3160 North Arizona Avenue, Suite 105, Chandler, Arizona 85225
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Stuttering
Childhood Stuttering
If you think your child stutters, we can help. It is important to seek help as early as possible. Early treatment can reduce the chances that your child will keep stuttering.
Contact us for an evaluation if you have noticed any of the following things:
- Your child's stuttering has lasted for 6–12 months or more.
- Your child starts to stutter late (after 3½ years old).
- Your child starts to stutter more often.
- Your child tenses up or struggles when talking.
- Your child avoids talking or says it is too hard to talk.
- There is a family history of stuttering.
Our certified Speech-Language Pathologists will look at the following things:
- The types of disfluencies (typical and stutter-like).
- The number of disfluencies that are the stuttering type.
- How your child reacts when they stutter – do they get upset?
- How your child tries to "fix" their speech – do they start over or stop talking?
Our speech therapists will ask if your child's stuttering affects the way they play with others, or if stuttering makes it harder for them to participate in school. The SLP will use all of this information during an evaluation to determine whether your child stutters and to develop a treatment plan.
Who Will Be My Speech Therapist?
The professional in charge of each individual’s speech-language therapy program is known as a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP). The SLP will work with each individual to design a program that meets the unique needs of that person. Meaningful activities will be developed to make therapy interesting and effective in meeting goals.
Adult Stuttering
People who stutter may repeat parts of words, stretch a sound out for a long time, or have a hard time getting a word out. Stuttering also may include tension and negative feelings about talking. It may get in the way of how an individual talks to others and they may even try to hide their stuttering by avoiding certain words or situations. Stress or excitement or feeling rushed can also increase stuttering. A person who stutters may also stutter more if others tease them or bring attention to their speech. Stuttering may cause a person to be embarrassed and make them feel nervous about talking.
Revisiting therapy may be beneficial, as it is common for speech patterns, as well as emotions or attitudes about your speech, to change over time.
An evaluation is necessary to develop a treatment plan based on your goals and objectives for communicating. Therapy will focus on many factors, but may include:
- Education about stuttering
- Decreasing the frequency of stuttering
- Decreasing word or situation avoidance
- Decreasing tension and struggle of stuttering events
- Increasing effective communication skills such as eye contact or phrasing
- Practicing real-world situations, such as a job interview or making a presentation
We provide therapy service in schools, homes, online, and in our clinic located in Chandler.