Targeted Support

• Are you/your team confident in identifying the type of support a child or young person may need? 
• For Early Years settings – do you have a Language Lead/Communication Champion in place? Can they offer further support? Find more information about Language Leads
• Would parents/families benefit from help to support their child’s needs at home?
• Is there support available in the community? Consider Libraries, Blackpool Better Start, Lancashire Children and Family wellbeing service, Home Start
• Take a look at the local offer in Blackpool or Lancashire
• Would the child or young person benefit from a Targeted Learning Plan?
• Consider structured intervention programmes such as Talk Boost or NELI, or using activities from the Wellcomm Big Book of Ideas
• How will you monitor the impact of the support you have put in place?
• Consider how you can support in the classroom – take a look here for some idea

• Small group work around specific areas of need
• Pre teaching of key vocabulary – tools like word webs are really helpful
• Additional visual supports in place – signing, visual timetables, etc can provide extra support for those struggling with verbal information.
• Language programmes such as Colourful Semantics or Narrative therapy
• Lego Therapy

What is stammering?

• Stammering is primarily a neurological condition – the ‘wiring’ of the brain is slightly different in people who stammer.
• 8% of children will experience stammering at some point in their life. · Up to 3% of children will continue to stammer into adulthood.
• Stammering usually starts between the ages of 2-5, but in some cases can be later and can start very suddenly, overnight, or more gradually.
• Someone who stammers may put extra effort into saying their words, have tense and jerky speech, block on a sound for several seconds ("... I take the bus every day."), stretch sounds in a word ("I went for a wwwwwalk today."), repeat parts of words several times ("Hel-hel-hel-hello."), stops what they are saying half-way through their sentence and may show visible signs of tension when trying to get a word out.
• When a child starts to stammer at a young age, they may not be aware of it, and it may not cause frustration or anxiety.
• At times, a child who stammers may become anxious, distressed and reluctant to speak or try to hide their stammer by changing words, saying less or avoiding speaking altogether in some situations, e.g., in front of a group. · Many young children speak dysfluently at times, especially when they are under some pressure to communicate effectively. There is no exact point at which normal dysfluency becomes stammering though there are features which enable us to differentiate between the two extremes.
• Normal dysfluencies are usually relaxed repetitions, often of whole words either at the beginning of a phrase or when a child is thinking of how to finish a sentence. These may be more marked when the child is very tired, excited, upset or nervous.
• A child is more likely to continue stammering when one of more of the following occurs;

1. the stammer has persisted for over a year
2. the child becomes anxious and frustrated with their speech
3. there is a family history of stammering * the child has delayed speech and language skills
4. the child has difficulties managing their emotions
5. parents have increased anxiety regarding their child’s stammer.

• Stammering tends to differ on a day to day basis, and children can go through periods of reduced stammering, and periods when they stammer more.
• If you notice that a child has started stammering in your setting, discuss with their parents whether they have noticed it happening at home. Early intervention can be effective, so make sure you get advice from the Speech and Language Therapy Team should parents have concerns.

How to support younger children

• Avoid putting the child on the spot in front of the whole class – only ask them questions if they volunteer with their hand up.
• Slow down your rate of talking to convey to all the children that there is plenty of time. Speaking slowly is likely to help the child without asking the child to slow down.
• Try to get on the same level as the child, both in the physical sense and by speaking at a language level that can be easily understood by the child.
• Reduce the number of questions that you ask. Instead, you can comment e.g. rather than saying “what have you drawn?” you could say “I have noticed you have made a picture with lots of different colours!”. Sometimes a comment can be more effective as a question to start a conversation, just leave a pause after you make your comment and see if the child responds.
• Give praise to the child for things they are doing well not speech related – this will help with self-esteem and confidence.
• Give the child plenty of time to say what they want to say and don't interrupt or finish their sentences.
• Be aware that a child who stammers may stammer more when expressing complex ideas, or using new vocabulary or sentence structures.
• Answering the register may be hard for the child who stammers. Consider alternative ways of responding which everyone uses so they don't feel singled out.
• Try not to feel anxious yourself when a child is having problems. If you can remain calm, kind and approachable the chances are you will be able to support the child through the difficulties in much the same way as you help with all the other crises that are a part of the usual school day. If you are anxious this may fuel the child's anxiety so making things harder for you both.
• Be on the alert for any teasing or bullying in the classroom or in the playground.

How to support older children

Changing from primary to secondary schools can be a challenging time for any child. For a child who stammers it can be even more so, with many more teachers to get used to, new subjects, a different school routine and new classmates to meet. Make sure this information is shared with all the teachers and school staff the child is going to come into contact with, in order for them to best support the child.

Answering questions

Children who stammer may have difficulty putting their hand up, even if they know the answer to a question, as they may be worried about stammering in front of the class. They might also keep quiet if they haven’t understood something.

• Avoid putting the child on the spot in front of the whole class – only ask them questions if they volunteer with their hand up.
• When asking the class questions try not to keep the child who stammers waiting too long for their turn since this may increase anxiety and hence stammering. Discuss with the child how to deal with all class questions and discussion sessions.
• Children can rely on stammering to cover up lack of knowledge and so should be encouraged to speak to their teacher when they don't understand or know something.
• Children often lose eye contact when stammering and it's helpful if teachers don't look away but give the same eye contact as they would if speaking to a child who doesn't stammer.
• Finishing off sentences is usually unhelpful as it reduces self-confidence and increases frustration, especially if the person chooses words different from those intended by the stammering child.
• If a child who stammers puts their hand up to answer or ask a question, try not to make them wait too long as this may add to the anxiety.
• Where daily registration is causing problems alternative approaches can be discussed with the child.

Reading aloud

• Consider whether this is necessary.
• A classroom policy that encourages a relaxed reading pace may help the child who stammers as well as slow or hesitant readers.
• When there are opportunities to read aloud in front of the class the child who stammers may wish to read in unison with another child as this reduces the demand on them.
• It may be necessary to work gradually towards reading in front of the class. Reading alone to the teacher or other adults can be followed by reading in small groups. When the child feels ready, reading to the class can be attempted.

General advice

• Ask the pupil what you can do as a teacher to support them. It is best to do this privately as children may be sensitive about stammering and might not want to talk about it in front of others.​​​​​​​
• Do not tell a child who stammers to slow down or take a breath as this can add further demand to their talking. However, you can reassure them that you are there to listen.
• Try speaking to a pupil who stammers more, even if it’s before a lesson or in the canteen. Every bit of conversation will help them. This will hopefully support them to be more comfortable to communicate with you and encourage them to speak more.
• Praise your pupils when they’ve done something good and worth acknowledging. Confidence is key for pupils who stammer.

Useful links and resources

• STAMMA is one of the UK’s leading charities who supports people of all ages who stammer. They have a wealth of information, videos and recommendations on how to support children and young people who stammer. https://stamma.org/about-stammering/guides-non-stammerers/teachers-guide-stammering
• Action for Stammering Children is one of the UK’s leading charities who support children and young people who stammer. They have developed a “Stammer Awareness Toolkit”. It aims to support schools in creating a supportive and inclusive environment for students who stammer. https://actionforstammeringchildren.org/projects/children-young-people-who-stammer/asc-stammer-awareness-toolkit/
• Action for Stammering Children have also created posters for schools in collaboration with South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. You can access them to download here: https://actionforstammeringchildren.org/resource/about-my-stammer-school-posters/
• The Michael Palin Centre supports people of all ages who stammer. They provide lots of useful information for teachers here: https://michaelpalincentreforstammering.org/about-stammering/teachers/
• The Michael Palin Centre have also created a video as a resource for teachers who want to understand more about stammering and how to support pupils. You can watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=je7mlAzyD7A
• “The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh” by Helen Rutter is written from the perspective of a 11 year old boy who stammers. This is a great book for empowering young people who stammer and to help them see that their stammer doesn’t need to hold them back. It is also a useful resource to use with all children within the classroom to foster an inclusive environment and to have available in the school library.
• “How To Be More Hedgehog” by Anne-Marie Conway is a book written from the perspective of Lily, a girl in year 6 who stammers. The book explores her thoughts and feelings towards her stammer and how her family and friends react to her stammer. The book is a supportive text for children who stammer and can be used as a resource for adults wanting to understand how it may feel to stammer and why life can be challenging.
• “I Talk Like a River” by Jordan Scott is targeted for younger children and is an illustrated book from the perspective of a young child who stammers. It is useful to use with younger children and Ed Sheeran has read the book on CBeebies Bedtime Stories and it is available to watch on YouTube.
• “When the Stammer Came to Stay” by Maggie O’Farrell is an illustrated book based on a young child who stammers who goes on a journey of discovery with her sister and they find not quite a solution to her stammer, but a way to make peace with themselves and to love and embrace what makes each of them different.