how to help my student who stutters?

Question

i'm a preschool teacher and i have a student who stutters when she talks. i have no clue on how to help her. her parents seems to not think that its important because they believe it'll go away. i know that sometimes its a phase and kids can outgrow but because other kids are mocking her, i feel like there's something i should do to help her. i'm constantly telling my other students that everyone is different.

Answer 1

Sit with her one to one and have a simple talk with her. Make her read a book, while sitting with her in an empty room, be casual and friendly, make her read again and again till there are signs of improvement. Next ask her to stand up face you and read (just the two of you in the room), again be patient and make her re read until there is an improvement. Repeat this process every week for some weeks to come. Then finally when she has improved make ther read aloud in the classroom in the presence of other students, slowly as she gains confidence she will improve. Most people stutter while reading, if she can read well her normal speech will also improve. Best of luck

Answer 2

Mocking students may not help matters. There are many outside sources that can cause a person to stutter. Some can be within the home, not abuse, just neglect not to interact much or other things that are normal in many homes, remember I not say abuse!!! People get bent out of shape. Now, we knew a young boy stuttered and he was 8 and his sister 5 and brother 6 (+/- on the age) they just Babbled. The parents needed a Baby sitter and my mother took the challenge. When they no longer need mom the mother started back doing her motherly thing. The interesting observation made was, the boy had stopped stuttering and the younger two had stopped Babbling and started making words and sentences after mom had interacted with them. A month after they went home they all three reverted back to the old routine. The Brother and his wife of this family told us they too had did the same thing only to see it revert back.
I do want to talk about someone. I think he a good man and when I was young found him interesting. Mel Tillis a country singer. The man stuttered, but, when he sang, he did not stutter. I did see him in an interview a few years back and noticed when he talked, he not stutter. ;-)
Mel was the 1998 spokesman and honorary chairman for the Stuttering Foundation of America.
http://www.meltillis.com/bio/default.htm
Maybe you can e-mail Mel; [e-mail]

Answer 3

Firstly, stuttering IS something that a parent should take seriously (I believe so!) I would go to the director of your school and suggest that she observe the child, and then from there perhaps he/she can make a suggestion or requirement that the parents have the child participate in speech therapy sessions. There is this old out of print book though that was recommended to me by my trainer (montessori) that she has used for MANY years, made for teachers working with children who have speech/language issues... It has great excercises in there for ALL children though. I found mine on ebay I believe for about $5. It's called "Talking Time" I know McGraw Hill had once published it in the 50's and 60's.

Answer 4

My son and a friend of mines son also stuttered at that age.I asked a therapist who told me some kids get so excited about talking they try to rush the words.His therapy was to tell the child ,think about what you want to say, take a deep breath and then speak.That worked like a charm both boys talked normal after a few months.If that doesn't work he said the child would need speech therapy and the earlier the better.Be sure to explain to the parents that it will only work if they get the girl to do this at home too.

Answer 5

Do you teach in a public school system? There should be speech therapy available. Talk to your administrators about what services are available at your school. Also talk to the student's parents and suggest that they take her to a professional, at least for one visit, to get a qualified opinion. You are not qualified or trained to help a student with a speech problem.

In the meantime, to help with the other kids, I would recommend reading some read aloud books which deal with issues of difference and disability. I can't think of any titles off the top of my head, but there are many. You can have a class discussion about the different ways that each student in the class is unique. It's important to do more than just tell the students. You want to actively engage them in exploring these issues for themselves. Preshcoolers are just at the age where they are starting to understand that other people have feelings. You want to nurture that through role-playing, games and stories. Good luck to you.

Answer 6

First off, get the other kids to stop mocking her. Don't rush her or supply another word. Those are just two things I remember when I was in college for elem ed major.

Answer 7

I am a special needs teacher and I will tell you that the majority of children who stutter will grow out of it. All that needs to be done is to tell the child to slow down, even if it is one word at a time, one word slow.

Answer 8

Try some toys like wood blocks. you can get a picture of something (example: shoes), after ask how to spell it slowly, say to she use the wood blocks while spell. Often kids learn playing.

Answer 9

Doesn't your school have a speech therapist who could evaluate the situation?
Try this web site for ideas
http://www.stutteringhelp.org/

Answer 10

check out some teaching skills [in a library] to assist your student, if parents are in denial, then be patient with your student and try working with him each day to help her/him.....