Many parents become worried when their child’s speech becomes riddled with disfluencies, and they have difficulty getting their words out. Parents may worry that these patterns may be permanent, or get worse with time. The good news is that many children go through a period of disfluent speech as their language skills develop; however, for some children this period may require intervention or consultation by a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP).
Nearly all of us use disfluencies in our day to day conversations. Typical disfluencies include aspects such as filler words (uh, um, like), revisions (I went to the grocery, I mean the produce store), and phrase repetitions (He was being, he was being impatient).
However, atypical disfluencies may signal parents and clinicians that some intervention may be beneficial, particularly to circumvent communication challenges and to promote optimal language development. Atypical disfluencies include sound repetitions (b-b-ball), syllable or word repetitions (I-I-I want to go), sound prolongations (mmmmmmy), and blocks, whereby words or sounds become physically and perceptually ‘stuck’. These disfluencies can vary in frequency and, in general, are considered more severe if accompanied by facial or body tension or other body movements.
The presence of disfluent speech does not automatically warrant the label ‘stuttering’. Rather, it is when the presence of atypical disfluencies accompany negative thoughts/emotions surrounding speech that a problem may arise. The child or adult may fear particular words, sounds, or speaking environments. Communication then becomes a very stressful experience, and the stuttering may become worse with increased tension, stress, and avoidance behaviours.
SLPs who work with stuttering generally approach intervention in a multi-faceted way. Attention will be placed on a variety of factors including the client’s thoughts, emotions, relationships, environmental factors, and the speech itself. The ultimate goal of therapy is for clients to gain autonomy, confidence, and a sense of control over their speech. By externalizing the stutter, it is hoped that individuals can separate this aspect from other parts of the self, while gaining acceptance and confidence. Giving others these tools is very rewarding as an SLP and reaps many benefits for an individual. This path is not smooth or perfect, though it does bring many gifts of healing and empowerment.
If you feel that you may be stuttering, I encourage you to seek out support and guidance. You do not have to walk this journey alone.