All of these strategies are easier to follow after meeting with a speech/language pathologist.
So, what happened to that 2½ year old I mentioned earlier? She stuttered for a little over a year. It was episodic. She blocked at times and jerked her head to get words out. She prolonged sounds. My husband and I began to reduce demands placed on her, and we slowed down our speech. We never acknowledged our daughter’s disfluent moments. It wasn’t necessary to do so. Interestingly, she never commented on mine. My daughter is now 12 years old and has shown no signs of stuttering past the age of 4.
Was her issue with speech and language developmental in nature or was it the beginning signs of stuttering? We’ll never know, but altering the environment definitely made speaking easier and less stressful for her.
Remember, there are many successful professionals who stutter and have learned to be effective communicators. There are also direct therapy approaches available if stuttering persists.
Your words are like morsels of candy to children. They eat them up. Be kind, patient and loving. And consult a speech/language pathologist if you suspect your child is stuttering.