If your child has a severe stuttering problem, it can be very hard for them to communicate with you. Before you do anything, you need to determine why they are having this problem, and then learn ways you can get them some treatment.

Causes of Stuttering

There are many things that can cause stuttering. It could simply be genetics. If no one in your current family has this problem, research your past to see if you find a family member that does or did.

If you could not find anyone in your family with this problem, it could be due to developmental problems.  For example, when your child is very young, the rate of their speech and language skills develop very rapidly, which can then cause the stuttering. Even though most babies have this rapid language growth, some children are just more apt to be affected with stuttering than others.

Environmental factors can also be the cause of stuttering, such as the child's environment, parental attitudes, and going through stress in their life.  The fact that your child stutters may cause them anxiety and fear, which causes the problem to become much worse.

Speech Therapist

The first person your child should see for treatment for their stuttering is a qualified speech therapist. Make sure the speech therapist has experience working with children that stutter. Ask them what their success rate is in helping children overcome the problem. You should also have your child meet with the therapist to see how comfortable your child feels with them.

Over time, the speech therapist can help your child completely stop their stuttering, or at least minimize the problem.

Treatment

There are many different types of therapy options the therapist may use. One type is taking an indirect approach. The therapist will use this type of treatment if they think your child's stuttering is influenced by interacting between them and another person, as well as by the environment your child is in. The therapy consists of educating the parents and training the parents to make changes at home when it comes to communicating with the child.

Another approach the speech therapist may take is the direct approach.  With this, the child will be asked to stop stuttering when they first start to stutter.

Talk to a speech therapist to learn much more about the different types of pediatric speech therapy, and what treatment will be best for your child.