Speech Therapy for Stuttering

Stuttering is one of the most common issues that speech therapy corrects. There is no exact cure for stuttering, but you can take speech therapy steps to reduce it.

What is Stuttering?

Stuttering includes disfluencies like repetition, stretching a sound out for a long time (prolongations), or blocks in your speech. As a result of these disfluencies, your speech won't sound smooth.

For example, some symptoms of stuttering are:

• Part-word repetitions – "I w-w-w-want to go."
• One-syllable word repetitions – "See-see-see that."
• Prolonged sounds – "Jjjjjjulia is there."
• Blocks or stops – "Can I go to the (pause) park."

What causes stuttering?

The cause of stuttering can be different for everyone. According to Stanford Children's Health, there is a genetic aspect to developing a stutter. It is believed that stutters in children occur because this is a point in their lives where the brain is forming speech neural pathways and developing rapidly.

What can a speech therapist do for you?

Speech therapy is designed to help patients feel more confident and improve their attitudes towards their fluency disorders. The treatment that a speech therapist provides may vary, but the general steps towards recovery are:

• Listen to your stutter and speech.
• Evaluate your speech through various test assignments.
• Identify speech issues and feasible speech goals.
• Provide a treatment plan and speech exercises customized to you.

Although the length of speech therapy sessions can vary, your speech language pathologist will continuously work with you to adjust and complete your objectives and goals.

For example, here are some goals that a speech language pathologist can help you with:

• Reducing the frequency of stuttering
• Decreasing the struggle of stuttering moments
• Working to decrease word avoidances
• Learning more about stuttering
• Using effective communication skills
• Determining your long-term and short-term goals

Visit our site to learn more about what an SLP can do for you to reduce your stutter. Or book a free consultation to see if our services are right for you.