Back in grad school, I had the good fortune of studying under a recently-retired master clinician and board-recognized specialist in stuttering, Bill Murphy. He liked to introduce himself as B-B-B-Bill. As both a person who stutters and a speech-language pathologist, Bill has a unique understanding of the experience of stuttering, and a very holistic approach to treatment.
If your child who stutters has had speech therapy, you are probably familiar with terms like “stretchy speech,” “bumpy speech,” and the like. Working with Bill, I learned to teach kids these useful “speech tools” to help them manage their stuttering and speak fluently. I also learned an important lesson: treatment for stuttering doesn’t end with the stutter.
For many kids, stuttering itself is only the tip of the iceberg. As kids get older, the emotional impact of stuttering can deepen. One unfortunate consequence that can feed that impact is the reaction that other kids have when they hear a stuttered word, and the bullying that sometimes takes place during the school years. Bill expressed his theory to me that the bullying that happens during kids’ younger years is the foundation for the feelings of dread or shame that people experience when stuttering persists into adulthood.
Speech therapists can help kids learn to deal with bullies. Alongside techniques for speaking fluently, speech therapy can include activities designed to help a child who stutters to defuse a bullying situation. This might mean just walking away, sticking with groups at recess, or clever – but never spiteful – use of humor. Bill Cosby used to tell kids to just say “So?” when insults fly. One fun therapy activity is to make a video of the “good” and “bad” ways to deal with bullies, then watch them together and talk about what went right or wrong.
By the way, popcorn makes that activity a lot more fun.
Dealing with bullies begins with dealing with yourself – kids might need to be desensitized to their own stuttering before they can effectively use speech tools or deal with others’ reactions to stuttering. Education is a major piece of that, and a speech therapist can help a child who stutters to recognize themself as an expert and VIP when it comes to stuttering. Classroom visits are a good idea, too, with the little expert in charge of a presentation about stuttering, and the whole class involved in coming up with ways to deal with bullies.
All that, and a good dose of stretchy speech, too. At its best, stuttering treatment should impact all relevant aspects of a child’s life. Stuttering doesn’t have to spell doom for your social life! For some more ideas and kid-friendly information about stuttering and bullying, check out the Stuttering Homepage’s “Just for Kids” page.
Farewell for now – and as Bill would say, “Stutter often, and stutter well!”
By: Daniel Miller, MS CF-SLP
