Dufferin-Peel CDSB - Lester B. Pearson Catholic

May is Speech and Hearing Month

Stuttering

Stuttering or ‘dysfluency’, is a communication impairment in which the individual knows what he or she wants to say, but experiences an involuntary interruption or stoppage in the smooth flow of speech. It is often accompanied by excessive bodily tension and struggle behaviour such as facial grimacing. The person may feel embarrassed and frustrated when trying to talk, and may attempt to avoid certain words and speaking situations. Research suggests that some children are genetically predisposed or ‘at risk’ for stuttering and that several factors, such as discrepancies between language development and motor control abilities, emotional maturity and environmental influences, (e.g. fast paced family life lacking routine, competitive speaking situations, loss of listener attention, interruptions) may all play a part in its development. About five percent of children and one percent of the adult population stutters.

Stuttering varies from person to person. The degree of physical impairment, the various environmental factors, the person’s attitude and how he or she reacts emotionally all combine uniquely to produce the sum total of the communication problem and how handicapping it is for the individual. Some people who stutter severely seem to manage quite well with their problem and are accepted by their peers, while others who may appear with superficially ‘mild’ speech dysfluencies, may experience far more anxiety wondering when they are going to get stuck. This may lead to them substituting or avoiding feared words or situations. They have an invisible, though just as real handicap, which they do not want exposed because of embarrassment or for fear of appearing stupid.

What resources are available?

In the school setting, the key to successful intervention means including all who are involved with the student such as parents, teachers and therapist to create an environment in which he or she can become a better speaker and communicate confidently and with ease.

Each school has an assigned Speech Language Pathologist. They are accessed through the Special Services Team. The SLP is there to provide assessment, consultation and advice to teaching staff and to parents, and to provide treatment and referral as appropriate. For example, the student may be referred for direct therapy to the local Community Care Access Centre.