I received my print copy of the August 10, 2009 Advance, the bi-weekly magazine for Speech Language Pathologists and Audiologists. This issue had a great article on functional therapy for children who stutter covertly. It was smartly written, captured the behaviors that coverts do, and discussed how often covert stuttering is dismissed or wrongly labeled as some other disorder or condition. The author – Jessica Lendon-Holt, MA, CCC-SLP -does a fine job of defining covert stuttering and emphasizes the fact that it is OK to stutter.

Because of my passion for, and history of being covert myself, I wanted to be sure to include this terrific article here. Too many SLP’s are intimidated by stuttering, by both adults and children. It becomes a challenge to create realistic therapy goals when the client does not appear to stutter.

This is worth a read, for all SLPs and all of us who stutter, and who particularly understand covert stuttering.

Here’s the link to the full article: Functional Therapy for the Covert Stutterer.

I would have loved if a SLP had figured out my covert stuttering when I was still a kid, and had the chance to work on acceptance and some techniques. Perhaps I would have grown up without so much baggage and fear of social punishment.

If you have experience with covert stuttering, please share what its been like for either you or a child.