This depends on a lot of several key factors. Perhaps the two most important are the child’s age and the specific goals the child is working toward in therapy. For example, for a very young child who is not yet working on speech fluency, then it may not be appropriate to place any emphasis on speech at all. For a school-age child who is learning to use speech techniques, then it would generally be appropriate for there to be some type of home practice routine to support generalization and to help the parents understand what is going on in therapy. For an adolescent, it is quite unlikely that there will be benefit to the parent reminding the teen to use speech techniques, so an emphasis on “speech” would not be helpful. Indeed, I’m not sure that any emphasis on “speech” would ever be helpful – if what is meant by that is emphasis on “fluency.” An emphasis on communication is always helpful, and this is what the parent should provide. Indeed, for all ages, it is critically important for the parents to provide a supportive, accepting atmosphere where the child knows that it is okay to stutter even as s/he is working toward enhancing fluency, minimizing the burden of stuttering, or whatever other goals may be selected in therapy.

Submitted by Dr. Scott Yaruss, CCC-SLP