| Some parents have the shock of hearing their young | | | | child. They can challenge the child to say the word |
| child start stammering as a toddler. I am somebody | | | | fluently, they show their child how it should be said and |
| who runs a speech centre in Birmingham, England, I | | | | then bet them that they can't do it themselves. When |
| now help people to achieve fluency. | | | | they do manage to say that particular word fluently |
| I met a lady who was thirty and her little boy aged four | | | | they then heap lots of praise onto the child, telling them |
| had been stammering for quite a while. She had taken | | | | how clever they are and how proud mommy and |
| him to speech therapy and was extremely anxious as | | | | daddy are of them. I even advise giving them an |
| to why he was stammering. It had possibly started | | | | award like a small chocolate bar. |
| because the toddlers father had quite a severe | | | | If instead of being patient parents or relatives are |
| stammer, the boy may of picked up the bad habits this | | | | aggressive, saying things like: "Get your words boy" |
| way. | | | | "Spit it out!" These types of comments can have a |
| Many other people contact me asking why their | | | | very negative effect and make that child withdraw into |
| toddler has developed a stammer and asking what | | | | their shell. This may to some people seem very |
| forms of stammering treatments are available. | | | | obvious to say, however you would not believe the |
| I always suggest that they keep as patient as they | | | | amount of people who have told me this is what they |
| can and try to play games, speech games with their | | | | were told as an infant. |