Support for parents/caregivers
Hello,
My name is Laci Richardson, and I’m currently in graduate school for speech-language pathology. I would love to know your advice on how professionals should go about supporting the parents of someone who stutters. In cases where parents are highly focused on their child’s stutter, but the child is aware of it and does not have strong feelings about it, how should an SLP guide the parents in supporting their child’s communication without making the child feel pressured about how they speak?
Thank you so much.
Laci Richardson
Hi Laci,
I’m so glad that you’re thinking about this important topic of caregiver support! Directly working with and supporting parents and caregivers is an essential component of therapy for a child who stutters. (Depending on the child’s age and profile, in some cases I am ONLY work with caregivers, and not directly with the child.) Caregivers may be coming in with a great deal of stigma about stuttering and fear about what it may mean for their child to be someone who stutters. It’s so helpful for caregivers to a chance to voice those fears and to be empowered to support their child toward increased resilience in their navigation of challenge including stuttering. We can zoom out to a holistic focus on communication comfort and success, notice what the child is already doing to demonstrate this, and discuss ways to help the child continue to build those skills (including self-advocacy, perseverance, etc.). The most important thing is making the time for these conversations with caregivers so that they can be equipped with the knowledge and confidence to support their child’s communication experience.
-Carrie
Hi Laci,
Besides what Carrie already wrote I think a very important thing is knowledge. Knowledge about stuttering, but especially knowledge about their child’s stuttering. It helps them to better understand what is happening, why and how they can support themselves and their child.
Manon