Pop of Knowledge: Stuttering!

Pop of Knowledge: Happy 4th! 🇺🇸🎆It's #teamuptuesday with @speechandfeedingadvice 🤓Top 10 Stuttering Tips & Tricks: 1️⃣ Sing with your little one 🎤🎼 Singing encourages a smoother, prolonged voicing of sounds and accesses right brain functioning. You can also take the same concept and pair down to speaking in a "sing song" fashion. 2️⃣ Drive a toy car on a road 🚗 This works well with older kids as you show "smooth" vs. "bumpy" roads. We want to stay on the smooth road that doesn't have any stops or obstacles. 3️⃣ Model vowel sentences for your child to repeat or read. 👍🏼These are easier as they don't have any "stopping sounds" (i.e. B or D) and encourage continuous speech ( i.e. "Annie Ate An Apple"). 4️⃣ Paraphrase & pair down a disfluent sentence for them to repeat. 😊Typically they will do better when there is no need to organize their words or thoughts. 5️⃣ Use written scripts for older kids to read. 📚They are less likely to stutter with the words in front of them. 6️⃣ Start with easy words & sounds that are not triggers for your little one. 🤓As stuttering improves, try to slowly incorporate known trigger words. Encourage your child to talk about the trigger words (i.e. describing the word, what it feels like saying it, etc.) 7️⃣Use your voices in silly and fun ways. 😜Try whispering, deep voices, pretending to be different characters etc. Changing the voice and pitch often helps. 8️⃣ Practice talking on the phone.📱 Have your child order take out or call a family member or friend. The telephone can be a trigger for older kids who perceive that they have a "limited time to talk." Make sure they speak at a normal or slower rate. Rapid speaking rates can trigger stuttering. 9️⃣ Do relaxation exercises. 💆🏻 We love mindful breathing, stretches, and yoga. Many kids who have sound blocks have stiffening of the speech muscles and limbs. Some of our children even forget to breathe. Try counting and having them tell you which number they took their breath (i.e. Have them take a breath on 5 instead of 10) 🔟 Reward the positive and ignore the negative. 💕You can complement "smooth words" but too much negative attention will increase stuttering.