VIDEO: Distinctions Between Stuttering Therapy for Children and Adults

So, the first thing that's important to know is that we treat children like children and we treat adults like adults. Too often we infantilise teenagers, young adults, and adults in therapy that might be very childish, and too often we treat very young children in the same way we might treat an older person, or an older child.

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The therapy has to be fit for the person you’re working with

approach for pre-schoolers who stutter

• Stuttering for preschool children is often just a blip and may resolve on its own.

• Not a lot of stigma, or judgment; very matter of fact

• Focused primarily on physical behaviors of stuttering

• Focus on supporting parents and empowering them to help their children

transition from pre-school to school-age and beyond

• At some point, in the early school years, children begin to compare themselves to others

  ‘My hair is different’,

  ‘My body image is not the same as everyone else’,

  ‘My skin color isn't the same’

• The “non-physical”/emotional component of stuttering is introduced

As we move into the school-age, teen, and adult years, we have to think about how the person may be faced with thoughts and feelings around stuttering, and how that affects their overall experience in life and self-image.

Joseph Sheehan’s Analogy of the Iceberg

We think about how each person experiences the “physical” vs. “non-physical” components of stuttering to determine what therapy approach is best:

• How much of the work is above the surface?

  • Behaviors we can hear or see like a stutter, or a body movement

• What's beneath the surface?

  • Emotions and thoughts we often can't see, both positive and negative; shame, guilt, confidence, acceptance

Based on the person, their developmental stage, along with where their “work” primarily lies (above or below the iceberg), we can decide how much of the work will be focused on physical strategies vs. non-physical strategies.

Uri Schneider, Co-Director Schneider Speech