| For a parent, it is a big shock when their young toddler | | | | show their child how it should be said and then |
| starts to stutter. What to do next is hard to decide, | | | | challenge them to do the same. When they do |
| whether to seek help from a stutter specialist or to | | | | manage to say that particular word fluently they then |
| hope it is just a phase.I met a lady who was thirty and | | | | heap lots of praise onto the child, telling them how |
| her little boy aged four had had a stutter for quite a | | | | clever they are and how proud mommy and daddy |
| while. She had taken him to speech therapy and was | | | | are of them. I even advise giving them a reward like a |
| extremely anxious as to why he had started to stutter. | | | | small chocolate bar.If instead of being patient, parents |
| It had possibly started because the toddlers father had | | | | or relatives are aggressive, saying things like:"Get your |
| quite a severe stutter, the boy may of picked up his | | | | words out boy""Spit it out!"These types of comments |
| stutter this way.Many other people contact me asking | | | | can have a very negative effect and make that child |
| why their toddler has developed a stutter and asking | | | | withdraw into their shell. This may to some people |
| what forms of stutter treatments are available.I always | | | | seem very obvious to say, however you would not |
| suggest that they keep as patient as they can and try | | | | believe the amount of people who have told me this is |
| to play games, speech games with their child. They | | | | what they were told as an infant.Stephen HillStephen |
| can challenge the child to say the word fluently, they | | | | Hill now helps people to achieve fluency. |