Stammering

• The term 'stammering' is used in the UK, other countries refer to it as 'stuttering'. They both mean the same thing.
• About 8% of children will stammer at some point. It is common in children between the ages of 2 and a half and 5 years old. It can also start later in life.
• For most children, stammering is temporary, whereas some children will continue to stammer throughout their life. There is no way to tell which children will stop stammering and who will continue.
• There is no link between stammering and intellectual ability.
• Stammering can run in families - about 60% of people who stammer will have another family member who also stammers.
• Stammering is caused by small differences in the brain where speech develops.
• Parents do not cause stammering and it is not caused by anxiety or stress, although these feelings may impact on stammering.

Refer to us for more support when one or more of the following apply:

• Any child over 3 years old where stammering is a concern.
• Child is under 3 years old and has been stammering for over 1 year and / or there is a family history of stammering.
• Child is aware and would like help for their stammer.
• Child has moments of stammering that are associated with lots of tension, effort, and struggle.
• Child is becoming increasingly frustrated, angry, upset, embarrassed and/or anxious.
• Child is experiencing teasing and bullying.
• Child gives up on what they are trying to say, changes or avoids words or avoids certain speaking situations.
• Child's stammer is impacting on their confidence, self-esteem, and ability to take part in a range of speaking situations.
• Child has a stammer and there are concerns about other areas of their speech, language, or communication development.
• High level of parental concern.

Learning more about stammering is an essential part of the support we offer.

If your child is under 7 years old and the main or only concern is stammering, we will offer you a parent/carer stammering information session which aims to give you a clear understanding of what stammering is and why it happens and will provide you with practical, everyday strategies that you can start using immediately to support your child's communication and confidence. You will be provided with a written plan to support your child, and you can request further support from the service at any time if needed.

If your child is over 7 years old and the main concern is stammering, we will offer a specialist 1:1 assessment, followed by a parent/carer stammering information session and therapy tailored to your child’s needs if appropriate.

Whilst there are no cures for stammering, the Speech and Language Therapy Service provides a range of therapy approaches for children who stammer and their families. Therapy offered is tailored to an individual child's needs and will be discussed with the child and their family at assessment.

Our aims of therapy are to:

• Minimise the impact stammering is having on the child or young person.
• Build confidence and self-esteem.
• Help the child or young person to become a confident communicator.
• Help others to implement strategies and make changes in the environment to support confident communication.
• Help make speaking easier and less effortful (if the child or young person wishes to).

Where it is appropriate, we work with the child or young person on reducing avoidances and associated negative feelings and emotions and help them to accept and feel okay about their stammer.

Therapy is offered as 1:1 sessions (in-person or online) and/or group therapy. We run intensive therapy groups for 7-9 year olds, 9-12 year olds and teenagers. The groups provide an opportunity to meet other children who stammer, to share experiences, to build confidence and reduce feelings of isolation.

We also offer free stammering training to nurseries, primary schools and secondary schools. The training provides staff with information about stammering (including factors that might influence it and challenges that children/young people may face in school) and strategies to support children, as well as tips around creating a stammer-friendly classroom and school environment.

If your child has recently been referred to the Children’s Speech and Language Therapy service for stammering support (and is under the age of 7), you will have been offered a parent only training session. You might be wondering why our first step is a parent only training session rather than booking your child directly in for a one-on-one assessment. We want to reassure you that this approach is based on research and provides effective support in a timely way.

Why start with a parent session?

• Support from referral without the wait: Waiting for an assessment can take time. Offering a parent session right away means you get access to support and guidance that you can start using immediately to support your child’s communication and confidence in a timely way.
• Parents are the real experts: Research shows that modifying a child’s home communication environment will have a positive impact on your child. Helping others around the child feel more knowledgeable about stammering and confident to manage it will help create a supportive positive environment around the child and start to reduce the impact of stammering.
• Reducing family anxiety: It is completely normal to feel worried, guilty, or unsure about how to respond when your child stammers. This session provides a safe, reassuring space to ask questions, learn what causes stammering, and understand how to support your child at home.

What is the parent stammering training session? 

• The session lasts approximately 2 hours
• It is an important first step in the support we offer for young children who stammer and is part of a child’s therapy
• If you do not book a place or book a place and do not attend without letting us know, your child’s referral will be closed.

During this session, you will:

• Learn more about stammering and the factors that can affect it
• Have an opportunity to ask questions, get advice and share experiences with other parents of children who stammer
• Gain ways to help your child become a confident communicator
• Set up a plan to support your child’s talking

What happens after the session?

• You will receive a communication support plan outlining strategies to use in special times and tools to support your child’s communication. This can be shared with school/nursery.
• Have some time putting your strategies into practise at home, in 1:1 special times and in daily routines. Many families see positive changes in their child's communication and confidence during this time.
• Your child’s school/nursery will be invited to attend a stammering training session

No further appointments will be made after the training, however, if you need further advice/guidance to support your child’s communication after trying out strategies for 2-3 months, you can easily contact us to request further support at any time. A one-to-one appointment will then be arranged for you and your child with a Speech and Language Therapist. There is no need for a new referral—you can get back in touch with us directly by filling in a simple online form or by calling our service on 03001233387 (details will be included in your written plan).

We look forward to meeting you!

Contact Us

For more information or if you have any questions before your session or need support in accessing the training, please contact the Children’s Speech and Language Therapy Service on 03001233387.

If your child is over the age of 7, stammering support is provided by the specialist stammering team within the Children’s Speech and Language Therapy service. We work with children and their families up until the age of 18/when they have completed fulltime education.

The first step is to complete an assessment session with you and your child. This is typically completed online. During this session, we will gather information about your child, their general development and communication and specifically about their stammer. The process involves asking questions to both you and your child so that we can build a clear picture of your child’s stammer and if/how it is impacting on them.

We may offer therapy following the assessment. Our decision as to whether to offer therapy is based on several factors - whether their stammer is impacting on their confidence, thoughts and feelings, and/or their participation; whether they would like therapy and are motivated to engage in therapy sessions; whether now is the right time for therapy.

If we decide not to offer therapy, you can contact us for further support at any time in the future if you/your child feels that therapy would be appropriate.

What to expect if we offer therapy

An essential part of the support we offer is for parents/carers to attend a 2-hour online parent-only training session. This session provides a safe, reassuring space to ask questions, learn more about stammering and understand how to support your child at home. As this is an essential step in your child’s therapy, their referral may be closed if you book a place and do not attend without letting us know.

We will also invite your child’s school/college to attend a free online stammering training session aimed at staff working in education settings.

Following your assessment, we will offer therapy as soon as we are able to; sometimes there may be a wait of 2-3 months. We may offer therapy online or in-person and we may offer the option of group therapy. Our clinics are located at Mansfield Community Hospital, Sherwood Health Centre and Beeston Health Centre.

Stammering therapy in the Children’s Speech and Language Therapy service aims to -

• Help your child become a confident communicator whether they continue to stammer or not
• Increase your child’s knowledge of stammering and their thoughts and feelings about it
• Help your child to feel able and confident to take part and communicate in a range of speaking situations
• Reduce the impact of stammering
• Help your child feel good about talking, stammering and themselves

Your child will be involved in all decision making and target setting during their therapy sessions. They will be given choices of what they would like to focus on.

You and/or your child may feel that you would like to work on speech skills as part of stammering therapy. It is important to acknowledge that speech skills do not ‘cure’ or ‘stop’ stammering and can be very difficult to implement, often increasing demand on the child; however, they can sometimes be useful to help reduce physical struggle when used in some speaking situations. If your child is not experiencing struggle when they speak, then speech skills are unlikely to be beneficial.

If you have any questions before your session or need to inform us of any specific needs, please contact us on 0300 1233387. We look forward to meeting you!

Pausing and slowing down

Use more pauses in your own speech and use a slow relaxed style of speaking when talking to the child. Give yourself extra 'thinking time' before you answer. This will help to reduce the pace of the conversation and the feeling of needing to rush and will provide a good model for speed of talking.

 

Wait and give your child time

Give your child plenty of time to respond to help them to plan and process what to say

• Wait and let your child finish their sentences. Finishing off sentences is unhelpful as it reduces self-confidence and increases frustration; especially if the person chooses words different from those intended by the stammering child.
• Be mindful that your own body language is not signalling for your child to rush.
• Avoid interrupting your child or helping them to say a word.
• Avoid making suggestions of things they could do to change their speech (i.e. don't say 'stop, slow down, take a breath'). If interrupted, your child may lose their train of thought or feel like their speech is being corrected.

 

Keep eye contact

Children often lose eye contact when stammering. It's helpful if you don't look away but give the same eye contact as you would if speaking to a child who is not stammering. This shows that you are listening to what they are saying rather than how they are saying it.

 

Encourage turn taking

Encourage everyone in the family to have a turn similar in length.

• You could use an object, for example, at the dinner table, to indicate someone's turn. When you have the object you can take your turn at speaking and others need to listen and wait until you have finished before they speak and hold the object.
• Take time to think and speak.
• Listen carefully to each other.
• Allow others to finish their point. Be patient.
• Respect opinions.

 

Reducing questions

Questions often demand an immediate response - this can increase pressure and demands on a child's language skills and sometimes leads to more stammering

Reduce the number of questions you ask by asking one question at a time.

Give your child plenty of time to answer.

Make comments instead of asking a question ('the cat is sleeping on the wall' instead of 'where is the cat?'; 'I had a sandwich for my lunch' instead of 'what did you have for lunch today?')

 

One to one special time

Have 5 to 10 minutes of one to one time with your child every day, where there aren't any distractions and there is no competing for attention with other family members.

• Do something together that your child enjoys, look at a book together, talk about your day, play a game.
• Give your child your full listening and undivided attention.
• Try to spend one to one time with siblings as well.

 

Talking about stammering

• Give the message that it is okay to stammer. It's important that children feel ok about stammering and do not view it as something negative or something they shouldn't do as this may lead to more stammering - feeling pressure to be fluent can increase negative feelings about stammering.
• Try and remain calm and relaxed about stammering; it is normal to feel anxious or worried about it but try to avoid showing that anxiety to the child. If the child can see that the stammer isn't a problem for you, it is less likely to become a problem for them.
• It is okay to use the word 'stammering'.
• If your child is aware of their stammer, you could ask them what helps with their talking or if there is anything they would like you to do differently when they stammer.
• If your child is not aware of their stammer it is up to you if you want to talk about it - if you do, it won't make it harder for your child to talk.
• If your child is showing frustration or indicating that talking is difficult then try acknowledging it in a sensitive and relaxed way (for example, 'that was a bit tricky, well done for carrying on', 'some words are hard to get out - it's okay, I'm listening').