One of the most famous examples of speech stuttering can be found in the cartoon character Porky Pig. Young children often have trouble beginning a word, phrase or sentence. They may repeat sounds, syllables or words over and over again. Speech problems are often accompanied by rapid blinking, jaw tremors or tension in the face. Many kids will attend speech/stuttering therapy and outgrow these developmental difficulties, but some do not. As adults, these people will have suffered years of self-esteem damage.
Scientists aren’t sure what exactly causes stuttering, but researchers hypothesize that there are a number of regions in the brain that play a part in stammering stuttering; namely the cortex, the cerebrum and the cortical pathways. In the past, doctors thought that blocking a chemical called “dopamine” in the brain would reduce the incidence of stuttering, but now they’re finding that increasing the level of GABA chemical can work in much the same way. Speech problems tend to run in the family, indicating that there is an unknown genetic factor at work. With developmental stuttering, children may find it difficult to synch their thoughts with their language abilities, and in adult cases of strokes or brain injuries, neurogenic stuttering occurs because there are lesions or structural abnormalities in the motor-speech region of the brain.
As a parent, you may be wondering when to take your child to see a doctor about his or her speech stuttering problem. After all, it’s common for kids between the ages of 2 and 5 to trip over their words. Generally, you should visit a doctor or consider speech therapy if the condition lasts more than six months, it becomes more frequent, it occurs along with facial twitches/rapid blinking/tension, it affects your child’s schoolwork or social life, it causes emotional problems like speech avoidance or if it continues past age 5 while reading in school.
To help your child who is speech stuttering, it’s best to listen attentively and maintain eye contact the whole time. Be patient and give your child the time to find the right words, without interjecting. Set aside time each day for talking, when you are not too busy or distracted to truly communicate. When you speak, talk slowly and deliberately to encourage your child to do the same. Try to keep a calm, relaxed atmosphere in your home, since stress can increase the incidence of stammering stuttering. For local community resources, contact the Stuttering Foundation at 1-800-992-9392 or the National Stuttering Association at 1-800-937-8888.
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