HOW TO HANDLE YOUR CHILD'S STUTTER

Understanding the fundamentals behind stammering can help you get ahead of this issue and minimise the impact on your little one’s daily life.

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Stuttering, also known as stammering, is a speech condition that affects the flow of speech, preventing children from speaking clearly and smoothly. Not only can this make it particularly challenging for them to express themselves, it presents issues when it comes to making new friends and fitting into the social hierarchy of their peers.

THE ROOT CAUSE

Unfortunately, there is no definitive reason for stuttering in children. Some studies suggest that it’s a result of a miscommunication between their brain and the muscles in their mouth that are responsible for producing speech. A delay or misfire of this signal could easily lead to a stammer.

There are also genetic factors at play. Children who stutter tend to do so due to a gene that has been passed down to them by a parent. However, a parent or grandparent with a stammer doesn’t guarantee that the child will develop one. Surprisingly, it is believed that stress and anxiety cannot ‘create’ a stutter, although they can trigger or increase the severity of a stuttering issue that is already present.

TYPES OF STUTTERING

There are three main types of stuttering: developmental, neurogenic and psychogenic. Let’s dive in!

Developmental

Developmental stammering is the most common kind. Usually appearing in children aged between two and six years old, it often passes within six months - but if it continues, it’s best to seek the help of a professional. Boys are more likely to develop a stutter than girls, and children who begin to stutter after three and a half years of age are significantly more likely to continue.

Neurogenic