Winston Churchill, Joe Biden, Marilyn Monroe, Julia Roberts, Emily Blunt and our very own Hritik Roshan- What’s the one common thing that they share? Well, they were all stutterers. Yes, nearly 70 million people worldwide stammer, that’s one in every 100. More than psychological, stuttering is a neurological disorder. Let’s begin by understanding what stammering is and how it can be managed.
Stammering is a disorder in which there are involuntary interruptions in speech. The person who stutters knows what he wants to say but has troubles due to blocks in the normal flow of speech. ‘Developmental stammering’ commonly develops during the early years of growth when the child is acquiring language skills. Subtle changes in the brain can lead to difficulty in talking. Most of the children grow out of it but he/she has to be treated if the condition persists.
When it comes to seeking help, Speech Therapist is an obvious choice. That’s correct, a speech therapist is the best as far as the diagnosis is concerned. But overcoming stammering is a team effort. The speech disruption is accompanied by struggle behaviors and this where an Occupational Therapist comes into the picture. There are therapies and interventions which can help people manage their stammer and smoothen their flow of speech. Speech therapists and occupational therapists work in tandem if the children have sensory processing disorders and learning difficulties.
OTs help in improving various developmental aspects of the child which are required to aid in speech and communication. For e.g., a good postural system to sit and engage for speech production, attention, regulation and memory to retrieve the words- these are the basic skills which would aid in their performance. They work on motor planning and coordination skills of the child.
Occupational therapists also help in developing the child’s executive function skills of planning, sequencing and organizing the thoughts to aid in expressive language. Alongside, an OT also works on improving the handwriting skills which are needed for written expression. Overall, Occupational therapists work on the child’s ability to self-regulate and attention which form the foundational skills for speech and communication success.
Let stammering not come in the way of your kid’s success. By channelizing proper help, stuttering can be improved. Hence, under the combined expertise of a speech therapist and an OT witness the holistic improvement in your child.
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