Stuttering

At Expressable, we’ve helped hundreds of children and adults who stutter improve their communication and gain confidence in their speech. Our unique fluency program teaches you evidence-based strategies for managing a stutter, while empowering you to use your voice in any situation.

Stuttering, sometimes called stammering or disfluency, is a communication disorder that disrupts the natural flow of speech. Stuttering can begin gradually and develop over time, or it can appear suddenly. People of all ages, from toddlers to adults, can stutter.

People who stutter may:

• Repeat certain syllables, words, or phrases ("li-li-like this")

• Prolong them ("lllllike this")

• Experience abnormal stops of certain sounds and syllables

This article explains Expressable’s clinical approach to evaluating and treating stuttering. Learn about the exercises and techniques involved in speech therapy for stuttering, along with the individualized support our speech therapists provide. You can also view our complete guide to stuttering to get answers to common questions about stuttering, including its causes, the different types of stuttering, what stuttering sounds like, and how to support your child who stutters.

1Why is speech therapy important for stuttering?

2How Expressable treats stuttering in children and adults

3Practice stuttering strategies at home with the Expressable portal

4The benefits of online speech therapy for stuttering

5See what people who stutter are saying about our speech therapists

6Get matched with a speech therapist today

Why is speech therapy important for stuttering?

There are still many misconceptions about stuttering. Stuttering is not a psychological disorder, mental disorder, or learning disability. Stuttering is a difference in verbal communication.

However, a stutter can have a significant impact on a person’s daily life. Stuttering can lead people to feel anxious or embarrassed about speaking. They may be less active or involved at school or work, or they may avoid social interactions.

While each person’s treatment plan will be tailored to their goals, the Expressable stuttering program focuses on:

• Empowerment, confidence, and self-advocacy

• Evidence-based techniques for managing a stutter and achieving greater ease of speech

• Reducing avoidance behaviors

• Educating parents and caregivers so they can support their child who stutters

• Making it easy to practice stuttering strategies at home and in everyday life, so you make faster progress

How Expressable treats stuttering in children and adults

Expressable matches families and adults with a licensed speech therapist trained to evaluate and treat stuttering. All therapy is delivered online via face-to-face video conferencing on Zoom. Research has shown that online speech therapy works just as well as in-person therapy for stuttering. Online speech therapy is convenient, offers wider access to speech therapists, and makes it easier for parents and caregivers to be involved with their child’s care. At Expressable, parent coaching is a key part of our stuttering treatment program. If you’re the parent of a child who stutters, your child’s age will influence how your speech therapist interacts with them and you during sessions. Sessions for younger children work best when a caregiver attends alongside them. That way, you can learn cues and at-home strategies directly from the therapist, and confidently practice with your child throughout the week.

Expressable’s clinical approach to evaluating stuttering

Speech therapy for stuttering begins with an evaluation. Your speech therapist will choose from a variety of standardized or norm-referenced tests for the evaluation. They may conduct assessments such as the Overall Assessment of the Speaker’s Experience of Stuttering (OASES™) and Fluency Normative Data, gathering information from:

• Conversational speech samples

• Structured speech samples

• Reading samples

• Percent syllables stuttered analysis

• Social-emotional questionnaire

The results will be used to develop a personalized care plan, which typically includes two speech therapy sessions per week.

Evidence-based strategies to help prevent stuttering

For children: Your speech therapist will help your child learn to speak more smoothly and cope with their stutter. At Expressable, speech therapy for kids is child-led. Building a positive, playful relationship with your child is the foundation for their learning. We meet your child where they are, using their interests and motivations to help them grow their communication skills and confidence. 

For older children, teens, and adults: Treatment focuses on managing stuttering. Your speech therapist will help you feel less tense and speak more freely in school, at work, and socially. Therapy can focus on counseling, reducing avoidance behaviors, and learning to advocate for yourself. These strategies can help people in situations that make them nervous or uncomfortable, such as talking on the phone or ordering food at a restaurant.

For people who want to fix a stutter, your speech therapist will introduce a variety of fluency techniques to see which work best and feel most natural. Techniques can focus on many aspects of stuttering, although a primary goal is usually learning to speak more freely and confidently. At Expressable, we teach evidence-based strategies to stop a stutter, which can include:

• Light articulatory contact

• Easy onsets

• Pausing and chunking

• Role-playing

• Grounding and breathing techniques

Practice stuttering strategies at home with the Expressable portal

At Expressable, speech therapy doesn’t stop when your session ends. You’ll have ongoing text messaging support so you can ask questions or get tips from your speech therapist between sessions. You’ll also have access to our client portal, which makes it easier to practice fluency exercises at home. The more often you practice, the faster you’ll make progress!

In the portal, you’ll find Learning Paths that explain and reinforce strategies for stuttering, such as easy onsets and light articulatory contact:

You can watch videos that show real stuttering techniques in action, such as the passive airflow technique:

Your speech therapist will assign personalized home practice activities you can do during your everyday routines, such as breathing techniques and practicing introducing yourself:

The benefits of online speech therapy for stuttering

Multiple studies over several years have shown the effectiveness of online speech therapy. Not only does it work as well as in-person speech therapy, there are lots of reasons people tend to prefer it:

1 Wider access to qualified speech therapists

With online speech therapy, it’s not hard to find a speech therapist with experience treating stuttering, in children or in adults. You have access to an entire network of speech therapists who are licensed to treat in your state. This is especially beneficial for people who live in more rural areas, or in areas with long waitlists for speech therapy.

2 Convenience and flexibility

Between school, work, errands, and everyday life, it can be hard to regularly attend in-person therapy sessions. Not only is there the commute time, but most speech therapy clinics are only open during normal business hours. With work schedules and after-school activities, for many people, that just doesn’t work.

Online speech therapy removes this problem. At Expressable, you can schedule sessions on the days that work best, at the times that are most convenient, including evenings and weekends. 

3 Stuttering therapy from the comfort of home

If you or your child feel embarrassed or shy when it comes to speech therapy, you’re not alone. Many people who stutter get nervous or tense at the thought of talking to someone face-to-face. With online speech therapy, doing sessions from the comfort of your own home can put you at ease. And when you’re comfortable and confident, your sessions will be more effective.

Online speech therapy can work especially well for young kids. The speech therapist gets to see the child in their home environment and observe how they interact with family members. They can even incorporate toys and books that the child enjoys.

4 Affordability

In-person speech therapy clinics have many expenses that aren’t directly related to your care, such as rent, utilities, and other operational costs. As with any business, these costs are often passed down to the consumer. The price of speech therapy will vary by provider, but generally, the cost of online speech therapy will be less than an in-person practice—even though you receive the same quality of treatment.

See what people who stutter are saying about our speech therapists

We’ve treated hundreds of children and adults who stutter around the country. Our speech therapists consistently earn ratings of 4.9 out of 5 stars from their clients. Here’s just a sampling:

“Now, I love my voice and fully believe in its value to others.” “Growing up, I was constantly bullied for stuttering. This led to a very negative outlook on my ability to speak. Why would my voice matter to people? I can say with confidence that working with [my speech therapist] Heather has completely flipped that notion out of my mind. Now, I love my voice and fully believe in its value to others. What I have to say matters, and if others don't have the patience to hear me out, that is on them. Heather was able to do all of this, while also helping me practice and use the techniques in ways that helped me in day-to-day life. From picking up food to prepping for job interviews, she had me covered.”

“My son enjoyed therapy” “My son enjoyed his therapy sessions and really got a lot of help with learning strategies to control his stuttering.” “Strategies that really help him” “My speech therapist has good strategies for my son that really help him. She also has him participate in normal conversation to help him with his stuttering.”

“Helped me unpack esteem and traumatic issues” “Amber knows what she's doing! Not only is she teaching me skills to work through my stutter, she helped me to unpack esteem and traumatic issues that are the results of my stutter.”

“The belief that I am a great communicator” “Madison gave me the skill sets I need to thrive. More importantly, she gave me the confidence to always say what I want to say. She filled me with the belief that I am a great communicator regardless of a stutter.”

Get matched with a speech therapist today

We’re here to support you or your child so you have the confidence to share who you are with the world. Find the right speech therapist for your needs here.