Back to School: Self-Advocacy Tips for Students Who Stutter

Back to school season fills children with a mixture of excitement and anxiety. They probably feel excitement to reunite with friends, participate in clubs, sports or other extracurricular activities, and continue learning (even if they refuse to admit it!) On the flip side, they might experience nervousness about making new friends, getting accepted socially by peers, and finding out if new teachers will be nice or mean. As children get older, they might also worry about achieving good grades. Inevitably, the first day of school arrives. Take a minute and try to put yourself in the shoes of a 4th grader on the morning of that first day: In an effort to help everyone get to know each another, your teacher decides to go around the room for everybody to introduce themselves and share a fun summer break story. The anxiety builds as your turn approaches. “Hi, I’m…”, but to your dismay, your name doesn’t readily come out. You try starting with a different phrase, “My name is, ”…” Again, nothing. You want so badly to say your name, a seemingly rudimentary task, but you are a child who stutters and your name happens to be one of the most difficult things for you to say. Finally, your name comes out after what seems like an eternity. How will your friends react to what they just heard? Will this set the tone for how you choose to participate for the rest of the year? As speech-language pathologists, we can offer a child who stutters and their family several ...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - Category: Speech-Language Pathology Authors: Tags: Advocacy Speech-Language Pathology Fluency Disorders Schools Speech Disorders stuttering Source Type: blogs