Questions & Answers about Stuttering

Stuttering is a speech disorder, which characterizes by:

• Repetitions of words, syllables or sounds;
• Stretching or prolongation of sounds;
• Suddenly stopping in the middle of a syllable or word.

Combination of these disruptions forms individual pattern of stuttering. The stuttering may be worse when person is stressed or excited.

Stuttering can affect anyone, but affects four times as many males as females.

There are two main types of stuttering, and they have different causes:

• Neurogenic stuttering can happen after stroke, head trauma, brain injury, may accompany epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, Tourette syndrome, etc.
• Developmental stuttering. Stuttering that happens in children while they're learning to speak is called developmental stuttering. It typically starts in children between the ages of 1-5 years. However, there have been a few reported cases of a later onset of stuttering, even in adults, after severe stress. Onset of stuttering can be gradual or very sudden. Some people may experience periods of severe stuttering, followed by very mild or even no stuttering. It is common for stuttering to fluctuate depending on the excitation level in the nervous system.

The main risk factors for stuttering origin are antibiotics in early childhood, birth trauma, stuttering persons in the child's immediate environment, regardless to the degree of kinship.

Prevalence studies suggest stuttering affects about 1% of prepubertal children.

Some children recover from stuttering without needing formal treatment. It is not possible to determine which children will recover from stuttering and which ones will not. Evidence suggests that the longer a child has been stuttering, the less likely they are to recover without treatment.

Prolonged and severe emotional trauma can cause stuttering. The severity of stress or trauma depends not only on the factor causing the stress, but also on the sensitivity of the subject.

It is well documented that preschoolers respond best to treatment, so if you think your child may be stuttering, it is ideal for treatment to commence in the preschool years if possible. It is best as soon as possible seek help from a speech-language pathologist who specializes in stuttering.

Yes, there are a variety of successful approaches for treating both children and adults. In general, the earlier, the better is good advice.

There are different treatments that can help with stuttering. Treatment varies for different ages. There are also effective treatments available for older children, adolescents and adults who stutter. In most cases, treatment involves weekly visits to the speech pathologist, daily measurement of stuttering and implementation of treatment techniques.

Younger children may not need therapy right away. Their parents and teachers can learn strategies to help the child practice speaking. That can help some children. Specialist in stuttering can help not only children but also teenagers, young adults and even older adults make significant progress toward fluency.

Almost all techniques include:

• Speaking more slowly
• Controlling breathing
• Gradually working up from single-syllable responses to longer words and more complex sentences.

Many methods of speech therapy can improve speech, but degree of success varies.

Delayed auditory feedback (DAF) has been first used to try to help people who stutter in 1965. While wearing such a device, the speaker hears his voice with a slight time delay. While many people who stutter do experience short term fluency gains while using the device, the large majority report that the benefits wear off over time. It is not a treatment per se, as the effects are not present when one is not wearing the device.

There are preserved types of speech that are not affected by stuttering: singing, reading or recitation of poetry, whispering, speaking alone without an audience, and conjugated speech (speaking with someone in unison). Most people who stutter are fluent during singing or recitating poetry because singing and poetry are associated mostly with the right brain hemisphere. Those who stutter commonly stutter much less when they are speaking alone to themselves or alone without audience. As for whispering, speech improves by eliminating the muscles of the pharynx and vocal cords, which are mostly participate in the pathological process of stuttering.

About 35% -50% people who stutter are thought to have a family member who also stutters. However, we consider that children with family stuttering began to stutter by imitation, imitating the rhythm, tempo, and style of the stuttering person. This is evidenced by numerous cases of stuttering in families with non-biological parents, cases of stuttering due to imitation from siblings and friends; as well as cases of absence of stuttering in children of stuttering parents.

One of the most common misconceptions about stuttering is that people who stutter are nervous, emotionally insecure or less intelligent than others. This is not true. Studies show that there are no differences in the psychological, emotional or intellectual make-up of people who stutter. The only consistent finding is that people who stutter tend to be more sensitive, emotional and withdraw from social situations. However, the last characteristic are likely to be the result of stuttering. Another common misconception is that people who stutter could stop if they just tried hard enough. In fact, trying not to stutter often has the reverse effect of making it worse. It can cause more tension in the speech muscles resulting in more severe stuttering or the development of struggle behavior. It can also result in the person trying to hide the stutter by avoiding talking or using tricks to get around the difficulty.

There are several things listeners can do to help the person who stutters. Speak slowly with stuttering person, taking a deep breath before each statement. Try to speak with him in unison, filling the words, finishing sentences. Do not look at stuttering person and don't show him, that you are attentively hear him. Expressing your sympathy and support is the most effective way you can help the person who stutters.

Many medications on the market can influence on stuttering severity. However, their effect is short-lived, exists only while the drug is being taken, showed unacceptable side effects for small gains in fluency. In some cases, speech worsens after the medication withdrawal.

Treatment for stuttering is available for people of all ages. The child obeys parents and agrees to speak more slowly and repeat words and sentences. That's why treatment in childhood is more effective. Besides, nervous system of child is more plastic. Both adolescents and adults need more time and efforts to comply with therapy requirements. Results of adolescents and adults treatment often depend on a person's motivation.

Yes, every person with developmental stuttering can be completely cured. The time of treatment depend on age, stuttering experience, severity of manifestation and motivation of subject. Though therapy can be most effective for preschool age children, speech therapy can be beneficial at any stage of life at least for improving the speech. While many people have no enough time to devote to treatment, however, they are able thanks to treatment to speak more easily and greatly reduce the manifestation of stuttering.

It is recommended that children who exhibit stuttering receive speech therapy as soon as possible. Any registered speech-language pathologist who treats children would be of help.

Treatments that combine methods for speaking more slowly and repeating stuttering phrases are usually most effective. Sessions once a week are more practical and generally show the best results. The best treatments for children who stutter are those where parents and caregivers are closely involved under the guidance of a specialist speech and language pathologist. They must control child's speech and follow the speech therapist's recommendations.

• Control the speech of your child all the time.
• Use corrections such as "slow down," "take your time," or "take a deep breath."
• Encourage your child to speak and correct his speech as more as possible.
• Interrupt your child immediately and tell him to start over when he stutter. If he can not repeat the sentence without stuttering, talk in unison with him many times till the fluent result.
• Don't tell your child to think before speaking.
• Don't change atmosphere in the home or slow down the pace of family life.
• Speak slowly and clearly when talking to your child or others in his presence.

No, quite the opposite! Children who stutter face speech and communication troubles from the childhood, and struggle to overcome them. Besides, they also use the resources of their right hemisphere to develop numerous strategies to avoid stumbling in speech. So they could be very intelligent and talent people.

There are some techniques that can briefly alleviate severe stuttering. Try to speak slowly, taking a breath before each sentence. Prepare yourself for important meetings and conversations in advance: write out the text and memorize it. You'll feel more confident and stutter less.

The time for therapy varies: for completely curing - from 3 days to many years. There are many factors which impact the duration of therapy such as severity of stuttering, stuttering experience (how many years stuttered the patient), the age of the patient, time of home practice, and motivation of person. A three-year-old girl who started stuttering a week ago needed three days to full recovering and a month for monitoring. Preschool and school-age children with total speech control at home need 2-8 months for elimination of stuttering. Adolescents and adults who meet all the requirements of therapy and whose speech is controlled by parents or partners require longer treatment - from half to three years. Adults could stop the therapy after the achieving some speech improvement.

Sudden stress with a startle reaction often triggers stuttering. The trigger doesn't necessarily have to be significant. For a child with a sensitive nervous system, a loud sudden noise, or the sudden appearance of a frightening object can trigger a startle reaction and stuttering. In some cases, prolonged severe stress can also cause stuttering.