Learn about stuttering and voice
Stuttering refers to the smoothness of speech. It includes continuity, flow, rate, and effort in speech production. Voice difficulties may include things such as pitch, loudness or quality.
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Support students’ voices
Support students’ voices
Set up a range of whole-class strategies that care for students’ voices. Evaluate the effectiveness of these and alter them to meet particular student’s needs.
- Reduce situations where students are shouting. For example, loud play or yelling across the room.
- Reduce situations where the student is talking over noise.
- Teach students about voice volume expectations for different settings in the class and school. For example, the use of inside and outside voices.
- Model a soft voice.
- Move closer to the student before initiating a conversation.
- Teach and encourage students to move closer to people before talking, rather than shouting across the room.
- Schedule periods of quiet activities to give students’ voices a rest.
- Encourage students to stay hydrated.
- Use free online classroom voice level indicators, such as Classroomscreen.
Know the unique needs of your learner
Know the unique needs of your learner
The thing that annoys me, and people don’t realise, is that I actually really enjoy public speaking. People think I’m nervous but I’m not.
Tane, 17, speaks about assumptions made by his teachers and peers, because he stutters.
Understand the experiences of people who stutter
Understand the experiences of people who stutter
Young Kiwis share their stories to help people understand their unique experiences of stuttering.
Use helpful strategies for people who stutter
Use helpful strategies for people who stutter
16 to 24 year-old New Zealanders who stutter have identified these helpful teaching strategies and ranked them in order of perceived helpfulness.
- Understand the difference between struggling, for example, avoiding certain activities or words for fear of stuttering, and stuttering.
- Give ākonga time to think and talk without interrupting or finishing their sentences.
- Create a safe and relaxing learning environment.
- Treat students the same as others. Don’t exclude them from activities.
- Allow simple answers, for example, yes or no answers.
- Work with ākonga and whānau to understand student needs and create specifically designed plans to suit.
- Know about stuttering and ākonga needs.
- Take pressure off ākonga by letting them know they don’t have to say anything if they don’t want to.
Use the teachers’ guide
Use the teachers’ guide
The Stuttering Treatment and Research Trust (START) has worked with Massey University and The University of Auckland to develop a teachers' guide to working with young people who stutter.
Identify voice difficulties
Identify voice difficulties
Children may benefit from support where the family, whānau or educators are concerned that the child has a problem with their voice that makes it hard for them to talk, for example, they might have an extremely husky voice or keep losing their voice.
Next steps
More suggestions for implementing the strategy “Key areas to support”:
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Current page Learn about stuttering and voice
Return to the guide “Speech, Language and Communication”
Speech, Language and Communication
How to use this site
Guide to Index of the guide: Speech, Language and Communication
Strategies for action:
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Identify needs and how to provide supportShow suggestions for Identify needs and how to provide support
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Key areas to supportShow suggestions for Key areas to support
- Support understanding
- Develop expressive language
- Support social interaction
- Develop speech sounds
- Learn about stuttering and voice
- Support AAC users
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Helpful classroom strategies years 1-8Show suggestions for Helpful classroom strategies years 1-8
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Helpful classroom strategies years 9-13Show suggestions for Helpful classroom strategies years 9-13
