Advice for talking to my 7 year old about her first therapist appointment?
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Advice for talking to my 7 year old about her first therapist appointment? My 7 year old girl has stuttered on and off since she was 4 or so. Mostly, this coincided with intellectual development spurts so we put it down to her speech trying to catch up with her new upgraded thinking processes. For the last year or so the stutter has become more consistent, especially when she's excited or nervous, so we've lined up an appointment for her with a speech therapist. The thing is we've never talked about her speech as it hasn't bothered her. She did K, 1st and most of 2nd grade in elementary school without a problem and since covid hit a year ago she's been homeschooled and in a quarantine pod with her bestie who also doesn't notice or comment on it. I feel like she's basically blissfully unaware of the whole thing and that this therapist appointment might burst that bubble and make it a "thing" for her and perhaps make it worse for her. On the other hand she's going back to school in September and I don't want the first she knows about this to be from some sucky kid giving her a hard time. I want to do what's best for her to be able to handle this going forward so she's got strategies in place to deal with school and life in general. Obviously I want what's best for her so, does anyone have any advice on how to pitch the therapist appointment to her? Thanks a lot! ​ Update: For those curious, we canceled the therapist appointment. The feedback really cemented what I was feeling all along which is that bursting the bubble and making her speech a "thing" was counterproductive at this stage. Therapy may be in her future but for now she's playing Minecraft with her buddy. A heartfelt thanks to all those who so generously offered up their personal experiences to help us with our decision. You're all wonderful!