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 or highly excited. Such a condition will aggravate the speech trouble, make it worse and tend to fix it more firmly in the child. Furthermore, parents should not scold or berate the child because he stammers or stutters. No child stammers or stutters because he wants to, but because he has not the power to control his speech organs. In other words, the child cannot help himself--and scolding and harsh words simply cause confusion and dejection which in turn react to make a more serious condition.