| Is your child stuttering? Are you uncertain if your child's disfluency is normal or should be a concern? When a young child is stuttering, it can be difficult to determine if it is a developmental stutter, meaning they will grow out of it, or if there is a risk that it will persist past the preschool years. There are many well-known risk factors that provide us with information on whether or not to “wait it out” or consider an evaluation now. |  |
Some of the risk factors are:
1. Family history of stuttering
If the child has a family member (parent, sibling, other family member) that still stutters, they may be at risk for persistent stuttering.
2. Age of Onset
If the child started to stutter after the age of 3 ½, they may be at risk for persistent stuttering.
3. Time Since Onset
If the child has been stuttering for more than 6-12 months, they may be at risk for persistent stuttering.
4. Gender
Stuttering is much more common in boys than girls. If the child is male, they may be at a higher risk for persistent stuttering.
5. Other Speech Production Concerns
If the child has speech sound errors or difficulty being understood by others, they may be at risk for persistent stuttering.
6. Language Skills
If the child demonstrates advanced, delayed, or disordered language skills, they may be at a higher risk for persistent stuttering.
(Source: The Stuttering Foundation, https://www.stutteringhelp.org/risk-factors)
If your child has some or all of these risk factors, an evaluation for stuttering may be appropriate. If your child does not seem at risk based on these factors, it may be appropriate to wait for an evaluation. Developmental stuttering is very common and often resolves as a child grows up and their language skills continue to grow. However, it is important to monitor the risk factors, and then to seek an evaluation if the stuttering persists.
Evaluation Process:
An evaluation completed by a speech language pathologist is the best place to begin. Once the evaluation is completed, the family can work with the speech-language pathologist to determine if intervention is necessary, and what kind of intervention is recommended.
If you have any more questions, please email me at allyssa@arisetherapies.org, or call our office to speak with us about the risk factors and scheduling an evaluation for your child.
1. Family history of stuttering
If the child has a family member (parent, sibling, other family member) that still stutters, they may be at risk for persistent stuttering.
2. Age of Onset
If the child started to stutter after the age of 3 ½, they may be at risk for persistent stuttering.
3. Time Since Onset
If the child has been stuttering for more than 6-12 months, they may be at risk for persistent stuttering.
4. Gender
Stuttering is much more common in boys than girls. If the child is male, they may be at a higher risk for persistent stuttering.
5. Other Speech Production Concerns
If the child has speech sound errors or difficulty being understood by others, they may be at risk for persistent stuttering.
6. Language Skills
If the child demonstrates advanced, delayed, or disordered language skills, they may be at a higher risk for persistent stuttering.
(Source: The Stuttering Foundation, https://www.stutteringhelp.org/risk-factors)
If your child has some or all of these risk factors, an evaluation for stuttering may be appropriate. If your child does not seem at risk based on these factors, it may be appropriate to wait for an evaluation. Developmental stuttering is very common and often resolves as a child grows up and their language skills continue to grow. However, it is important to monitor the risk factors, and then to seek an evaluation if the stuttering persists.
Evaluation Process:
An evaluation completed by a speech language pathologist is the best place to begin. Once the evaluation is completed, the family can work with the speech-language pathologist to determine if intervention is necessary, and what kind of intervention is recommended.
If you have any more questions, please email me at allyssa@arisetherapies.org, or call our office to speak with us about the risk factors and scheduling an evaluation for your child.
