Question
When my son was 3-4 years old he started having a stuttering type of speech disorder. We have taken him to a speech therapist who said that he does not have a stuttering problem but needs therapy. The therapy continued for about a year during which his sp
Answer
This is a really great ATE question. There are several components to it. First, at the age of 12, it is very unlikely that the child will ever be "cured" of stuttering. Instead, goals of speech therapy must focus on helping the child successfully manage his stuttering. This includes teaching strategies to manage physical tension during stuttering, increase his knowledge of the disorder (so that he is the expert), and reducing any avoidance or negative reactions he may be exhibiting.
If stuttering is the only symptom, I would be very hesitant to have a child on Prozac to manage stress level, just because of stuttering. It may be that Prozac is indicated for other emotional/ mental health issues, but stuttering is not one of them.
It sounds like all of the focus has been placed on having him not stutter. In the long-term, this can be less than ideal, because it sets the child up for failure. He is going to stutter. It is a part of who he is and acceptance is a huge step in the therapy process that has been overlooked to this point.
I would encourage him to learn what he can about stuttering (www.westutter.org, www.stutteringhomepage.com, www.stuttersfa.org, www.stutteringcenter.org, www.mcspeechbooks.com) and start to work on acceptance rather than avoidance. This means that stuttering is ok, but changing words to avoid it is not.
I would be happy to email with you as well: craig.coleman@chp.edu
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Craig E. Coleman is a Clinical Coordinator at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and Co-Director of the Stuttering Center of Western Pennsylvania. He received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees at the University of Pittsburgh. Craig is a Board-Recognized Specialist in Fluency Disorders. He has served on the Legislative Council of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Craig is also a past president of the Pennsylvania Speech, Language, and Hearing Association.
