How is stuttering treated?

There are a variety of treatments available for stuttering. Any of the methods may improve stuttering to some degree, but there is at present no cure for stuttering. Stuttering therapy, however, may help prevent developmental stuttering from becoming a life-long problem. Therefore a speech evaluation is recommended for children who stutter for longer than six months or for those whose stuttering is accompanied by struggle behaviors.

Developmental stuttering is often treated by educating parents about restructuring the child's speaking environment to reduce the episodes of stuttering. Parents are often urged to:

• provide a relaxed home environment that provides ample opportunities for the child to speak. Setting aside specific times when the child and parent can speak free of distractions is often helpful.
• refrain from criticizing the child's speech or reacting negatively to the child's disfluencies. Parents should avoid punishing the child for any disfluencies or asking the child repeat stuttered words until they are spoken fluently.
• resist encouraging the child to perform verbally for people.
• listen attentively to the child when he or she speaks.
• speak slowly and in a relaxed manner. If a parent speaks this way, the child will often speak in the same slow, relaxed manner.
• wait for the child to say the intended word. Don't try to complete the child's thoughts.
• talk openly to the child about stuttering if he or she brings up the subject.

Many of the currently popular therapy programs for persistent stuttering focus on relearning how to speak or unlearning faulty ways of speaking. The psychological side effects of stuttering that often occur, such as fear of speaking to strangers or in public, are also addressed in most of these programs.

Other forms of therapy utilize interventions such as medications or electronic devices. Medications or drugs which affect brain function often have side effects that make them difficult to use for long-term treatment. Electronic devices which help an individual control fluency may be more of a bother than a help in most speaking situations and are often abandoned by individuals who stutter.

Unconventional methods of stuttering therapy also exist. It is always a good policy to check the credentials, experience and goals of the person offering treatment. Avoid working with anyone who promises a "cure" for stuttering.