Ben, aged 2, started to stammer suddenly and severely. Up until then, he had been quick to talk and a chatterbox. Naturally his parents were terribly worried and desperately trying to decide what they were doing wrong! They phoned us for some help. We reassured them that it was very unlikely to be their fault and that while a referral to speech and language therapist was important, there was also still a chance that the stammer could resolve. Most children, even when the stammer begins suddenly and severely, do grow out of it. And this was the case - by the time they came to see us, the stammer was virtually non-existent.
Fernando (5 years) and his parents completed a course of parent child interaction therapy and although there was an overall improvement, there were still occasions when Fernando was very aware that talking was hard. Direct therapy was introduced which helped him to understand more about his talking and experiment with different ways of helping himself with his parents' support. He enjoyed the games, earned lots of stars and told his teacher and friends what he was doing.
Abdul (aged 14) came to the Centre because his father was worried that his stammer was affecting his education. Abdul told us that his stammer was not a problem, that he didn't want any help and he was managing fine. We have agreed with the family that Abdul can phone us at any time to arrange another appointment - therapy won't help someone who isn't interested!
Beth came to us when she was 4 and the stammering appeared to have resolved then. Now at 11 she was about to change to her new school and this worry seemed to have triggered the stammering again. Beth and her parents came on a two-week intensive therapy course with a group of other families. The stammer has not gone away altogether, but Beth feels more confident about her ability to manage any problems in the new school.
Dilan, aged 7, was gradually developing a stammer. He also has Down's syndrome and a statement of special educational needs. His current speech and language therapist contacted us and together we devised an action plan to balance his developing language skills with the increasing educational demands that may have been affecting his fluency.
Chris came to see us when he was 17. He had had speech and language therapy on and off throughout childhood with varying results. Now he was beginning to think about career options and worried about tackling interviews and giving presentations. We arranged some sessions with two other young adults who had similar concerns - a shared approach like this is often helpful.
