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Helping your child with fluencyInformation for you

Visit our website: www.nhsaaa.net

All our publications are available in other formats

Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/nhsaaa

Follow us on Twitter @NHSaaa

Speech and language therapy

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Some children, when they are learning to talk, can stumble over words/pause and start again etc. This can sound like a stammer. Between the ages of two and five years it is normal for a child to repeat words and phrases or hesitate while they are thinking of what they are trying to say. Many children will become more fluent as they get older but others can continue to get stuck and find talking difficult.

It is important to seek advice and information on how to help as soon as you notice your child often having difficulty in speaking.

Here are some ideas that may help:• Do not draw attention to the child’s speech at all or give the

child advice about it. Accept it as you would normal, fluent speech. Only if your child is aware and has commented or shown signs of frustration should you offer your child some words of reassurance, for example ‘that was a tricky word’ or ‘everyone gets stuck with their talking sometimes’.

• Listen to what your child is saying rather than how they are saying it.

• Do not talk about their speech in front of them or refer to your child as a stammerer.

• There are strategies that you can use, that can be helpful, for example slowing down your speech, using shorter sentences and more frequent pauses.

• Do not interrupt or finish sentences off for your child.

• Give your child plenty of time to speak, try not to rush them.

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• If your child is competing with brothers and sisters for your attention, make sure that they all get their turn and if possible have some one to one time with you.

• Build up your child’s confidence by praising their behaviour when they do things well, for example you are very good at drawing – that’s a great picture.

• Some children’s fluency is affected by factors such as their moods, your moods, time of day, stress and excitement. Understanding these things will help to spot any patterns. Sometimes there is no pattern.

• Try not to put your child into a difficult speaking situation, for example making the child speak in front of others or asking him lots of questions where they feel under pressure to answer.

Please share this information with all who communicate with your child.

For more information visit: The British Stammering Association website on www.stammering.org/parents_help.html

The Stuttering Foundation of America website on www.stutteringhelp.org

The Michael Palin Centre www.stammeringcentre.org/toptips/home.html

Last reviewed: July 2016Leaflet reference: SLT16-006-GDPIL code: PIL16-0123

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