Rachel Stewart - Stammering

I’m Rachel, a specialist speech and language therapist supporting children and young people who stammer.

Stammering is a neurodevelopmental condition that is influenced by a range of factors such as family history, emotions, speech/language skills and environmental factors, such as routines and turn taking.

People who stammer may repeat, prolong or get stuck on words. My role is to work with children and young people who stammer and their families in order to support them.

I work with families of children as young as two. Therapy for children under the age of seven involves supporting those around the child to find out what strategies support fluency most successfully. This might be by asking fewer questions and offering comments instead or giving the child lots of time to talk.

As a child gets older, therapy aims to help them to understand their stammer and become confident communicators, as well as offer support with fluency more directly if appropriate. This means finding the right technique to make their talking easier and smoother, and supporting them to become confident in implementing this when they feel they need to.

We do not focus solely on becoming fluent talkers, as stammering is not something we can cure. Instead, we try to adopt an attitude of acceptance and understanding that there is much more to a person than the way they talk.

The most rewarding part of my job is the immediate difference a session can make, just by asking the right questions and facilitating a discussion about the child/young person’s stammer.

Therapy is also very rewarding and enjoyable as we develop confidence and skills the child/young person has. Sessions can be very emotive and often bring families together as they are able to openly discuss difficulties and feelings in a neutral environment with a facilitator coaching the conversation.

It is incredibly gratifying to see the change in a child/young person as a result of some of the work we do together.

Working with children/young people who stammer allows us to ensure that they can make their voices heard and have the confidence to share their thoughts.

This is the reason I love my job so much, and why I am so fortunate to have found a role that offers such reward and support to those who would like it.