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Stuttering can be severely disabling socially, professionally and psychologically. Even "mild" stuttering can pose significant life issues. The National Stuttering Association is a valuable resource to anyone who stutters, regardless of age or severity. Our organization maintains and supports a variety of programs for children, teens, and adults who stutter including:
Local Chapters that bring together people who stutter, for support, encouragement and empowerment
Publications including newsletters, booklets and books that help educate people who stutter, as well as enlighten professionals and the general public about stuttering
Annual Conference that brings together hundreds of people who stutter, their families and professionals from around the country for a time of sharing, learning, and support.
As many of you know, pediatricians and family physicians are the first healthcare professionals that parent’s turn to when they initially have concerns about their child’s stuttering. Unfortunately, many pediatricians and family physicians are unfamiliar with childhood stuttering and are unable to provide parents with the appropriate advice and information.
The NSA has created a brochure specifically for pediatricians and family physicians called Childhood Stuttering: Information for Pediatricians and Family Physicians. The NSA is very proud of this brochure. It has useful, concise information that will be extremely helpful to pediatricians answering questions from parents about their child’s stuttering.
An outreach program is currently underway to educate pediatricians and family physicians about childhood stuttering who are in a unique position to provide accurate information to parents of children who stutter. With the correct information and a basic understanding of childhood stuttering they can also assist parents in making the appropriate choices regarding a speech evaluation with a speech-language pathologist. Recent studies indicate that early intervention with speech therapy increases the likelihood of a child developing normal fluency. Therefore it is critical that pediatricians and family physicians have the most current and accurate information about stuttering that is available. Early intervention can have a profoundly positive impact on a child who stutters.
The NSA has a small group of VOLUNTEERS who will be reaching out to pediatricians in their area to provide them with this new brochure. Also, talk with your child’s SLP, they may be willing to place some brochures in their office waiting-room. In doing so, people may be inclined to browse though them and pass one along to their pediatrician. If you would like to help get the word out, please contact, Stephanie Coppen at delaney72@sbcglobal.net. Together we CAN make a difference!
Click on the FREE NSA brochure above to read the brochure in its entirety and to get ordering information. You can also get more information about NSA opportunities by clicking on NSA Resources to the right, by calling us at 1 800 We Stutter ( 1 800 937 8888 ) or by emailing us at physicians@WeStutter.org.
Important information about children who stutter.
Current evidence suggests that stuttering is a neurologic, rather than a primary psychological disorder, affecting areas of the brain concerned with hearing and speech. It typically appears early in life soon after a child begins speaking. The impact of stuttering is commonly underestimated. Even seemingly "mild" stuttering may have significant long-term psychological and social consequences. The so-called "covert stutterer," for example, is actually struggling constantly to replace "hard" words with "easy" words on-the-fly, fearing the moment when a word cannot be substituted, such as when reading aloud or when introducing oneself, at which time their stuttering will be "exposed."
Recent studies indicate that early intervention is crucial to the remediation of stuttering by enabling "rewiring" of the still developing and malleable neurologic pathways in young children. Though the majority of preschool children who seem to stutter might eventually "grow out of it," the "watchful waiting" approach may actually cost the rest of those children the opportunity to derive maximum benefit from speech therapy, as the aberrant pathways are ultimately "hard-wired" into place. There is no consistently reliable long-term "cure" for stuttering once an individual has reached adolescence.
Children who might be starting to stutter should be referred promptly for further evaluation, to a speech-language pathologist who specializes in that area. The National Stuttering Association can help you or the child's parents identify such resources in your locality. Contact us by email at physicians@WeStutter.org or 1 800 We Stutter ( 1 800 937 8888 ).
Note: Original material contributed by Jeff Menkes, MD, FACEP
Clinical Instructor, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, CT
Department of Emergency Medicine, St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center, Hartford, CT
Department of Internal Medicine, Hartford Hospital, Hartford, CT
Republished March 2008
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