Posted on 01/21/2005 4:49:23 PM PST by Dan from Michigan
Stuttering Kids Need Help to Cope with Bullying
Fri Jan 21, 4:27 PM ET Health - Reuters
By Alison McCook
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Parents and teachers need to do more to help kids who stutter deal with any bullying or teasing, according to a speech pathologist.
William Murphy of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, reasons that stuttering kids who are teased may find it even more difficult to say what's on their mind, because their hurt feelings are getting in the way.
Moreover, children who stutter may have a harder time coping with bullying itself, since they sometimes can't use words to respond to jeers and jabs. "The children know what they want to say, they just can't get it out quickly enough," said Tammy Flores of the National Stuttering Association.
Teasing may be particularly hard on stuttering kids if they have any other qualities that make them stand out, Flores noted. A kid who stutters and also has glasses or freckles, for instance, faces a "double whammy," she said.
An estimated 5 percent of preschoolers and 1 percent of adults stutter. Although most preschoolers outgrow the speech impediment, this rarely happens once a child gets older.
In general, public schools provide most of the help for children who stutter, Murphy said in a statement. However, in many cases, public schools' budgets are stretched tight, and they may not be able to give kids all the help they need, he noted.
In Murphy's new book, "Bullying and Teasing: Helping Children who Stutter," funded and published last month by the National Stuttering Association, he provides tips for parents and teachers on how to talk to children who stutter about bullying from other children.
For parents, Murphy recommends:
--Bring up the topic of bullying.
--Devise a plan for how to handle bullying.
--Then, practice the plan through role-playing.
--Remind children to stay in a group of friends or close to a teacher or other adult. "Teachers can stop something that's happening right in front of them," Flores noted.
Murphy noted that in general, it's pointless for parents to tell kids to ignore a bully. "It's kind of hard to ignore someone who's bullying you," Flores told Reuters Health in an interview.
Fighting back rarely works either, and may just worsen the situation, he added.
For teachers, Murphy suggests making stuttering a topic of classroom discussion, and mentioning famous people who stuttered as children, such as James Earl Jones and Winston Churchill.
Fighting back rarely works either, and may just worsen the situation, he added.
Oh really. How so Murph? Sometimes, it's the only available solution.
I just wish I didn't give a damn about getting busted by school officials until I was in high school.
:sigh: Leave it to a lib to say that defending oneself rarely works.
Holy shi shi shi shi shi shi cow!
Teach them karate or other useful skills then let them take care of themselves. Serve the bullies right!
I suspect the real issue with stuttering is looking at the family dynamics. I didn't see where the 'cure' was to examine what is happening in the home. This isn't my issue but as someone who has dealt with it I can say that the "bullying" thing isn't the result of stuttering in most cases. Its the cause as far as I can tell. Ask the kid how many times he or she has been beat by their parents. Ask them how many times they've hidden in the closet, under the bed or just grabbed a blanket to protect themselves. I know this isn't true in all cases. It is true in many.
TT TTTeach'em to fffight. I learned early - I was adopted and had a stutter - still am adopted but I do not sutter now and no one, after a few times, kkkkkidd mmmmme.
Hmmmmm - never thought of this option. I had a family member that stuttered. Makes sense.
I saw more fat kids get teased than anything else. Are they going to talk about famous fat people?
Usually what comes next are lessons against so-called gay bashing (defined as any expression of the idea that gay behavior is wrong), with all the talk of famous gay people, etc.
Liberals are always looking for a new victim class. I suppose you could define everyone as a victim in one way or another, except of course white, Christian, heterosexual, non-stuttering males.
Here, let's just streamline the whole "double Whammy" process; 1) HIT BULLY FIRST (repeat if necessary)... 2) Worry about your response later. .
Your Welcome.
This is just more lefty "touchy feely" type of garbage.
Ironicly, it's the lefties children that would pick on a kid who stutters. Why? Because they more often than not have no moral upbringing, and are victims of disfuntional families themselves.
This "author" is a typical lefty. His "reasearch" is based on nothing, he recieved a grant to write the book, and his conclusion is typical; Throw money at it.
Hire more lefty councellors, who have a "degree" but no life experience. Subject to poor kid to a childhood full of people who want to anylize him, making the poor kid think he IS wierd.
All he needs to know is how to land a good hard right.
One of my best friends in grammar school was a stutterer. You didn't make fun of him if you knew what was good for you.
As someone who has dealt with it, stuttering is a naturally occurring phenom. Sometimes the kid "grows out of it" and sometimes the kid doesn't.
Hitting back isn't all that effective. What is effective is having the kid excel at something else.
Us Houston FReepers know a great FReeper that happens to stutter.....unfortunately we also know the insecure little turd.
Professor Murphy, wallpaper notwithstanding, doesn't know jack about bullies.
I'm a conservative Christian Republican who happens to also be a speech-language pathologist. Most stutterers do not do so because of family dynamics. There is strong evidence that it is biological in nature. Much of a child's personality can be caught up in their communication abilities. It can shape/warp their futures if better care isn't taken to ensure a healthy upbringing. And if you don't believe me, ask my husband. I happen to also be married to a stutterer.
I guess I have mixed emotions about "fighting back." By the time I was 14 or 15 I had beat the holy hell out of a few lads. That isn't a plan that can work in every case, but these altercations disabused at least some of the desire to come at me at regarding my "affliction."
I think that was partly the reason I'm a conservative today. I had to learn early on that my opinion of me was the only one that counted. That was crucial in some of the liberal gardens in which I grew. Also, my dad is a conservative.
I know the parents were extreme liberals. As far as I know, I was the only conservative in my family. I NEVER let anyone bully me (over my politics was what I was "bullied" over). I've got the scares to prove.
I've always felt bad for my family member.
That is why the public school system is failing. They waste more money on stupid things like councilors, special needs teachers, and gay B.S. etc., rather than do what they are supposed to do--- teach kids reading, writing, and arithmatic. Ironicly, many teachers don't know how to do at least one of those subjects.
Private schools or home education is the best thing to do if you want your kid to get the education which will enable them to move on to higher education.
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