Dr. Raminder Jit Singh
Sweet Benjamin, since thou art young,
And hast not yet the use of tongue,
Make it thy slave, whilst thou art free;
Imprison it, lest it do thee.
(John Hoskins)
In Children, stammering or stuttering is a bad habit that need not become a way of life and never be permitted to take a firm root. Stammering in children should be monitored, and in certain situations it may be necessary to intervene
For, in the words of a well known authority Dr. Wendell Johnson of the University of Ohio, stammering is an “avoidable accident”.
The speech disorder we call stammering or stuttering is basically a failure to let the voice go freely. This is the first point we have to consider. The second is that all children stutter and hesitate when they are learning to speak. So it is obvious that the handling of any early difficulties is very important.
Normally, as fond parent you may laugh when the learner stumbles over pronunciation, and for him it is all part of a great adventure; he picks himself up, in a verbal sense, and does better next time. But, occasionally, a very sensitive child may sense an element of ridicule in your laughter, or if there seems to be any show of impatience, he may become nervous and upset. In either case, he will grow to regard speech as something to be undertaken with care and uninhibited, he comes to the point where speaking is for him a matter of restraint.
Equally dangerous is the attitude of anxious parents who do not realize that early stumbling marks a normal phase in speech development. They worry because their child is more backward than the child next door. They try to be tactful: they pretend not to notice, having heard that one should not draw a child’s attention to any faults in his speech; they hope he will grow out of his difficulties. And, in ninety cases out of a hundred, this is precisely what would happen, if they didn’t worry.
It is probable that in the very beginning, most stammers have their origins in haste. The child’s rapid thinking makes him want to say something in one great blurt of sound. In the majority of cases, this tendency rights itself in time, and the child settles down to speaking in a normal and more leisurely manner. In one case in a hundred, the physical function needed to produce speech is not efficient enough to work at such speed. But instead of reducing his talking speed to a manageable rate, the child presses on at the uncontrolled pace to which he has become accustomed, until a point is reached where he tries to compel speech to emerge by sheer muscular force.
A child who has been speaking properly can develop a stammer for various reasons, usually associated with emotional insecurity. The child who doesn’t feel secure and is not looked after properly, the left handed child who is urged to use his right hand instead, the youngster who suffered some blow to his self confidence, may all show signs of disturbance by developing stammer or some similar speech defect. In such cases, if the trouble persists, the advice of the family doctor or the school doctor should be sought.
For the child who has a normal home life and is free from serious emotional stresses, a stammer need never be allowed to become a habit. But parents must ensure that their approach is always positive and never negative. The word “stammer” should never be used. The most harmful and useless instruction a parent could give a child with speech difficulties is “Don’t stammer”. His mind must be directed towards good speaking.
Confidence and fluency in speech can be instilled at this early stage. But success depends on two main attainments: the child must speak at a manageable pace, and he must speak in a strong, forthright voice. The parents need not concern themselves with anything beyond these two attainments, for once the youngster is capable of speaking in a strong, unrestrained voice, all that is needed for him is to develop a habit of speaking in this way.
On the principle that nothing succeeds like success, the child should be complimented on his big, strong voice. He can be told that, by holding his neck and shoulders loosely, he can make his voice even more powerful. This is a positive suggestion whereas, if one were to tell him instead that he must avoid tension in his neck and shoulders, this would be a negative way of making the suggestion. If your child has difficulties of this kind, you will discover many ways of helping to boost his self-confidence.
Blame yourself rather than him for the inconvenience caused by his excessive speed and urgency in speaking. Point out that you are too slow in the up-take to keep pace with him, and that he must speak slowly and distinctly, so that you can understand what he is saying. And do set a good example. Children learn to speak by imitating others: and it makes it very difficult for a child to acquire good speech habits if its parents are hasty speakers.
The vicious circle of stuttering-worry-tension-stuttering should not be allowed to establish itself; the disorder has to be prevented from continuing into adulthood. And in almost every instance, the parents of the potential stammerer can help their child to triumph over his difficulties. Stammering can be stopped, helped by hand with a light touch.
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