ABSTRACT
A number of important issues arise in the discussion of appropriate responses to the earliest stages of stuttering in young children. A first concern, recently re-energized in recent debates (Bernstein Ratner, 1997; Curlee & Yairi, 1997; Packman & Onslow, 1998) is whether or not any intervention is necessarily warranted during the first year or so after symptoms have emerged. As Ambrose (chap. 5, this volume) discusses, the discovery of statistical predictors of chronicity and recovery require careful discussion between parents and the SLP. In some, but not all cases, parental concern over the fluency problem greatly exceeds that of the child him or herself, and some period of monitoring may be appropriate before direct therapy is advised or undertaken. This monitoring should take the form of careful diaries of the frequency and quality of dysfluency-related events over time, which we detail. It should not be a dismissal of parental concerns or a simple appointment for follow-up. However, information obtained at first consultation is crucial to diagnosis and counseling.
