Hi all-
I have not posted for sometime and am glad to be back. I hope you are all staying cool. It has been unbelievably hot and humid in NY.
I wanted to share a wonderful story with you. Back in March of 2010, I received a call from a parent of an almost 4 year old girl who was stuttering. The mom stuttered herself and was in a panic. She reminded me of myself when my then 2 1/2 year old daughter started stuttering. No one can understand the panic a parent feels when their child starts to stutter unless you stutter yourself. It is your worst nightmare ( true things could be worse, but to us it is very scary). We can’t help remember our own struggles and project our unsuccessful experiences on our children.
This parent lived over an hour from me, but was willing to travel because she knew I was trained in Lidcombe and had stuttered myself. She had read about the Lidcombe program and was anxious to get started. This little girl started therapy in April. She was struggling to speak and the mother was very worried. I am pleased to report almost 4 months later, she is almost stutter free. The mom is so relieved and feels like she has played an important involvement in her daughter’ s recovery. I hear so many stories that Lidcombe should not be used because a child might have outgrown stuttering anyway. I disagree. A child should never have to struggle to talk. If Lidcombe or parent counseling to eliminate environment stressors can be taught, then why wait?
I want to also add that Lidcombe has eliminating stuttering in the majority of children I have treated, but not all. However, it has decreased severity and secondary symptoms in every child I have seen for therapy.
Some reasons why it has not eliminated stuttering in a few I believe has to do with contributing stressors such as: anxious children, siblings at home who are competing for their parent’s attention, parents who are not able to provide the consistency that Lidcombe entails (this is not their fault, but a small percentage of parents prefer other approaches), inconsistent attendance at therapy sessions. a strong family history of stuttering and impulsivity on the part of the child. For these children it is vital to eliminate as much of the contributing factors in the child’s environment to improve fluency. It can be done and don’t feel guilty if your child is still stuttering. Some of these children return a few years later with a greater sense of maturity and learn fluency shaping strategies to improve their fluency. Sometimes maturation plays a huge roll in success.
To conclude, EARLY INTERVENTION is KEY. Do not wait. Have your child evaluated. Tks so much for reading. It is very appreciated!
Tags: Lidcombe stuttering therapy, Long Island speech therapy, Long Island stuttering, stuttering Long Island
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