Patient's question:
My son is six years old and has had a stutter for over a month. The first word can be repeated several times, and sometimes it also repeats in the middle. When he talks to himself, he stutters not at all. In these days, I have been slowly correcting him, letting him speak slower and think before speaking. But I found that his stutter has become worse than before. What should I do now? I'm desperate.Doctor's answer:
Children often start stuttering when they first begin to learn how to speak. But this does not mean that stuttering is something they are born with. Children's language development comes from imitating adults. Children are exposed to very rich sensory stimuli every day. It is impossible to express everything accurately in words. A child's initial language abilities often do not match their psychological and intellectual development. Language skills tend to lag behind. Stuttering may manifest as pauses, repetitions, substitutions, or inversions in speech. This is what is known as "stuttering."When parents face a child who stutters, they should avoid hitting, scolding, or overreacting. Instead, they can take the following measures. Prevention is key. If the child is imitating people around them who stutter, and if circumstances allow, it may be helpful to remove the child from that environment. The influence of the environment should not be underestimated, as it is a direct trigger for stuttering.