Youngsters who stutter: diagnosis, parent counseling, and referral

The purpose of this paper is to present clinical considerations regarding the speaking behavior, nature, and environment of young children who stutter. The speech of these children contains more within-word speech disfluencies (sound/syllable repetitions, sound prolongations, and within-word pauses) than that of their normally fluent peers. Although the physical, mental, social, psychological, and communicative nature of these children is not grossly different than that of unaffected children, some youngsters who stutter do exhibit subtle delays or deviancies in speech sound articulation, expressive language, and fine/gross motor coordination skills. The young stutterer's environment is as variable as that of the average child. Careful observation reveals subtle, and some not so subtle, parental attitudes which seem to foster the child's belief that speaking is a difficult task, requiring mental and physical effort, and that it must be produced precisely, quickly, and maturely. Information is provided to clinicians working with children between 2 and 6 years of age (the time period when stuttering usually begins) which should assist in objective identification of childhood stuttering, recognition of those symptoms which most strongly suggest referral, as well as an understanding of basic "facts" about this most complex of communication disorders.