About this activity
Twelve questions about the experience of stuttering, in Spanish: ¿Qué sientes en el cuerpo cuando te trabas al hablar? ¿En qué momentos hablar es más fácil? ¿Quién sabe de tu tartamudez y cómo se lo dijiste? ¿Qué te gustaría que hiciera tu maestra cuando te trabas? Nombra una cosa de tu manera de hablar que te gusta. Counselling in a second language loses most of what it is for; these questions belong in the language the child feels them in.
How to use it in a session
Ask and then wait, without fixing. These questions produce answers that are uncomfortable, and the reassurance reflex is what closes them down. The question about what the child would want their teacher to do produces something concrete that can be passed on, and the one about a thing they like about their own speech is often the hardest and the most worth reaching. Fifteen minutes and no agenda.
What to listen for
Listen for the body answers. A child who can locate the tension — la garganta, el pecho — has an awareness that makes modification teachable. Notice the question about having stopped saying something out of fear: an affirmative answer is the clearest sign that avoidance has started, and avoidance is usually more disabling than the disfluency.
Carrying it home
Families often avoid naming the stuttering, meaning to protect the child, and the silence usually reads as shame. Naming it casually — esa fue difícil, no pasa nada — takes the taboo out of it.
Questions
- Is this activity in Spanish?
- Yes, the prompts are Spanish. This page is in English so an English-speaking clinician can find and evaluate it.
- Is it free?
- Yes, no account or card needed.
- Why does the language matter for counselling?
- Because feelings are held in the language they were felt in. A child asked about fear in their second language will answer with the words they have, which is usually less than what they mean.