Helping Children Cope with Stammering
by Jackie Turnbull and Trudy Stewart. Sheldon Press.

This is one of the most enjoyable and useful books I have ever read. I surely can't be the only mother who felt that her intellectual powers diminished further after each new baby; reading a whole book was a challenge when time and concentration were in short supply. However, this could be the book to restore your confidence.

The authors have the knack of drawing the reader into their company for a friendly chat, and offer both information and reassurance. On the rare occasions when I had long periods free to read, I couldn't put the book down; when I was limited to a twenty minute bus journey I found it easy to stop reading at a logical point.

The authors take the reader through a straightforward progression from defining what we mean by stammering (obvious and hidden) to practical ways in which family, friends and school can help, firstly by exploring the feelings of all concerned in various situations, explaining how outside agencies can help the whole family, and giving advice on how to approach your child's school. I thought the information about books for children, representing stammering and children who stammer in a realistic way and suitable for 4 to 18 year olds, was particularly useful.

As a former secondary school teacher who has had to deal with my son's teachers from nursery to Y8, I know that there is precious little awareness of the plight of the dysfluent pupil. In the early school years, when dysfluency comes and goes for many children, it is well worth taking the authors' advice and having a chat with the teachers; a well-informed parent can teach the teacher a lot and possibly help him/her to re-think classroom arrangements to benefit more than just the dysfluent child (do all children really have to answer the register with "Yes, Sir/Miss"?!). However willing the teaching staff may be to help, though, I fear it may be some time before all ancillary staff are able to deal sensitively with the child who can't say the "correct" word at the right time! One way to help the cause of the dysfluent child is to buy this book yourself and encourage your child's school to do the same, and use the information contained in it to help both your child and others.

Review by Vic Bowden in the Winter 1996/97 issue of 'Speaking Out'.

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As of 2008, this book is out of print but may be available, for example, from amazon.co.uk.