Parenting

Last month we shared a poem from Sam, which made him something of a celebrity. But when he saw one headline describe him as a sufferer, Sam and his mum Victoria decided to do something about it.

When Rick Arenas was a boy, his family didn't talk about his stammer. But when his own son came to him for advice for living with stammering, he decided he didn't want to take the same approach.

When Victoria's son Sam started stammering she felt worried, guilty and helpless. But with the help of speech and language therapy, she learnt how to support Sam and make him see that there's nothing in life he can't do.

Read the poem by Sam (aged 10) and his mum Victoria, and watch him read it out.

Speech & Language Therapist and Mum, Jaclyn Morton, argues that we need to change the language we use with our children who stammer.

Emily Vass tells us how a kindly shopkeeper encouraged her son Dexter, giving him the confidence to go on and meet Father Christmas.

In the first of our special series of articles for Christmas, Peter Wright tells the heartwarming story of his seven-year-old daughter, who hoped for a speaking part in her school’s nativity play.

Dori shares her regrets about making fluency the goal when her son started stammering, and explains what she would do differently.

Mum-of-three Tessa shares her worries for her youngest son who stammers.

By Bernadette Rice

Speech and Language Therapist Jenny Packer explains what parents can expect when taking their child for a speech and language therapy assessment.