situations with all listeners!
Being expected to use speech tools consistently can be especially difficult for a child who stutters. Possible reasons she may be unable or unwilling to use her tools include:
- being unsure about how to use her speech tools;
- being excited or rushed;
- feeling tired or sick; or,
- having difficulty with the language demands of the speaking situation, such as having to give an especially long or complex answer.
For people who do not stutter, how we talk is something to which we give very little attention. One example of exactly how difficult making this type of change may be is to practice writing your signature with your opposite hand. We often use this activity with children as part of a classroom presentation about stuttering or with parents of children who stutter. After trying to write with the opposite hand, we ask:
- How much did you have to think about writing with your other hand?
- Did it feel natural?
- Does your signature look the way it normally would?
Responses usually include that signing with the opposite hand took a great deal of thought, felt very unnatural because of changes in the angle of the pen or the amount of pressure applied to the paper, and does not look at all like the person's typical signature.
We then make the analogy that this is how if feels to change speech: it takes concentration, it feels unnatural, and it sounds different. These are additional reasons children may hesitate to use their speech tools.
Changes to expect from speech therapy
Speech therapy can be a long-term process. Children may show changes in both how they talk and how they feel about talking as they learn to successfully manage their stuttering. As a result of speech therapy, you may notice your child:
- becoming more fluent;
- stuttering with less tension;
- using more eye contact;
- volunteering to answer questions rather than only answering when called on;
- contributing ideas during a brainstorming session;
- talking more with peers; or
- changing how and when he talks in other ways.
Adapted from Stuttering: Straight Talk for Teachers by L. Scott Trautman, C. Guitar, K. Chmela, and W. Murphy.
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