Taking Turns! It's More Than Being Well-Mannered- It May Help Your Child Express Himself!
This Tuesday Tidbit is Authored By: Elise Weinstein, M.S., CCC-SLP, Speech Therapist at The Village Therapy Place
My child is stuttering…how can I help without making him feel self-conscious?
Whether your child is truly stuttering or just experiencing a bout of preschool disfluency (check out my post on betweencarpools.com HERE to learn more about the difference), here’s a simple tip you can employ to help: give each child a set turn to speak.
Why does turn-taking help?
Children who struggle with fluency tend to stutter more in situations that have more pressure. For a child, trying to compete with his siblings for a chance to talk can be enough pressure to exacerbate stuttering. Interruptions from others while speaking also make the speaking situation more challenging. By making sure your child has a time when it is only his turn to speak, you have now eliminated those pressures for him and created an environment that is more conducive to fluent speech.
Turn-taking is not natural for every part of the day, and it is not reasonable to expect everyone to wait for an assigned turn to speak the entire day. However, there are definitely times during the day when you can incorporate this easily at home. Here are some examples:
· The Car Ride Home from School
Whether you drive a carpool with many kids or just your own children, the car ride is an easy time to let each child take a turn. Ask each child individually about school instead of posing the question to the group at large (e.g. “Sarah, did you have a good day in school?” instead of “how was your day guys?”). Think about your child’s personality and decide if it would be better to pose the question to him first (if he’s so excited to share and will feel anxious while waiting) or last (to give him more time to collect his thoughts).
· Dinner Time
Dinner time is another time of day when everyone may interrupt and talk over each other. Make it a routine to start off dinner time by giving everyone a turn to speak. You can go around the table or go in age-order to give everyone a chance to share before the conversation opens up to the whole family.
· Bedtime Cuddles
Having a few private minutes with Mommy and/or Daddy before bed can do wonders for a child. Give your child a few minutes of your time, free from interruptions, to talk.
For more information about how to modify your speech to promote fluency for your child, check out https://www.stutteringhelp.org/7-tips-talking-your-child-0 on The Stuttering Foundation’s website.
Share your success stories in the comments below!
About Us:
We, at The Village Therapy Place, located in Bergen County- in Wyckoff, NJ, aim to provide integrative, neurodevelopmental, individualized, pediatric therapy in a warm, fun, and collaborative environment.
We offer pediatric services that include physical therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, feeding therapy, and DIR Floortime.
At The Village Therapy Place, we utilize current and evidence-based treatment techniques to help treat your child during his PT, OT, speech therapy, feeding therapy and DIR Floortime session. These include sensory integration, reflex integration, therapeutic listening, Kinesiotape, craniosacral therapy, NDT, BrainGym, feeding therapy, PROMPT, to name a few.
Our expert pediatric therapists offer a variety of treatment options, including 30/45/60 minute sessions, group classes and virtual therapy to best suit a child’s needs.
The pediatric physical therapists, occupational therapists & speech therapists at The Village Therapy Place are in constant contact with a child's caregivers to facilitate lasting change.
Call us today at (201) 201-8220 or email us at office@thevillagetherapyplace.com to speak with a pediatric expert who truly cares!