S-s-s-stuttering in the Classroom

Leora Balk Lesher

Azrieli - Understanding Diverse Learners

INTRODUCTION

The major part is really underneath the surface. That is, the person feels fear,

shame, guilt, tension. He’s always worried about what might happen - he might get

into a situation and not be able to say his name, or the telephone rings and he can’t

answer it.

And in this way, stuttering is like an iceberg: The part that you see is really the

smaller part; the larger part, to the stutterer, is all the emotional load he has to carry

along with him at all times.

-”The Way We Talk,” Documentary on Stuttering (2014)

Stuttering, also known as stammering or dysphemia (Rogers, 2017) is a

communication disorder that affects some students ability to thrive inside and outside of

school. How to treat the stuttering child in the classroom? Most people are under false

impressions and have misconceptions when it comes to approaching the student who

stutters. From psychotherapy to completely ignoring the stutter to requesting students

think hard and speak slowly, many techniques have been attempted, but to no avail

(​LaBlance, Steckol, & Smith, 1998​).

The classroom teacher must recognize that the classroom context particularly

proves challenging to many a stuttering student. While attempting to understand diverse

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learners in one’s classroom, he must understand who is likely to stutter, what stuttering

looks like or sounds like and how it can affect the student’s esteem, as well as performance,

in the classroom. Most importantly, he must rest assured that stuttering is a condition he

can handle - with the right perspective and the use of carefully researched techniques - to

allow the stuttering student to learn and grow as best as possible in the classroom

environment and beyond. Finally, once a teacher has done all possible on his own to aid his

student who stutters, he must be familiar with outside resources upon whom he can call for

greater guidance and professional support.

WHO IS LIKELY TO STUTTER?

In the United States alone, approximately three million people stutter. La Blance et

al, 1998.). About 5% of those people are children between ages two and five, while 1% of

adults stutter. Most people who stutter began between ages two and six, the mean age of

stuttering age five. Additionally, “about 5% of all children go through a period of stuttering

that lasts six months or more. Three-quarters of those will recover by late childhood,

leaving about 1% with a long-term problem” (Scott, 2012.) Those who recover

spontaneously mainly lose the stutter as a result of increased ​self-esteem​, acceptance of the

problem, and, as a result, relaxation. Others can have a healthy sense of self-esteem, accept

the problem, feel generally relaxed and, yet, still cannot entirely escape the stutter (Rogers,

2017).

Teachers of young stutterers may notice certain speech and language

developmental milestones are delayed, as stutterers are three times more likely to make

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speech-sound errors. Parents who notice their child stuttering for more than three years

may want to accept the decreased likelihood of the stutter disappearing. Moreover, a

stutter observed in a student in elementary, middle, or high school is far less likely to fade.

Interestingly enough, according to LeBlance et al (1998), stuttering is three to four times

more common in boys than in girls in Western countries.

It seems the roots of stuttering are somewhat unknown (Scott, 2012.) At the same

time, various implications lead researchers to believe genetics may play a part in the

development of stuttering. Stuttering tends to run in families. Furthermore, “Researchers

suspect that persons who are genetically predisposed to stuttering may be more

susceptible to environmental factors, such as stress or excitement, that trigger stuttering

than persons who do not have a family history of the disorder” (Rogers, 2017.).

Those who stutter are not much unlike their fluently speaking fellow students. Their

intelligence levels are no difference because of the stutter. Stuttering does not occur due to

psychological differences of any kind, not as an outgrowth of anxiety, shyness, or

depression - though insecurity about one’s tendency to stutter increases the likelihood of a

student experiencing any of these negative feelings, which usually makes the stuttering

problem even worse. The frequency and intensity of stuttering, therefore, ranges

depending on the pressure of a given conversation. For example, the student may not

stutter at all when speaking casually with his siblings at home or with one of his best

friends at lunchtime, but may stutter intensely when forced to speak up in front of not only

his teacher, but the entire class of fluent speakers who he feels may judge him.

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 Self-consciousness about his speech makes him afraid to speak up or participate in

class and, when he does get up the courage to speak up or else must, perhaps, by command

of his teacher, he is often filled with nervousness and the stutter is agitated to a level even

more extreme. Students may feel comforted learning that many famous people who have

earned the world’s admiration, in fact, have struggled with stutters. Aesop of Aesop’s

fables, Clara Barton who founded the American Red Cross, Lewis Carroll of Alice in

Wonderland, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, actress Marilyn Monroe all stutter

and the list goes on (Kuster, 2016.)

WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF STUTTERING?

What does stuttering sound like or look like?

LaBlance (1998) distinguishes between nonfluencies and stuttering. He explains

that young children want to express more than they are practically able to communicate as

they learn more and more about the world, interact with it and wish to verbally respond to

their experiences. Young children struggle at times with word choice or sentence structure,

at times producing sentences that may seem related to stuttering. For instance, "Mommy,

Mommy, Mommy, Billy's ball is in, in the, in the yard and, and, and the dog (pause) ate it" is

something a young child may say, even without a stutter.

This is called nonfluency and is the result of confusing thoughts, uncertainty about

the event, or complicated sentence structure. Repetitive speech of this nature produced

without anxiety is almost always normal as speech and language skills develop gradually.

What is more concerning is repetitive speech accompanied by great frustration, fluster, and

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distress, tense facial expressions and fidgety body movements, or avoidance behaviors like

stretching out words or sounds or adding excess “um”s or “uh”s to buy time while trying to

figure out how to get the right sound or word to roll of the tongue.

Usually, stuttering takes place on the beginning sounds or words of a sentence or at

clause boundaries. Stuttering presents itself in one of three possible ways or sometimes as

a combination of two or all three. Included is the repetition of sounds or syllables, sound

prolongations, or blocks.

1. Repetitions of sounds and syllables. The child will usually repeat the sound or

syllable three times or more.

“​M-m-m-m
​ ay I go to the bathroom? ​I-I-I-I k​ now the answer! “

2. Sound prolongations. You will hear the child “holding onto” the sound as he tries to

say it.

“Ssssssc​ ience is interesting. ​Eeeeeeeee​ven though the book was hard to read, I

liked it.”

3. Blocks. When a child is blocking on a sound, you may see her trying to say the word

but not hear any sound coming out of her mouth. This period of silence is often

followed by a quick burst of sound when she is finally able to say the word.

(Scott, 2012)

The Encyclopedia Brittanica (Rogers, 2017)’s article on the topic states that

“Stutterers consistently have difficulty with certain types of words: those beginning with

consonants, initial words in sentences, content words (nouns, verbs, adjectives; as opposed

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to function words, such as pronouns and prepositions), and words of several syllables.”

Stuttering often comes with the inevitable package of “um”s or “uh”s, as one struggles to

produce the right word or right sound. At times, body language shifts as a student stutters.

His eyes may close or lips, cheeks, or jawbone tense up, his fingers may start tapping away

as he desperately tries to express himself smoothly and without err. These behaviors that

often accompany stuttering are known as secondary or accessory behaviors, or by some

even as avoidance behaviors (Scott, 2012.)

THE CURE

Well, the truth is that no known sure-fire cure for stuttering exists. Before anything else,

the teacher who wishes to help the stuttering student accepts this reality and reframes his

approach completely. Even speech therapy cannot remove the stutter, though it can help

the child from developing a more severe stutter and help better control it. The goal is not to

remove the stutter, but to support the student to work with or even embrace it. So, how can

the teacher help the stuttering student? He can provide a good speech model, help boost

the child’s self-esteem, and create a classroom that serves as a good speech environment.

(Le Blance et all, 1998.)

HOW CAN WE HELP THE STUTTERING STUDENT?

1- Provide a good speech model

“The most important thing to do when a child is stuttering is to be a good

communicator yourself. ” A teacher should ​not​ say anything that may remind the student of

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his stutter. Just on the contrary, a teacher should with the student as if he is just like any

other student in the classroom with no stutter at all and patiently show him his desire to

hear what he has to say, giving him adequate time to express himself. ​What​ is said should

be valued over ​how​ the stuttering student says it. The teacher should maintain eye contact

with the student as he speaks and try not to fill in words or sentences for him. He knows

what he wants to say in his head - it just takes him longer to get the sound or word from his

head to his tongue. Finally, the teacher can serve as a beautiful speech model for the

stuttering student by intentionally speaking more similarly to one who stutters. This means

not that the teacher should imitate, God forbid, the r-r-r-repetition of the sounds or words

as if to imitate the student, but rather he should simplify his language to create a more

inviting and lower pressure context for conversation. The teacher can try taking some

pauses in his own response to the stuttering student to relieve some of the speed of

articulation pressure the student who stutters feels. He can also use shorter, simpler

sentences since saying longer sentences are more often accompanied by stuttering and to

show the student he need not produce an overly lengthy or eloquent sentence to fully

express an idea worthy of the class’ listening (Scott, 2012.)

(Research shows that parents of stutterers speak to their stuttering children

significantly faster than parents speak to children with fluent speech. Perhaps, they feel

they are “losing time” with drawn-out conversations with those who stutter and

unconsciously speed up their own sentences to decrease the time. In reality, accelerated

speed of speech may be motorically and linguistically out of place for what the stuttering

child can more readily comprehend (Le Blance et al, 1998.)

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2- Boost child’s self-esteem

In his book “The Gift of Stuttering” (2016), motivational speaker Moe Mernick

details the story of his life, the story of his stutter. Though the message of his work

ultimately is about confronting and growing from life’s challenges, the way he describes his

early days with a stutter shows the high risk a child with a stutter faces when it comes to

healthy self esteem. Mernick explains how long he wished his stutter away, but to no avail.

What ultimately saved him from the loneliness, depression, rebellion against God, and

hopelessness was acceptance of his stutter and, more significantly, acceptance of himself.

The greatest gift a teacher can provide his stuttering student is to accept him, to believe in

him so that he might come to accept and believe in himself.

The teacher can help foster this healthy sense of esteem in the stuttering student by

responding to him with careful intention. He should focus on that which is said fluently

over that which is not. Contrary to what one may assume, instructing the student to “slow

down”, “take a deep breath”, “think before you speak” or anything of the sort has proven

frustrating to the stuttering student and accomplishes nothing in an attempt to help him

express himself. Do not instruct how to be fluent or students will feel guilt. “​Am I not

already doing enough?”, “Am I a failure?”, “Will I never be able to do this on my own?”

students may think. Ask questions about the content of that which was said and

understood to show listening took place and the speech was valued by the listener. Ask the

student to repeat what was not understood, emphasizing again content over manner of

speaking.

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 The stuttering student should be treated like any other student in terms of meeting

class expectations or completely assignments. The teacher should approach the student

about any oral presentations or group projects in advance to offer aid and set up a plan for

how the student may best be able to accomplish the task at hand. Allow him to choose

when he presents (first, middle, or last), provide opportunities for him to practice with you

if he so chooses in advance of the final presentation, and possibly modify grading criteria

according to his circumstance and ability.

Very importantly, do not refer to words said without fluency as “stuttering”, rather

as “bumpy” or “hard” words, staying far away as possible from labeling the student. Accept

nonfluencies, rather than correcting them constantly as the child tries to express himself. If

he sees his teacher is frustrated, his own frustration will rise to match that frustration and

he will feel guilty, embarrassed, and misunderstood. Instead, remain patient, calm, and

show interest in what the student has to say, even if what must come along with his

statement is some nonfluency.

3- Create a good speech environment

Finally, do whatever else possible to create an environment that is least restrictive

for the stuttering student to dare express himself despite his nonfluencies. Build a class

culture of mutual respect amongst students, of patience, good listening, and acceptance.

Suggest ahead of time with the student that he try ceasing other activities while speaking

(as discussed, making this suggestion in the moment may harm the students’ esteem and

embarrass him). “It is sometimes difficult to perform two different motoric acts such as

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coloring and talking simultaneously. Asking the child to stop other activities while speaking

may improve fluency. In addition, reduce demands for speech during times when the child

is required to perform other tasks, such as during art class, gym, and recess.” (Le Blance)

Something else that may spur increased overwhelment and distraction to the

stuttering child trying to speak is an emotional overload. Stuttering occurs more often

when one can barely contain his excitement. The change-up of a school assembly, a

birthday, field trip, a holiday or even a change in the regular class schedule may shake up

the stuttering student’s world and cause great apprehension. The teacher can approach the

student ahead of time to share with him the upcoming exciting event or change in plans so

that he can better mentally and emotionally prepare himself ahead and less likely create a

swamp for stuttering.

OTHER RESOURCES FOR THE STUTTERING STUDENT

As is the case with all diverse learning needs, the classroom teacher should not feel

solely responsible for supporting the student who stutters in the classroom. On the

contrary, he should recognize his ability to aid the stuttering student has limits within the

walls of the classroom and he must be sure others with further qualifications are on board

to provide assistance to the child. If he is not already in touch with one, the teacher should

help the student connect with a speech-language pathologist as early on as signs of

stuttering are shown.

While some children do “outgrow” their stuttering, one should not assume this to be

the case and should rather proactively connect with a speech professional. The earlier the

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intervention, the more likely the stutter can be addressed and the development of a

potentially more severe stutter prevented. The teacher should also remain in close contact

with the parents and encourage strong parental support and adherence to the various

techniques discussed at home to create a safe and comfortable environment in which their

child can dare to speak.

REFERENCES
Kuster, J. (2016, October 18). Famous People Who Stutter. Retrieved May 10, 2017, from
https://www.mnsu.edu/comdis/kuster/famous/famouspws.html

LaBlance, G. R., Steckol, K. F., & Smith, V. L. (1998, July 20). Stuttering: The Role of the
Classroom Teacher. Retrieved May 09, 2017, from
https://www.mnsu.edu/comdis/kuster/InfoPWDS/lablance.html

Mernick, M. (2016).​The Gift of Stuttering.​ Mosaica Press, Inc.

Rogers, K. (n.d.). Stuttering. In ​Encyclopedia Brittanica.​

Retrieved May 09, 2017, from
https://www.britannica.com/topic/stuttering

Scott, L. (2012).​Stuttering: Straight Talk for Teachers: A Handbook for Teachers and
Speech-Language Pathologists​. Memphis, TN: Stuttering Foundation.

Turner, M. (Director). (2016).​The Way We Talk​[Motion picture on DVD]. Real Light.

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