Jan
27
I apologize for the infrequent updates. Pam and I have both migrated a lot of the stuff we used to put on here (quickie thoughts about Will, snapshots, etc.) to facebook. If you’re not following us there, you should be.
Will turns 2.4 today - I really need to get some new video and pictures of him so that I can share with you just how much he’s growing and developing. Maybe after the Primary election on February 2? (You are voting for Kirk Dillard for Governor, aren’t you? I’d consider it a personal favor….)
Will has, in recent weeks, begun stuttering a little bit. It’s not terrible, but noticeable, and he does it more when he’s tired or excited, so my unscientific diagnosis is that he’s thinking about what he wants to say faster than he can get his muscles to actually say it. We’ve done some quickie research online about how to help him with it, and this is what we’ve settled on:
Things Parents Can Do To Help The Child Who Stutters:
1. Listen patiently to what the child says, not how it is said. Respond to the message rather than the stuttering.
2. Allow your child to complete her thoughts without interrupting.
3. Keep natural eye contact while your child is talking.
4. Avoid filling in or speaking your child’s thoughts or ideas. Let the words be her own.
5. After your child speaks, repeat slowly and unhurriedly, using some of the same words. For example, if she says, “I s-s-see the b-b-bunny.” You reply in an easy and relaxed way, “oh yes, you see the bunny. He’s cute.”
6. Wait a second or so before responding to your child. This helps to calm and slow things down and should help her speech.
Everything else we’ve read says that a phase of this is somewhat common and almost all kids grow out of it quickly, but if it doesn’t improve we may need speech therapy.
