Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to common questions about stuttering and speech therapy

  • Yes! I’m based in Shoreline but travel to surrounding neighborhoods for in-person therapy sessions (e.g., Edmonds, Mountlake Terrace, Lynnwood, Greenwood, Northgate, etc.). If you are interested, we can discuss in-person speech therapy options during your free consultation call.

  • Yes! Stuttering therapy actually lends itself very well to online speech therapy. Therapy skills can easily be taught and practiced via video calls.

  • We will work together to identify your goals early in the therapy process. If you aren’t sure of your goals, consider this question: “If your stutter disappears while you sleep tonight, what will be different about your life going forward?”

  • No. The field of speech therapy is moving away from fluency-focused therapy as it comes to better understand the role that avoidance plays in perpetuating struggles with stuttering. Fluency strategies may offer some short term relief, but it is common for strategies to stop working over time and to fail when the speaker enters demanding speaking scenarios.

  • Counseling-informed approaches have been shown to create meaningful and lasting benefits in the lives of people who stutter. In therapy we acknowledge the role of thoughts and emotions in perpetuating communication struggles, and we use basic counseling skills to address them. But this is not “talk therapy.” The focus of therapy is not on thoughts and feelings; it’s on actions. We don’t talk about change… we “do” it!

  • Most sessions begin by reviewing the client-generated assignment from the previous session. We then focus on skill work. This could mean learning a new skill, learning the rationale for a new skill, and/or practicing a previously learned skill but at a higher difficulty level. At the end of the session, clients generate their own assignment for the week (with guidance, as needed). In time, clients are empowered to become their own “speech therapist.”

  • As a stutter-affirming speech therapist, I believe that not all people who stutter need speech therapy. In determining if someone who stutters could benefit from therapy, I look at how much they are struggling with stuttering. If a child stutters without much physical, mental, or emotional struggle, and you report that your child is participating fully in the things they care about, then I likely won’t see a need for therapy. If they experience physical, mental, and/or emotional struggle, or you report that your child is holding back because of their stutter, then therapy can help them reduce that struggle.

  • Around 75% of preschool-age children who stutter will spontaneously stop stuttering without any intervention at all. The research is incomplete, but early intervention may make that number even higher.

    Nobody has a crystal ball, but the children who continue to stutter into grade school and beyond likely have a stutter that will persist with them for life. You may notice times that their stutter seems to change in its pattern or severity, perhaps even in response to environmental changes in their life. Speech therapy can help speakers currently struggling with stuttering and prepare speakers for the ups and downs ahead.

  • Don’t:

    • Interrupt or try to finish their sentences, even if you think you know the word they are trying to say.

    • Rush them when they are speaking. This time pressure increases the likelihood of tension and perceived stigma.

    • Give advice like, “Slow down.” or “Take a breath.”

    • Praise fluency (“Nice smooth speech that time!”)

    • Use judgmental words to describe stuttering. Replace judgmental descriptions like “His stutter isn’t so bad right now” with more neutral ones such as “He is stuttering less right now.”

    Do

    • Listen patiently.

    • Praise and affirm your child’s verbal contributions, especially when bravery is involved (“Thanks for sharing that”).

    • Model unrushed speech yourself. Add natural pauses between conversational turns.

    • Talk openly about stuttering with your child. This normalizes stuttering and builds trust with your child so they know they can talk to you if things get hard.

    • Advocate with them and for them. If your child is having difficulties with communication at school, involve your child in coming up with a solution (as developmentally appropriate).

    • Educate other caregivers in your child’s life. This can include family members, teachers, and other mentor figures.