One of the worst speech disorders that a lot of children have to deal with is stuttering. According to the American Psychological Association, stuttering affects more than 75 million people around the world. Over 3 million people are affected by stuttering just in the United States.
If stuttering isn’t dealt with properly at an early stage, 1 in 4 children can develop a severe condition that carries well into adulthood. To resolve this problem quickly, certain strategies and techniques should be implemented with the child. Here is a list of the best ways to deal with stuttering.
Electronic devices
A few children develop a stutter because they have some form of hearing impairment. Specific electronic devices available in the market help children with hearing disabilities improve their fluency and manage their speech.
These devices can mimic speech that sounds like the person is talking in unison with another person. According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, these devices help temporarily reduce a child’s stutter.
Medication
Stuttering can arise from neurotic experiences as well. A child might start stuttering suddenly if they feel anxious. Psychiatrists and doctors can prescribe certain medications to lessen the stuttering provoking factor in children. These drugs are Alprazolam, Citalopram, and Clomipramine. These anti-anxiety drugs are quite useful in the reduction of stuttering, as claimed by The Stuttering Foundation. Doctors have proclaimed that these medications work best when combined with therapy.
Speech therapy
Speech-language pathologists conduct speech therapy for toddlers. They are trained extremely well in their specialty and help children work on a fluid speech pattern, help slow down their speech rate, and help manage situations in which stuttering can worsen. It is important to note that all speech-language pathologists must be licensed and have a degree accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CAA). Even online speech pathology programs need accreditation from the CAA. So, you must research well before taking your child to a Speech and Language Pathologist so that you can find the most qualified one for helping your kid.
Practice of speech and avoidance of trigger words
If a child is taught to speak slowly and carefully, they can gradually reduce the symptoms and stress associated with a stutter. Children can use two techniques for this. One is to try reading aloud at a very slow pace to pronounce the words correctly, and two to learn how to add a brief pause in between sentences and phrases.
Certain words trigger a person’s stuttering. So, avoiding words that tend to make a child stutter can significantly reduce the child’s overall stammering. They can easily find alternative words to use till they are comfortable with the trigger words.
So many kids suffer from stuttering. When this is left untreated, it can very well cause significant problems well into adulthood. So, using these techniques and strategies to help your child overcome his stutter. Further, it’s advisable to seek professional opinion to help your child in the best way possible.