A world-leading expert claims that as many as one child in every classroom has a stutter that is left unnoticed by teachers, which can lead to life-long anxiety problems for the student.
These teachers are perfectly positioned to change the lives of children who stutter, but have not been provided with knowledge about effective treatment methods.
Professor Mark Onslow is the Foundation Director of the Australian Stuttering Research Centre at the University of Sydney and believes that if children with stutters are not helped in primary school, it will affect them negatively for the rest of their life.
“It’s an enormous public health problem because it’s so common. Current research findings are showing that something like 12 per cent of Australian children are stuttering before they’re five-years-old,” said Professor Onslow.
In the past, children with a stutter were made to stand and talk in front of the class, which should be avoided at all costs, according to Professor Onslow.
Researchers still aren’t sure of the cause of stuttering, but it affects one in nine pre-school children.
Professor Onslow said: “There’s an excellent treatment that’s available when kids are younger than five years called the Lidcombe program and clinical trials around the world have shown that it can help get stuttering under control before school years. So kids who stutter can start treatment before the age where it starts to cause a serious problem.”
He encourages teachers to become better educated about stuttering and said talking privately with the student, listening patiently and being aware of signs of
bullying are methods that work.
Parents who are worried about their children stuttering should consult a speech pathologist as soon as possible.
By Rosie Russell
