Parental functions, the child and their implications for stuttering

ABSTRACT Purpose: to explore the dynamics between parental functions and children who stutter, in order to understand the meaning of stuttering. Methods: an exploratory research with a qualitative approach based on Content Analysis. Three children diagnosed with stuttering, of both sexes, and their parents, participated in the research. In the data collection, footage of the interaction of the children with their parents was used, which were analyzed and generalized into thematic categories. Content analysis had the conceptual support of psychoanalytic theory and occurred in three moments: pre-analysis; the exploration of the material and the treatment of the results obtained and their interpretation. Results: the results showed the existence of an articulation between the stuttering of the children and their parental speech, with symptomatic speech being a way of preserving the subjective position of the children, since they need to be separated from their mothers and assume their own desire. Conclusion: it was concluded that, from psychoanalysis point of view, stuttering is a symptom of family dynamics, being linked to the field of the Other and the parental function.