Children's Stammering Therapy & Courses

Find out about therapies and courses available for children and teenagers who stammer.

Do you have a child who stammers, or has started to stammer? Before reading on, take a look at Help If Your Child Stammers. It has things you can do at home to support them.

If you're still worried, or if your child is distressed, there are lots of ways you can get help. We've got details of each one below.

You can chat with us if you want to talk things through. Call our free helpline on 0808 802 0002 or start a webchat.

On this page:

One-to-one speech & language therapy
Speech & language therapy group courses
Other courses
Things to watch out for
If therapy isn't working
Getting your service listed

One-to-one speech & language therapy

NHS therapy

You can get stammering therapy for children and teenagers free through the NHS. This is usually one-to-one therapy with a qualified speech & language therapist. In most cases you can refer yourself without going to your GP first.

Finding a therapist

Contact us and we can help you find contact details of your local NHS stammering service. Start a webchat or phone our helpline for free on 0808 802 0002. Or, email help@stamma.org

Alternatively, you could search online for 'Child NHS stammering therapy + your local town/city'.

Getting someone to refer you

Another way is to ask your child's doctor, nursery/school or health visitor to refer you. Some services only accept referrals via your child's school. If so, contact the school's Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO).

Long waiting list? No service where you live?

There might be a waiting list for NHS therapy, depending on where you live. Sadly a few places don't offer therapy at all. If you've been told either of these things, there are other options you can try. We've listed these below, such as private therapy or stammering courses. But you have to pay for these.

You could also call The Michael Palin Centre for Stammering's free Assessment Clinic. This is an opportunity to speak to a therapist and get tailored advice for your child. Click on the link for details or phone them on 0203 316 8100. They offer therapy too but you need to pay for that.

Private therapy

Private speech & language therapy is another option, but it's not free.

Find a qualified private therapist near you. Search on the Association for Speech & Language Therapists in Independent Practice website. Or you can phone them on 0203 002 3704.

Make sure to ask therapists if they have worked with children who stammer before.

Sessions with a private therapist vary but may range between £70 and £125. This depends on the therapist's experience, what's included, or on regional variation.

The first session is likely to be more expensive. This is because they'll spend extra time gathering information.

More about therapy

If you'd like to find out what therapy involves, see Children's Stammering Options Explained. Wondering what to expect? See Children's therapy: your first visit.

Speech & language therapy groups & courses

City University — Stammering Intensive Courses (ages 13-17)

The Roberta Williams Speech & Language Therapy Centre, based at City University in London, has courses for teenagers aged 13 to 17. The 5-day course every July focuses on helping young people to:

explore ways to experience more effective and enjoyable communication
feel less bothered by stammering
explore ways to stammer with less struggle and tension
develop greater awareness of communication strengths and skills
build resilience around communication.

One of the days will be a parents session where you can get attend too. This is a chance for you to learn how to support your child's resilience around communication. You'll also cover topics such as teasing/bullying, managing transitions and handling stress.

Do I have to pay? Yes. See the City University website for course details and costs.

Contact: stammeringintensive@city.ac.uk

Other Information: City University recommends that your child is already being supported by a therapist. This is so that the therapist can help with follow up support after the course. But you can still refer yourself if they are not seeing a therapist.

The Fluency Trust (ages 10-17)

The Fluency Trust, based in Swindon, runs residential therapy courses for ages 10 to 17.

These courses combine intensive speech therapy with outdoor activities. Things like climbing, abseiling, kayaking and surfing are included.

Fluency Trust courses aim to help young people to:

develop confidence in communicating
feel more positive about speaking and less bothered about stammering
develop strategies so they can speak more easily
build resilience so they can manage challenging situations
develop flexible thinking skills.

Do I have to pay? Courses are free for children who live in Swindon. If you live outside of Swindon, it should be funded by your local NHS therapy provider. Speak to your GP about it. If that isn't available, you can fund yourself or explore local funding organisations.

See The Fluency Trust website for full details.

Contact: aford@swindon.gov.uk

Talking Out (ages 13-17)

Talking Out run free online and in-person courses for teenagers who stammer.

Their online courses combine speech & language therapy, individual challenges, group and one-to-one work.

They also have a residential 5-day intensive course based in Yorkshire. This combines therapy with outdoor activities like rock climbing, mountain biking and canoeing.

Talking Out courses aim to help teenagers develop:

confidence in communicating
a more positive attitude to speaking
less sensitivity to stammering
problem solving and self-help skills
positive thinking skills
a peer support network.

Do I have to pay? No, courses are free. Places are charitably-funded by Action for Stammering Children. Visit the Talking Out website for course details.

Contact: email admin@talkingoutresidential.com or phone 07763 719272.

Other courses

Below is an alternative option to speech & language therapy. These are courses run by people who have been on them and found them helpful, rather than therapists.

Please note: approaches below might use language that some people may object to. For instance "We can help overcome stammering". Depending on your view of stammering, discretion is advised. See 'Things to watch out for' below.

The Starfish Project (ages 11-16)

The Starfish Project runs 3-day courses in Eastbourne for people who stammer.

One of the courses is for young people aged 11 to 16, accompanied by a parent. It supports people who stammer by teaching and practising a speech technique. It combines this with:

reducing avoidance
increasing confidence
developing a positive attitude towards stammering.

See Children's Stammering Options Explained for details about techniques taught on this course.

Do I have to Pay? Yes. Their costs include free lifetime support and refresher courses. Visit The Starfish Project website for course details and costs.

Contact: email mail@starfishproject.co.uk or phone 01825 872038.

Things to watch out for

Above are the main stammering therapies and courses for children and teenagers in the UK. Some might use language that could be seen as biased and non-neutral. For example, they might refer to stammering as an affliction or misfortune. Some people argue that describing stammering in this way adds to the stigma, while others don't.

You might come across other approaches online that aren't on our list. To safeguard against untested or unqualified providers, we recommend choosing one which:

offers realistic expectations of change and NOT an offer of a cure or a way of 'stopping' stammering
provides clear and unambiguous information about what it does and how much it costs. Also, how long it is and the commitment needed
recognises the need to accept one’s stammer at some level, to help speech and/or a change in attitude
is nationally recognised as supporting people who stammer to communicate confidently. We judge this based on an organisation's track record, a considerable body of independent user reviews and good feedback.

If therapy isn't working

Are you having doubts about the therapy or course your child is having? Not quite sure where it's going? Does it not feel like the right fit for them? See What To Do If Children's Therapy Isn't Working for tips on what you can do.

What next?

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Thank you.

Disclaimer

Courses, therapy providers and tools listed here are reviewed intermittently by STAMMA's Service Panel.

Inclusion on the website does not indicate endorsement by STAMMA. It simply indicates that those listed have met the basic criteria for inclusion. Details of courses and therapy is for information purposes only. This information is not advice and should not be treated as such.

Through this page you can link to other websites that are not controlled by STAMMA. We bear no responsibility for the accuracy, content or nature of these sites. This includes any language used to describe or refer to stammering.

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Getting your service listed

If you have a service or course you'd like us to include here, see How To Get Your Service Listed.