Stuttering affects the fluency of a person's speech. Stuttering will usually begin in early childhood and in some cases will continue throughout life. Stuttering is characterised by disruptions in the flow of speech and there are different types of stuttering behaviours that you may notice, such as:
Repeating whole or part words
Prolonging a sound within a word
Having difficulty making a word come out, like it is 'blocked'
Using a lot of interjections between words such as 'umm' and 'err'
The Lidcombe Program is a behavioural treatment for young children who stutter, and is considered the gold standard for children who stutter in the preschool and early schooling years . Parents learn how to do the treatment during visits from the speech pathologist. Better Start offers this service across Adelaide and surrounding suburbs.
If you have noticed that your child has started to stutter the best course of action is to not intervene until a professional can advise you. Contact us to discuss whether your child is ready for the Lidcombe Program.
