Stuttering

* Please note:  Canberra Speech Therapy has currently closed our books to new clients. 

Stuttering is a communication disorder where speech is unintentionally interrupted by repeating or getting stuck on sounds, words or phrases.  Stuttering can occur in children, adolescents or adults, and Canberra Speech Therapy assesses and provides therapy to all these age groups.

There are a number of programs used to treat stuttering.  Canberra Speech Therapy uses the Lidcombe Program and the Camperdown Program to assess and manage our client’s stuttering.

Further information on stuttering, including the Lidcombe and Camperdown Programs, can be found at The University of Sydney’s Australian Stuttering Research Centre.

Stuttering checklist

If you are unsure whether you need to see a speech pathologist about stuttering, read the following checklist and tick the boxes which apply to you or your child when speaking:

frequent use of “filler” words (eg. “um”, “ah”, “er”) sounds or words appear to get “stuck”

repeating sounds (eg. m,m,more)

repeating words (eg. we went to to to the beach; I want the, want the, want the apple)

sounds are stretched out (aaaaaaaaaaand then)

sounds or words are said in a distorted voice (eg. pitch goes higher or lower)

pauses or hesitations when there shouldn’t be pauses or hesitations

noticeable struggle to get conversation out

unusual amount of blinking

unusual face movements (eg. twitching of lips, cheeks, grimacing)

unusual body movements (eg. nodding the head, jerkiness of the arms or trunk)

unusual breathing patterns (eg. lots of audible breaths in or out, grunts)

using unusual words which don’t make sense in the sentence

awareness of difficulty when speaking (eg. being frustrated, scared, embarrassed, angry, concerned about speaking)

avoidance of particular words

avoidance of particular speaking situations (eg. on the telephone, in large groups of people)

lack of eye contact

family history of stuttering

If you ticked one or more of the above items and you are concerned with your child’s speech or your own, it may be useful to see a speech pathologist for a detailed stuttering assessment and information on stuttering.