Wild Speech Monsters

Please look for the 2019 update to this blog post at https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Books-Too

It can be helpful for some children to illustrate their stuttering. This gives them a way to separate the behavior called stuttering from who they are as people. The child stutters - it is something that he/she does, not something that is inherently a part of who the child is. With this approach to therapy, the child takes the stuttering and puts it outside of him/herself in the form of a picture, sculpture, craft, or project. Some children may make friends with this depiction and negotiate a truce as his/her speech improves. Some children may benefit from releasing anger and frustration at it by destroying it in some way, such as smashing a playdo figure or ripping up a drawing. In both cases, children may experience a greater sense of control over their 'speech monster.' *

Where the Wild Things Are, the original cartoon version of the book, could be a helpful story when teaching this point of view. One simple description of the story is that a little boy finds a way to manage his angry emotions. They are monsters that he tames, plays with, and leaves behind. Perhaps in the same way, we can teach children to play with and tame their speech.**

*http://www.mnsu.edu/comdis/isad7/papers/shields7.html
**http://childrensbooks.about.com/cs/picturebooks/fr/wildthings