L10

He was referred to Speech and Language by the family doctor who said there was nothing they could do as they felt it was an issue at home... We were advised to just keep an eye on him

Personally I would say get back to the SLT dept and request them to come and advise you on handling this in school. Even if there are issues, it is essential that you are given good advice for all the time he is in your care!

Yes he should, can't you provide him with some speech and language? There are some key things that really help and should be shared around.

1 - Never interrupt him when he is speaking, try to finish his words or sentences or allow pupils to do the same. 

2 - Ensure that classroom activities when verbal are not timed, but don't exclude him from them.

3 - Don't tell him to "slow down" or "think first" etc, always model good speaking and listening. 

4 - Use familiar and expected communication regularly to support verbal control, for example, say good morning every day and the response will become strong and support their verbal control. 

5 - When talking to the pupil, take extra care not to rush and to wait for a response.

6 - If they try to give up saying something, encourage them to tell you. Don't make it about the stutter, make it about the content. 

If the child is struggling to participate because of it, I would recommend an IBP. It's not about 'fixing' the stutter, it's about helping them to manage it. If it isn't handled correctly early, the child could switch off and become fustrated at their communication difficulty. 

 

However, I should have added, if it isn't causing any problems and he is happy to contribute and he is understood then there would be little benefit in him being on the SEN register.

 Thanks, that's what I thought.

I had this conversation with the LEA SEN advisers in my authority, and NO, children with speech and language problems that need speech therapy/or pupils with medical concerns, should not be on the SEN register UNLESS the problem is so severe that it affects their learning/school life considerably. I am aware there are different views on this though.

I work in a special school so the children are all a step on from such considerations - I'm posting to comment on the idea that a child might get speech therapy even though their needs are not very severe and it odesn't impact on their learning significantly. In my area getting SALT requires extreme levels of need for our children

dc88

Yes he should, can't you provide him with some speech and language? There are some key things that really help and should be shared around.

1 - Never interrupt him when he is speaking, try to finish his words or sentences or allow pupils to do the same. 

2 - Ensure that classroom activities when verbal are not timed, but don't exclude him from them.

3 - Don't tell him to "slow down" or "think first" etc, always model good speaking and listening. 

4 - Use familiar and expected communication regularly to support verbal control, for example, say good morning every day and the response will become strong and support their verbal control. 

5 - When talking to the pupil, take extra care not to rush and to wait for a response.

6 - If they try to give up saying something, encourage them to tell you. Don't make it about the stutter, make it about the content. 

If the child is struggling to participate because of it, I would recommend an IBP. It's not about 'fixing' the stutter, it's about helping them to manage it. If it isn't handled correctly early, the child could switch off and become fustrated at their communication difficulty. 

 

This is really excellent advice. I've taught several adults who were turned off education for 20 years or more through being rushed etc and from my experience even just doing things like 1 and 5 have made a huge difference to confidence.