Let's talk about stuttering, please

[Dobela]

DD will be 4 in 2 weeks. When she began speech last summer she had some moderate developmentally appropriate stuttering. Occassionally it would be severe enough that we would discretely address it per the instructions of the speech therapist. The therapist was working with her oral muscle tone and strength and gradually the stuttering pretty much disappeared.

 

That is until a month ago when it reared its head and came back with a vengence. She isn't stuttering just when tired or stressed and she isn't just stuttering the sounds expected at her developmental age. She is very stressed when speaking, there is tension in her voice and posture, and she is stuttering on pretty much every sound thru out sentences. Since we didn't see her regular therapist, the one she was seeing just told us to sing more and have her learn more finger plays and such as a way to focus on language rhythm in a fun way. The therapist wasn't very concered actually.

 

Her regular therapist just came back today after a 2 month maternity leave. She was so upset/concerned by dd's huge change that she actually called me as soon as the session was over (I wasn't there, dd had 2 more hours of therapy after speech). She let me know that what we were doing, while it works some, is not intense enough for dd in her opinion. She is afraid it is becoming a permanent pattern for her. Starting on Thursday she will begin a special program with her that will require lots of work at home as well. She told me the name but sadly I have already forgotten it. Well, I was out with my son,distracted, and then so upset about the call that now I can't remember the name. Lips something???

 

As we begin this, I want to hear the experiences of other people. What do I need to be asking?

What are programs I should ask about?

What can I do at home that won't contradict the therapist?

 

I know I also need to relax but I am really upset tonight. Just when I thought we were maybe moving ahead and nothing new could suprise us. I know we are so blessed, but it brought me to tears.

[PeterPan]

Dobela, I don't have any answers, but I'm really sorry. I know how that feels to get whomped again and again. Although the SLP is probably right, it might be she's a bit hormonal or emphatic being post-partum and all. I mean I certainly wasn't an angel at 2 months post-partum. She may have upset you more than she needed to. My cousin stuttered, and they helped him through it. I've read on our apraxia list about some apraxic kids going through a stuttering phase as they learn to speak. Ie. it's actually NORMAL for them to go through it on the way to getting whole. So just take it one step at a time and you'll get there. Visualize her whole and 30 and over all this, with your little grandbabies in tow. Do it every day. That's what I do, only with no grandbabies and maybe more like 25. He's gonna be cute. :)

[peacefully]

:grouphug: I wish I had resources to point you to, but I just wanted to share a BTDT. Ds stammered quite a bit. SLP says it's technically not a stutter, but there were times that ds just could not get the words out and he struggled so hard just to start his sentence. His issues had to do with language processing and not apraxia (as far as I am aware), and it is now so much better (he's 6). It sounds like your therapist has specific ideas about how to help your dd. I'm sure that she's going to get through this fine. And you too, mama. :grouphug:

[Laura Corin]

I've heard great things about that programme - I can't remember the name either.

 

Hobbes stuttered from about that age. He had therapy to help him smooth through the stutters and, six years later, he is not really stuttering at all. There's sometimes a little hesitation in his speech, but nothing that you would identify. I do expect his stutter to come and go in the future, but I am hopeful that it is controllable.

 

He's outgoing and fearless in social interaction. His therapist said that home education was a very good thing for him, saving him from teasing in the early years when he could have lost confidence.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura

[Dobela]

Thanks for the reassurances. I think this bothered me beacuse we were already concerned about her stuttering again and knowing that it sounded different than before. Especially since the other therapist seemed to downplay it when I brought it up last month. She had noticed it as well, read the history, and all that. It is more than stammering and beyond the usual developmental stutter that kids go thru. DD becomes so very frustrated, to the point that she will look away, cover her face, or just refuse to talk.

[redsquirrel]

I don't know if this will reassure at all but my friend's son has a fierce developmental stammer. It has come and gone depending on developmental changes and growth. He is going on 8 years old and it is sometimes there and sometimes not. When it comes back, it is there for everything, not just being tired or upset.

 

My son, who gets speech therapy had some stammering issues when he was 4ish. It got pretty severe with some grimacing and jerking of his head and getting caught in phrases "I want, I want, I want, I want, I, I, I, I , I" for example. It would come and go and now, I realize I cannot even remember the last time it happened. He is 6 now. He still does get speech therapy for other reasons, but not the stammer.

 

 

And I have also had a therapist sort of lose it when a skill that was seemingly mastered goes away. My son needs lots and lots of repitition before a skill is mastered so I am used to it. Now, I take it as a good sign that the therapist really cares about her/his work and my son. I have taken to warning therapists that his skills will come and go and to be prepared for lots of backtracking.