Free The Wedding Invite (Lakeview) (Lakeview Contemporary Romance Book 6) by Melissa Hill

taken her to the speech therapist when Jo noticed her speech blockages a while back? Hadn’t she bought her that talking-book software that the speech therapist recommended? The idea was that Kerry would improve her speech through looking at pictures onscreen, and listening to the correct pronunciations of the words. The software was for her computer. Her computer! How many three-and-a-half-year-olds had their own computer?
    Even though Helen had noticed some repetitions in her daughter’s speech, she wasn’t overly concerned. Kerry wasn’t even four years old, for goodness sake. The problem would undoubtedly sort itself out with age. What did Jo expect – that she be able to recite the entire works of Shakespeare? She had been sure that Jo was overreacting, but to get the childminder off her back she had agreed to take Kerry to a speech therapist recommended by her GP.
    A very expensive speech therapist.
    They had their first consultation a few months back and the therapist had advocated that each day Helen allot a ‘selective listening’ period, a relaxed time allowing Kerry to chatter away at her own comfortable pace.
    “Try not to place time-burdens on her speech, Ms Jackson. All adults, especially working mothers like yourself, are on constant time-demands, and tend to speak almost as quickly as is physically possible. As Kerry is just learning how to coordinate her speech mechanisms, she needs to speak slowly.”
    “You’re saying that my rate of speech can affect Kerry’s progress?”
    “In a way, yes. Some days you might come home from work, tired and frazzled and with possibly a pile of housework to tackle. There is an immediate demand on your time. Kerry of course will sense this, and may interpret it as a message that she is not interesting, or not worth listening to.”
    Helen shook her head. Selective listening? Where was she supposed to find time for that?
    Their first consultation with Dr Davis had been over two hours long, the therapist almost immediately diagnosing Kerry with a ‘moderate-to-severe disfluency’.
    Well which was it, Helen had thought at the time – moderate or severe?
    And of course Kerry had a problem, Helen thought sceptically. If she didn’t have a problem, how on earth would the doctor afford her next holiday in the South Pacific?
    Dr Davis had droned on about how Helen would have to take time out to spend some quality conversation time with Kerry, and help her develop ‘healthy and appropriate communication attitudes’.
    If there was one thing Helen abhorred, it was psychobabble. There was nothing wrong with Kerry that time couldn’t cure. Admittedly, she was shy and nervous and didn’t nervous children always have trouble expressing themselves?
    “Kerry doesn’t stutter because she’s nervous,” Dr Davis had explained. “Rather she is nervous because she stutters. It’s a vicious cycle. Even a child as young as Kerry will realise that she isn’t speaking as well as everybody else, but what is most important is that she does not acquire a negative self-image, or be ashamed or embarrassed about it. If she feels badly about her speech, she is more likely to struggle in attempts to be fluent, and if this happens, the problem will almost certainly escalate. This is where you come in, Ms Jackson. As a parent, Kerry will look to you for a reaction. If you show any signs of frustration, fear or annoyance when Kerry struggles, it won’t be long before she begins to show similar reactions. So, as well as increasing Kerry’s concerns about her speech, these reactions may also increase the severity of her stuttering. Your own approach, and indeed your childminder’s approach towards stuttering, will play a critical role in Kerry’s development of a healthy attitude.”
    “Look, I’m really not sure that she has all that much of a problem,” Helen said defensively. “I mean, she doesn’t stutter all the time, very rarely in fact.” Rarely around me anyway, Helen