Stuttering in Children is Getting Common: Know Everything about Childhood-Onset Fluency Disorder

Stuttering, also known as childhood-onset fluency disorder, is a common communication condition that disrupts the flow and rhythm of speech. It is characterized by involuntary pauses in speech, hesitations, and repeats of words, sounds, or syllables that disturb the rhythm and flow of speech. Even with a normally functioning vocal tract, people who stammer have trouble speaking smoothly and continuously. The average age of onset ranges between 2 and 7 years. While mild stuttering is not uncommon in young children learning to talk, if it persists over time and causes distress in child, it becomes a fluency disorder.

 

 Here's everything you need to know about stuttering or childhood-onset fluency disorder.

 

Symptoms and Behaviours of Stuttering

Stuttering is characterized by involuntary motor speech actions that disrupt speech drift. These interruptions may also consist of:

 

• Repeating sounds or syllables while speaking (i.e., "I-I-I want to play")
• Sound prolongations (like of consonants and vowels)
• Word substitution to avoid problematic words
• Dysrhythmic phonations that distort the normal flow of speech within words
• Blocks that cause unintentional pauses while speaking.
• Effortful speech that results in anxiety or embarrassment related to speech

Additional physical indicators could also include:

 

• Blinking of the eyes frequently
• Face grimace or lip tremors
• Head jerks
• Fist clenching
• Being out of breath or nervous while talking

 

 

Diagnosis and Treatment of Stuttering in a Child

 

Children between the ages of two and five frequently experience spells of stuttering. This is a normal component of learning to talk for most kids, and it gets better on its own. However, therapy may be necessary to improve speech fluency, if stuttering persists.

Your child’s pediatrician is usually the first to identify signs of stuttering. This typically occurs following your observation and mention of the symptoms, or following a diagnosis made by your child's pediatrician during a checkup.

 

The healthcare provider will inquire about any family history of stuttering as well as your child’s specific symptoms. Typically, the pediatrician will advise your child to consult a licensed speech therapist. Speech and language issues can be diagnosed and treated by this specialist. The expert will:

 

• Enquire a lot about your child's speech.
• Evaluate your child's capacity to communicate using a variety of methods and advice treatment plan for speech therapy.

 

Treatment approaches used in stuttering:

Speech therapy is the primary treatment for all types of stuttering. It involves the following:

 

• Perceptual exercises, such as identifying specific words and sounds.
• Exercises to produce particular sounds and enhance speech fluency.
• Activities that strengthen the breathing, swallowing, and voice.
• Support in communication through tools like communication boards, sign language, and computer-assisted speech devices.
• Supervision on incorporating these techniques into daily routines.

 

Also, cognitive behavioral therapy can also be used to pinpoint the mental processes that exacerbate stuttering and to pinpoint coping mechanisms for the stress that stuttering causes.

 

 

How to Speak Someone who Stammer?

• Don't complete their sentences if they are struggling. Don’t focus on errors.
• Give them enough time to complete speaking, even if they're having trouble expressing themselves without interrupting.
• Build their self-esteem. Keep eye contact, show attention to what they're saying rather than how they're saying it, and refrain from asking them to talk more quickly or slower.
• When speaking with a young child who stammers, take your time and be calm. Short sentences and basic vocabulary will ease the child's transition to more complex speech.
• Don't talk too fast and overwhelm your toddler. Make sure you give them enough time to consider what you've said, comprehend it, and decide how to respond.

 

Hence, stuttering can be frustrating or embarrassing no matter at what age it is developed. Timely intervention through speech therapy will allow the child to be self-confident and speak fearlessly in public or even strike up a conversation without any difficulty. If not addressed early, stuttering can lead to frustration, embarrassment, bullying, social withdrawal, emotional distress, and even anxiety or depression later in life See your child's pediatrician, if they exhibit signs of childhood-onset fluency disorder. Early detection and intervention through speech therapy can improve your child's speech.

If you have any questions related to the stuttering of your child, you can check with our pediatrician or speech therapist at Ask a doctor, 24x7.