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When parents hear the word “stuttering,” it can bring up worry or fear about their child’s future. For many years, stuttering was viewed only as a “problem to fix.” But today, new research and approaches help us see stuttering in a different, more affirming way—one that celebrates communication in all its forms and embraces verbal diversity.
Stuttering is a neurological difference in the way speech is produced. It often shows up as repetitions of sounds or words (e.g., “b-b-ball”), stretching out sounds (e.g., “ssssun”), or pauses where speech seems “stuck.”
For children and adults who stutter, these moments can vary from day to day. Sometimes speech flows smoothly, other times it doesn’t—and that’s okay. Stuttering is not caused by nervousness, parenting style, or intelligence.
Instead of seeing stuttering as something “wrong,” we can view it as a natural part of human diversity—similar to the way we value differences in culture, language, or learning style. This approach, known as stutter-affirming therapy, focuses on:
This perspective is supported by research highlighted in Toward Stutter-Affirming Therapy by Nina A. Reeves and J. Scott Yaruss, which emphasizes a strengths-based approach and reminds us that stuttering is not a flaw, but a meaningful part of human communication.
Recent studies show that stuttering is linked to how the brain processes timing and speech movements. This means stuttering is not a bad habit, but a natural difference in the way speech develops. Understanding this helps families move away from guilt or blame and toward acceptance and support.
Parents and caregivers can play a huge role in helping children who stutter thrive. Here are some affirming ways to support them:
When therapy is needed, a strengths-based, neurodiverse-affirming approach can make all the difference. Instead of pushing fluency at all costs, therapy helps children:
To dive deeper into therapy approaches, common parent questions, and strategies that really help, check out my Instagram Live conversation with bilingual SLP and stuttering expert Ana Hernandez here on @bilingualspeechie.
At Bilingual Speechie, I believe every voice deserves to be heard—whether it flows smoothly or includes moments of stuttering. Stuttering is part of human diversity, and by shifting the focus from “fixing” to celebrating verbal diversity, we give children the confidence to share their ideas proudly in every language they speak.
If you’d like to learn more about stutter-affirming therapy or schedule a consultation contact me today!
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As parents, it’s natural to notice how your child talks and to wonder whether their speech is developing as expected. If your child is hard to understand or struggles to say certain sounds, you may have heard the term “speech sound disorder.” But what does that mean? Let’s break it down together.
As parents, we celebrate every new word, every little sound, and every funny phrase our children come up with. But sometimes, you may find yourself wondering: “Should my child be talking more by now?” or “Is this a sign of a speech delay?”
Looking for fun and educational activities that will keep your child entertained? Here are 3 holiday activities that promote language development & can be done in any language :)
Who are we?
Bilingual Speechie LLC. is a small business dedicated to providing inclusive and engaging speech therapy resources and activities for bilingual children, parents, SLPs and educators.
Bilingual Speechie LLC promotes bilingualism and multilingualism by dispelling common myths, providing education on bilingual language development, and promoting heritage language maintenance amongst bilingual families.
About the Owner:
Liliana Diaz-Vazquez is a certified licensed bilingual speech language pathologist (SLP), currently practicing in Chicago, Illinois. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in communication disorders (2012) and her master’s degree in speech language pathology at Saint Xavier University (2014). She is a certified member of the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association (ASHA) since 2014, a member of the Illinois Speech and Hearing Association (ISHA) since 2014 and maintains licensure in the state of Illinois.
Liliana is a first-generation Mexican-American Latina, a small business owner, a full-time school-based SLP, & a bilingual parent, who takes pride in her roots, culture, & heritage language. She loves being able to share her experience as a Latina SLP, and a bilingual mom, as well as her culture & heritage language with the educator, SLP, and parent community.
Liliana Diaz-Vazquez has extensive experience working with the bilingual English and Spanish speaking population & multilingual population. She specializes in augmentative/alternative communication (AAC), bilingual language development and language delays/disorders in bilingual/multilingual children. She has also worked in the early intervention setting for several years where she gained vast experience working with interpreters and bilingual/multilingual families.
Liliana began creating digital bilingual resources and activities in 2014 out of need while working full-time in the school setting as a SLP. Liliana worked with many Spanish-speaking families and quickly realized that there were limited Spanish and bilingual speech therapy resources available for her students and their families. In addition, Liliana quickly became aware that there was a need for education about bilingualism and typical bilingual language development as many of the families she worked with had encountered misinformation about bilingualism. Liliana began developing resources and eventually started Bilingual Speechie LLC with the mission to provide education to SLPs and families about bilingualism, as well as provide inclusive and diverse materials for speech therapy in order to help bilingual families and SLPs gain access to appropriate bilingual materials for children with communication disorders.
Today Liliana currently works full-time in the Chicago public school setting as a lead bilingual SLP where she consults and collaborates with SLPs daily to help them understand how to assess and provide culturally and linguistically appropriate services for bilingual and/or multilingual students. She also runs her small business, Bilingual Speechie LLC, and is on a mission to expand and grow her business so that all SLPs, educators, and families can have access to inclusive, diverse, and bilingual resources in a variety of languages for speech therapy.
Professional Development:
Liliana has vast experience as a speaker/presenter and has presented at several conferences over the years. You can view all previous conferences and topics that Liliana has presented on here. Liliana is available to present on topics such as best practices when working with multilingual populations, bilingual speech/language assessment and treatment, goal writing with multilingual populations and much more. If you are interested in booking Liliana for a conference or event please don't hesitate to send an email at lilianadiaz@bilingualspeechie.com
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Liliana Diaz
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