Dealing with Stuttering

Hi, my name is Tanya D. I am a single mother of 2 living in the tri-state region. Today I wanted to write this blog to reach out to other moms/parents who have a child who suffers from stuttering/ speech disfluency. Recently ( 2 1/2 months ago), my 23months old son developed a habit of stuttering. At first, it was random over last month; it has gotten progressively worse. Instantly I jumped on it and reached out to an early intervention program (a program that helps parents connect with various therapists to help children with developmental delays). I am familiar with the program; my eldest child has developmental delays been receiving services since the age of one.

After having the initial interview with his coordinator, she scheduled an appointment with a speech therapist and an evaluator. It took about 2 to 3 weeks to complete the evaluation. They observed him via zoom for about an hour and had him follow some basic tests. Frankly, both the therapist and evaluators said that my son wouldn't qualify because he was very advanced for his age. They told me to give it about six months to see if the stuttering will dissipate independently. They also told me not to provide the stuttering with any attention.

Of course, I felt that was the worst advice "don't give stuttering attention." How could I not? My son has been reaching and exceeding milestones and, until recently, can converse clearly and fluently. This new impediment that hinders his communication has been frustrating for both of us. Unsatisfied with the response, I decided to do some research (aka channel hop on Youtube). I Found several speech therapists who gave some solid advice.

Let's start with the cons; the speech therapist says it is not good to tell a stuttering child to slow down or take a deep breath. Nor to make them repeat or start over their sentence until they get it correct. It can cause stuttering to worsen.

False theories; I presumed my son was having neurological issues due to him constantly bumping his head from playing rough. Or maybe psychological issues from me projecting my voice when he doesn't listen (almost always). That couldn't be farther from the truth. In the video, the Speech therapist stated that many factors could contribute to the impediment.

1. Being hereditary

2. A more common factor is difficulty in "executing motor movement while talking."

3. She also mentioned sudden changes such as moving to a new home, frequent body movements jumping to different activities in a short space of time.

Then it hit me I recently moved to a new apartment. So naturally, our setting and routines have changed quite a bit. Although I did explain to him, we were moving, and I guess he didn't process it. I tend to forget that he still a baby and that change can be challenging for anyone, even if it's a suitable type of change. I am still awaiting the results of the evaluation. I am following the therapist's suggestions and will watch him for six months in hopes that it goes away on its own.