My 11 Year Old Stutter

L.,
Both of my children have/had speech problems. They both started speech therapy before kindergarten. Their speech therapist suggested singing lessons. Anything that used their voice. It was amazing what they could do. We didn't have to pay for formal lessons. They joined the choir later in school and I got them in the choir in our church. They loved it. They could sing, and you couldn't tell that there was a speech impediment. Their pitch was a little off, but that is another story..lol. It gave them encouragement. Good luck!

Hi L., I'm a Speech Pathologist so I thought I'd offer a few words of advice. Usually, blocking behaviors are the most difficult to deal with emotionally. I would recommend going to www.stutteringhelp.org for some additional information regarding the emotional trauma stuttering can have on a young child. When you are encouraging your son, remember that he can't "control" his stuttering so having him to repeat things to make it "better" may actually make things worse. When he stutters, don't correct him. Give him a relaxed environment in which he feels comfortable to express his thoughts and feelings even if that means he stutters severely. Good luck! Let me know if you have any questions and I'll be glad to TRY and answer them.

I am a speech pathologist. What do you mean by a speech doctor? Do you mean someone with a doctorate degree (not a medical doctor) in speech pathology? By this age, I would say he won't just "grow out of it." You might try taking him to a private speech therapist (speech pathologist) instead of the one at school. The Chattanooga Speech and Hearing Center is good. You could also try Associates in Communication Therapies. Both places are good. Let me know how it goes. Good luck!!

i dont have experince with this but i saw a thing on tv once where this teenager had a stutter so bad it was hindering most aspects of his life. they gave him a sort of hearing aide or thing that goes in his ear and his stutter instantly went away. ask you dr about it and see if they know anything. let us know how everything turns out

Hi! I am not exactly sure what it's called, but there is a new device that it placed in the ear. This device is supposed to regulate the stutter by providing a rythym for the speech. I don't know if it would help but it may be something to check into. Hope this helps..Good luck..

I am not an expert by any means but my husband had a stuttering problem when he was a child and he had to learn to speak slower to get rid of his. His thoughts were ahead of his mouth.

I would suggest that you take your son to the Vanderbilt Kennedy Family Outreach Center. There are several clinics available, as well as different studies he can participate in at no cost. I think you can also have an initial consultation with a social worker or counselor for free. Their contact info is below:

1810 Edgehill Ave.
###-###-####
http://kc.vanderbilt.edu/kennedy/community/famres.html

Hope that helps!
C.