I’m Like a River: a Health Education Instrument for Stuttering

Abstract

Speech therapy uses health education resources as mean to increase awareness and to promote understanding of psychosocial stuttering – a condition that manifests as periods of involuntary disfluency – as a speech disorder. One resource was developed: an instrument (a children’s literature book) aimed at children attending grades 1 to 4 of elementary school. The book consists in a 17-page short story, illustrated by children. The aim of this paper is to foster a broader knowledge on the subject of stuttering through the use of specialised books and scientific articles (published between 1978 and 2011) that tackle specific issues on speech therapy. This kind of early intervention will provide young children information and knowledge on how to communicate and interact with children affected by this speech disorder. A timely speech therapy intervention will also lead to re-establish verbal fluidity, thereby promoting experiences of effective interpersonal communication.