stuttering

[Nan Ratner]

Stuttering usually has its onset at the time you mention; 80% of it goes
away without intervention, although both families and children may be
disturbed by its features before it goes away. Risk factors for
continued stuttering include a family history of chronic stuttering. If
you provide me with a location for the child, I may be able to refer to
a good clinic that can evaluate the child and provide concrete
recommendations for things that can be done to help the child. A
technical book on early stuttering is the recent book by Ehud Yairi and
Nicoline Ambrose; there are may other more consumer-oriented materials
at the Stuttering Foundation of America website, and a wealth of
information (not always carefully sorted, but usually quite reliable, as
the site is run by a knowledgable speech-language pathologist) at the
StutteringHomePage.com

This is an area I work in, so if the family is still concerned after
looking at these materials, or does want a referral (the Michael Palin
Centre in London is excellent, and probably can make a more local
referral), I am happy to chat off-list.

Regards,
Nan Bernstein Ratner
(co-author of the in-press Handbook on Stuttering, sixth edition,
Thomson-Delmar)



Nan Bernstein Ratner, Professor and Chairman
Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences
0100 Lefrak Hall
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742
nratner at hesp.umd.edu
http://www.bsos.umd.edu/hesp/facultyStaff/ratnern.htm
301-405-4213
301-314-2023 (fax)