ed defective utterance through mimicry of others
similarly afflicted or through the unconscious imitation of the
defective speech of those immediately about him.

Failing to find any hereditary tendency to a speech defect or any
evidence that the disorder had been acquired by imitation or mimicry,
the next step would be to determine whether or not the trouble had been
caused by disease or injury.

As explained in Chapter III, the diseases of childhood, such as
Whooping Cough, Scarlet Fever, Diphtheria, Acute Chorea, Infantile
Cerebral Palsy and Infantile Paralysis are frequently the cause of
stuttering or stammering, and a history showing a record of these
diseases would result in a very careful examination for the purpose of
determining if they had resulted in a form of defective utterance.

ADVICE TO PARENTS: But whatever the cause of the trouble, care should
be taken to see that it grows no worse and every attempt should be made
to eradicate it at this early stage. Like a fire, speech disorders in
their early stages are insignificant compared to their future progress
and can be much more readily eradicated then than later. Inasmuch as a
child of less than eight years is hardly old enough to undertake
institutional treatment successfully, it behooves the parent of the
stammering or stuttering child to render what home assistance is
possible, during this period. The old adage, tried and true, that "An
ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" is never more correctly
applied than here. A few simple suggestions may aid in preventing the
trouble from progressing rapidly to a serious stage, even though these
suggestions do not eradicate the disorder altogether.

First of all, the child should be kept in the very best possible
physical condition. This means, too, plenty of fresh air and sunshine,
without which any child is less than physically fit.

It is important that the child be not allowed to associate with others
who stammer or stutter, or who have any form of speech disorder.
Imitation or mimicry, as heretofore stated, is the most prolific cause
of speech trouble and to place a child who stammers or stutters in the
company of an older person similarly afflicted, is to invite a serious
form of the disorder.

Nervousness, while not the cause of speech disorder, is an aggravant of
the trouble and should be avoided. The child should not be allowed to
engage in anything which has a tendency to make him nervous o