Much of the laughter and amusement with stuttering comes from misinformation and lack of understanding. Consequently, educating children in the classroom about stuttering may help them to understand what is happening when someone stutters. The child who stutters may be a primary provider of this information.
While excusing the child from speaking or reading aloud in the classroom may seem compassionate, it may not be in their best interest. Children who stutter want to be treated like everyone else, yet they don't want to be placed in a situation in which they will be embarrassed. Children in a stuttering therapy program need "real life" experiences to practice their speaking targets. The goal is to be continuously successful using targets in successively more challenging situations. Consequently, teachers must be sensitive to the degree of challenge a situation presents. Part of the work in speech therapy is delineating a hierarchy of speaking challenges for each individual child. Working with the SLP to determine how best to involve the child who stutters can provide a mutually beneficial team approach to assisting the child in the classroom. |
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