9 top tips to boost stammering awareness
Stammering, sometimes called stuttering, or dysfluency, is relatively common in childhood, and it can continue into adulthood. There are two types of stammering; developmental stammering, which is the most common type that can develop in early childhood as language is being acquired and speech skills are being developed, and acquired stammering, which tends to happen in older children and adults as a result of factors such as brain injury, stroke, or certain drugs, for example.
Determining exactly why a child has started stammering is not really possible. There will usually be a number of factors at play, possibly developmental, possibly inherited, possibly emotional. STAMMA, the national charity that supports people who stammer in the UK, explains that it is more common in boys than it is in girls, although the reason for this is as yet unknown. Around 1 in 12 young children will experience a phase of stammering at some point in their childhood (this compares with around 1 in 100 adults) and around 2 in 3 will grow out of it. It is very hard to predict how long stammering may last and how it may develop for an individual.
Support for stammering in children generally involves speech and language therapy. Someone who stammers may feel anxious about talking in case they are mocked or teased, so it is important to create calm and peaceful environments in which children may feel relaxed, and address any anxiety, fear or stress associated with the stammering. Every child who stammers is unique, and there is no one thing that will work best for each person who stammers.
Support for children who stammer in your school will be most effective if it is tailored specifically to the needs of each child. However, there are some general ideas that just might help:
Diversity
STAMMA makes the point that there is no diversity without dysfluency. Their website states: “There's nothing wrong with wanting to sound fluent or sounding fluent. But there is something wrong with our media and our cultural perception of stammering, which says 'thou shalt not stammer, because that IS how some people talk.” Where possible make sure that children who stammer are represented in the literature and resources used in your school.
Attitude
Research shows that when people stumble in their speech, they can be dismissed as being weaker or less able than those who speak fluently. This can in turn seep into the way in which people who stammer are portrayed which can be, STAMMA explains, demeaning and patronizing.
Sensitivity
It is helpful to consider the language that your school uses around stammering. Guard against using terms such as “suffers from” or is “afflicted by” and remember that stammering is not a weakness. Don’t talk in terms of battling it or overcoming it and keep your language neutral.
Awareness
Children who stammer can be more likely to be bullied or teased. They may also be excluded from play or sidelined for other activities in school. Make sure that doesn’t happen in your school. Keep an eye out for any signs of teasing or ridicule and deal with it as soon as possible.
Support
Offer plenty of opportunity for children at your school to develop and nurture their self-esteem, to acknowledge their skills and successes and to shine. This will help all children.
Value
STAMMA explains that your pupil’s stammered voice should be valued. It is simply the way that they talk. Have patience, show interest, and allow them the space to speak.
Adapt
STAMMA makes the point that stammering is protected under the Equality Act 2010 which means that schools must make reasonable adjustments to support children. It suggests the following as potential examples:
- Giving extra time for them to answer questions or complete oral tasks
- Giving them the option of presenting to a smaller group of children or co-presenting with a peer
- Allowing them to give or record their presentation in private in advance
- Adapting tasks to include the option to provide visual or written information
- Not having to say their name or other words/phrases they find more challenging
- Not having to answer questions on the spot but having time to think about the answers
- Giving them alternative ways to answer the register if they want e.g. using different words or non-verbal responses such as clapping their hands.
Ask
As with all children with specific needs, it can really help to ask what will support them to thrive at school. Not only will this elicit some really useful information, it will also show that stammering is something that can be talked about openly in your school from a supportive perspective. Most of the time, a child who stammers knows best how to manage their stammer and what would help them the most.
Remember
STAMMA believes that “the most important thing for a child to know is that stammering is just the way that some people talk. What they have to say matters just as much as someone who speaks more fluently. Their speech might take a little bit longer, but that doesn’t mean their words are any less valuable. They have a right to be heard.”
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About the author
Elizabeth Holmes
After graduating with a degree in Politics and International Relations from the University of Reading, Elizabeth Holmes completed her PGCE at the Institute of Education, University of London. She then taught humanities and social sciences in schools in London, Oxfordshire and West Sussex, where she ran the history department in a challenging comprehensive. Elizabeth specialises in education but also writes on many other issues and themes. As well as her regular blogs for Eteach and FEjobs, her books have been published by a variety of publishers and translated around the world. Elizabeth has also taught on education courses in HE and presented at national and international conferences.
