Therapy has so far been very helpful, but my child is now entering puberty, negotiating friendships and relationships – could this make things more complex?

As a child grows, their language skills continue to expand. When a child reaches school age they are expected to learn more academic language, talk about their ideas in class and form friendships. 

As a teenager, there are hormonal changes and brain developments specific to this age group which can impact on speech patterns and fluency. Increasingly, academic language gets more complex and there is a greater emphasis on public speaking in lessons. Increased peer pressure and self-awareness can lead to worries speaking in social situations. 

An increase in stammering during puberty can occur as the young person is learning to process a wider range of new information, with an increased pressure to speak publicly about more complex ideas with their peers and at school.

Stammering fluctuates day to day and over time - this is not unusual. However, it is important that the young person feels well supported as they develop and find themselves in new situations. Adolescence is a time of change and tricky transitions for all teenagers - stammering can introduce an additional component to this time of transition that their peers are not experiencing and therefore may find difficult to emphathise with. 

Connecting with other young people who know what it is like to stammer can be empowering and provide a support network. Alongside speech and language therapy, your child might find it helpful to access the ASC community. We'd encourage you to take a look at the programmes and opportunities to get involved with us below. 

You might like to check out our related articles:

• What support does ASC offer adolescents?