60 Chapter 3
top, pulling grass and clover and carefully putting them in the jar along with his crawly prize. He
could hardly wait until tomorrow’s show and tell.
All summer long, Steven’s mother had been concerned about his speech. She first noted his
stutter when the ice cream truck traveled through the neighborhood. Steven and his friends
came running to their mothers, begging for money. Steven stuttered while asking for it, and even
his friends looked at him with quizzical expressions. Several times, Steven’s mother told him to
slow down and think before speaking, and she reminded him not to stutter. She tried to hide her
impatience and her growing concern about her son’s speech disorder, but found it more and more
difficult as the summer progressed.
On the morning of show and tell, Steven placed the jar with the bug in his backpack. The bus
ride to school was uneventful, and soon he had taken his seat in Mrs. Lawson’s kindergarten class-
room. Student after student brought their objects to the front of the class and proudly discussed
them. At the end of each pre sen ta tion, Mrs. Lawson lavished praise on them for a job well done.
Fi nally, it was Steven’s turn. He carefully shook the jar so that every one could see the colorful bug.
The class responded with awe as he pulled it from the jar and allowed every one to take a closer
look. Then he replaced it and began the telling part of show and tell.
Mrs. Lawson was concerned about Steven participating in show and tell. She suspected he was
starting to stutter, but knew little about the disorder and how to prevent it. Several times in the
past, he had stuttered while asking for directions and appeared unable to control his speech. The
other children in the class seemed to be aware of his difficulties, and several boys were starting to
make fun of him. Mrs. Lawson did not know what to do about show and tell. Should she exclude
him or would that draw even more attention to his stuttering? She deci ded to allow him to par-
ticipate and hoped for the best. Unfortunately, show and tell turned out to be a disaster for Steven.
Mrs. Lawson asked Steven to describe the circumstances surrounding the bug’s capture. Steven
said, “I found, I found, I... , uh... , I found, I found, I.. .” There was uncomfortable rustling in
the classroom, and he tried again. “I found. I... , uh.. .” He tried repeatedly to speak, but to no
avail. Mrs. Lawson did not know what to do or say. Again Steven tried to talk about oak trees,
colorful oak leaves, and autumn eve nings, but his lips seemed para lyzed. Another boy in the class-
room said something about “Porky Pig,” and the class burst into laughter. Mrs. Lawson watched
as Steven stopped talking and began to cry. She helped him to his seat and announced that the
class should prepare for lunch. She told Steven that he had a fine bug in the jar and it was a great
addition to show and tell. Steven asked to see the school nurse, and Mrs. Lawson walked with the
crying youngster to the nurse’s station.
Two weeks later, the speech- language pathologist, Mrs. Lawson, and other educational profes-
sionals met with Steven’s mother to discuss what could be done about his stutter. The therapist
had previously attended several classes and observed Steven interact with the teacher and other
pupils. The clinician also provided Mrs. Lawson and Steven’s mother with a questionnaire on his
speech f luency in the classroom and at home. Every one at the meeting agreed that his dysf luencies
exceeded the norm and that Steven was self- conscious and anxious about speaking. However, they
believed that it was not too late to prevent him from becoming a lifelong stutterer.