Beyond Stuttering : Cal State Fullerton Center Helps Children Build Confidence and Find Ways to Control Their Speech

When Keelin Jacobsen, 7, first discovered his voice, words streamed from his lips.

Oddly, however, he speech became delayed and broken when he turned 6 years old. Words beginning with the letters F, M or W became difficult for him to say.

That’s when Keelin’s parents discovered he stuttered severely.

“It was so bad that he couldn’t even get through one syllable without stuttering,” said his mother, Karen Jacobsen.

An estimated 1% of the U.S. population stutters. The exact cause is not known, said Glyndon Riley, a researcher on stuttering and founder of the Center for Children Who Stutter, based at Cal State Fullerton.

But studies have shown that stuttering is a genetic neurophysiological disorder that impairs the way the brain processes information.

“Stuttering is not a psychological phenomenon,” said James Blinn, a speech and language trainer who works with Orange County school districts. “It has nothing to do with a child’s upbringing.”

Many children undergo normal speech irregularities during the preschool years. From the ages of 2 to 5, children commonly repeat whole words and phrases and may interject “uh” and “um” into their speech. This is normal during speech development and usually disappears.

But stuttering is characterized by the following:

* Part word, or syllabic repetitions, such as mo-mo-motor

* Prolongations of a letter in a word, such as mo-t-t-t-tor

* Blocks in speech, when the child cannot sound out a word or part of a word

* Anxiety about speaking

* Effortful and strained speech

* Increased facial tension or tightness in the speech muscles are warning signs.

If a child frequently exhibits any of those signs, parents should consult a speech and language pathologist, Riley said.

Stuttering usually appears in early childhood, and can be successfully curbed if detected before a child turns 7, said Libby Oyler, acting director of the Center for Children Who Stutter. Children who stutter through adolescence probably will stutter for the rest of their lives, Oyler said.

Oyler, who stutters, said that if she “could have received the kind of help I now give to children, I feel I wouldn’t be a person who stutters today. It really is a healing process for me to provide this kind of specialization.”

Oyler works with Keelin Jacobsen and about 20 other children who stutter. Through games and conversational activities, she helps children build confidence in speaking and find ways to control their stuttering.

In the two months that Keelin, who lives in Riverside, has been going to the center, his speech has vastly improved, his mother said. He has progressed from struggling with three-word sentences to holding flowing conversation.

“He used to be so discouraged about talking,” Karen Jacobsen said. “Now he’s learning how to deal with it, and knows that there is hope.”

More is known about the factors that affect or worsen stuttering than the specific causes. Parents should adopt an accepting attitude, Blinn said. They should tell the child that talking is a skill, and making mistakes is an important part of learning any skill. They might compare it to catching a ball or riding a bike and explain that some children are more skilled at doing certain things than others.

Parents should reassure children that making mistakes is OK, and that practice will help. Even children with chronic, severe stuttering can be helped so that routine communication is not a significant problem.

The worst thing to do is to draw attention to the stuttering, Blinn said. An angry or exasperated reaction can make an already self-conscious child even more anxious.

Here are several other steps parents can take to provide a nurturing, rather than anxious or punitive, environment for the child who stutters:

* Provide a calm atmosphere in the home. Try to slow down the pace of family life.

* Speak slowly and clearly when talking to your child.

* Maintain natural eye contact with your child. Try not to look away or show signs of being upset.

* Let your child speak for himself or herself. Allow your child to finish thoughts and sentences.

* Pause a few seconds before responding to your child’s questions or comments.

* Don’t require the child to speak precisely or correctly at all times. Allow talking to be fun and enjoyable.

* Use family meals as a time for conversations. Avoid distractions such as radio or television.

* Avoid corrections or criticisms such as “slow down,” “take your time,” or “take a deep breath.”

* Avoid having your child speak or read aloud when he or she doesn’t feel comfortable.