Stuttering: what you can do to help

Posted on 9 May 2013

Stuttering is highly variable and usually affects individuals in different ways with varying degrees of severity. Speech therapist Dina Lilian gives her suggestions on what you can do when speaking to someone who stutters.
(Read Dina’s previous posts on what stuttering is and its possible effects.)

Tips when talking with your pre-school child who stutters:
1.    Speak with your child in an unhurried way, pausing frequently. Wait for a few seconds after your child finishes speaking before you begin to speak.
2.    Decrease time urgency – give your child the chance to answer one question before presenting another one. Provide a calmer, predictable, less-hurried life style within the home rather than maintaining a fast-paced, hectic or inconsistent family routine.
3.    Decrease interruptions – provide opportunities for your child to talk without interruptions. Encourage each person in the family to listen to each other. When one speaks, the other listens and waits for his/her turn.
4.    Be an attentive listener – when your child is talking to you, stop what you are doing and focus your attention on your child.
5.    Reduce the number of questions you ask your child – instead of asking questions, comment on what your child has said.
6.    Limit corrective advice – do not attempt to correct your child’s speech or give advice to your child such as ‘slow down’ and ‘think before you speak’.
7.    Avoid filling in or guessing what your child is about to say. Rather wait patiently for him/her to complete the sentence and focus on the content of the speech rather than the manner of the speech.

Helpful hints for teachers who have a student who stutters:
•    During everyday classroom discussion, it is important to allow increased response time for the child who stutters and encourage everyone to contribute their ideas.
•    If a child who stutters raises their hand, call on them immediately so that anxiety around speaking situation is not exacerbated.
•    When it is time for answering questions, teachers can help by not rewarding quick call-out answers. Taking turns, modelling thinking time, and random-selection styles are helpful strategies to implement.
•    Reading aloud in the classroom is a situation that may increase anxiety if the child who stutters must wait for his or her turn in the ‘down the row’ style of turn taking. To minimise this, the teacher may wish to consider using random styles of turn selection. In certain situations, exempting a child from speaking within a classroom situation (if this is what the child who stutters wants) until the child has learnt strategies to deal with their stuttering, may be a more desirable approach.
•    Classroom oral presentations may pose problems for children who stutter (as well as other children in your classroom). It is important to approach these presentations in a matter-of-fact way, and to develop a plan that supports the needs of the child who stutters – perhaps even allowing child to do an oral on a one-on-one basis. Flexibility may be necessary at times, but is important to provide opportunities for the child to be a successful contributor in the classroom.

How to talk to school-age child who stutters:
1.    Don’t tell the child to ‘think before you speak’, ‘take a deep breath’, ‘stop and start over’ or ‘just relax’.
2.    Be patient – don’t complete words, supply answers or interrupt.
3.    Don’t avert your eyes, turn your head away, or look pained/pitying.
4.    Avoid imposing time pressure and firing too many questions.
5.    Maintain natural eye contact – concentrate on what is being said (ie the content) and not how it is spoken (ie the manner).
6.    Don’t pretend that dysfluencies do not exist – be open with the child about their stutter. Ask the child how they feel about their stutter and what would make them more comfortable when they speak.

When speaking to an adult who stutters:
1. The person who stutters should be listened to patiently, not be hurried and not interrupted.
2. Never finish a person who stutters word unless asked to by them.
3. Don’t fill in words or supply answers.
4. Don’t look pained, pitying or impatient.
5. Do not withdraw eye contact, glance nervously at the person who stutters or stare vacantly into space.
6. Speak naturally.
7. Maintain an unhurried, calm and interested manner.

How employers can aid someone who stutters in the workplace
Employee-assistance programmes can be established by an employer to provide information on stuttering to their employees as well as refer them to an appropriate professional. The best way to approach an employee’s stuttering is through honest communication. By refraining from making assumptions about the individual’s job-related abilities and skills, it is possible and in most occasions probable that an employee who stutters can effectively achieve the employer’s goals.

People who stutter should be honest and open about their speaking abilities and the areas in which they feel they can perform effectively. They should be willing to discuss how their stuttering might impact particular areas of their job performance and what might be done to accommodate them. Simultaneously, understanding stuttering should be a part of an employer’s ongoing effort to make the work place more understanding for all employees. To an extent, consistent with their abilities, a person who stutters should be offered leadership opportunities and paths for promotion within an organisation. Greater understanding provides benefits for the organisation and all the people who work there.

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The information provided in this article was correct at the time of publishing. At Mediclinic we endeavour to provide our patients and readers with accurate and reliable information, which is why we continually review and update our content. However, due to the dynamic nature of clinical information and medicine, some information may from time to time become outdated prior to revision.