What To Expect In A Stuttering Therapy Session

You might wonder what stuttering therapy might entail for your child so that you are able to prepare yourself and your child what to expect before entering the first session.  If your child is younger (preschool aged) the speech therapist will be working a lot with the parent and teaching them ways to help their child’s speech by modifying the home environment.  They may train the parent to do things such as model slower speech at home and to reduce time pressure.  During a speech session, the speech therapist will work with the child while doing play-based activities.  A speech therapist might teach “turtle talk” or “slow and easy speech.”  We want the child to understand that they have control of their speech (slowing it down vs. speeding it up, saying words easily vs. with tension) so we may choose activities where we can model and practice slower and easier speech. 

For older children the therapist will use a more direct approach.  The therapist will teach the child about stuttering and begin to learn different strategies that help to enhance fluency and reduce stuttering.  They also may work on attitudes and emotions about their stuttering.

-Carrie Ravine, Speech Therapist