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At UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, assessments and treatment for stuttering vary on a case-by-case basis. Our speech-language pathologists (SLPs) who specialize in stuttering design a care plan based on the needs of each child and family.
A diagnostic assessment for stuttering at Children's includes a detailed interview with parents or caregivers. We also talk with the child if he or she is old enough.
During a stuttering assessment, our SLP will:
In most cases, an SLP will interview your child to decide:
After the assessment, we'll discuss the findings with you and your child and recommend proper treatment.
After your child's stuttering assessment, we'll offer several individualized treatment options.
Our SLPs may track your child's fluency and communication over time. Or they may suggest treatment right away.
We base stuttering treatment for preschool and young school-age children on a family-focused approach.
This approach for treating young children who stutter — published in the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's Journal — includes two main components:
For parents, the PCTP:
After the PCTP, the stuttering treatment team may just track your child's progress. Or, if necessary, we may suggest more direct child-focused treatment.
» Download the study on parent-focused treatment methods for stuttering (PDF).
Older children face unique challenges as they learn to cope with their stuttering.
As your child grows older, it's even more crucial to involve him or her in the decision-making process for treatment. If older children aren't ready for stuttering treatment, they'll likely make very little progress.
Most kids will reach a point in their lives when they do want help for their stuttering. So, it's better to wait until they're ready to take an active role in their treatment.
Forcing kids into speech-language therapy often fails and may cause them to foster negative thoughts about the stuttering treatment process.
Treatment for this age group mainly focuses on helping your child:
While stuttering treatment for school-age children often begins in a one-on-one format, we also offer group treatment.
Fluency groups allow school-age children to:
To schedule a stuttering assessment and treatment at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, call (412) 692-5580.
You can schedule your child's stuttering assessment at any one the following locations:
We offer individual treatment for stuttering at all UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh locations. Locations for fluency group therapy vary based on patient need and scheduling.
Children's Hospital's main campus is located in the Lawrenceville neighborhood. Our main hospital address is:
UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh One Children’s Hospital Way 4401 Penn Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15224
In addition to the main hospital, Children's has many convenient locations in other neighborhoods throughout the greater Pittsburgh region.
With myCHP, you can request appointments, review test results, and more.
For questions about a hospital bill call:
To pay your bill online, please visit UPMC's online bill payment system.
Interested in giving to Children's Hospital? Support the hospital by making a donation online, joining our Heroes in Healing monthly donor program, or visiting our site to learn about the other ways you can give back.