Stammering may just be the result of a child’s
enthusiasm to tell his parents about something. If his parents ask him
to speak slowly and carefully and say, ‘What’s the
hurry? Don’t stammer. People will laugh at you’, the child will
become conscious of the speech. And the stammering will worsen
or the child may stop talking.
MANAGEMENT: If your child starts stammering, avoid the temptation to correct the speech
at that time. Such children often do not stammer if they are asked to
recite a poem or sing a song that they have learnt by heart.
Encourage that. It gives them confidence and the stammering stops
on its own after a couple of months.
Consult a speech therapist if you find that there is no improvement after having waited for 2 to
3 months. Tell
all the members of the family and the schoolteacher not to
make any attempt to correct your youngster’s speech. Let
the expert handle the situation. The results with such help are excellent.
In a rare case, stammering may be inherited. It does not improve spontaneously and instead
starts getting worse.
Such children must be put under the care of a speech
therapist as soon as possible.
