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Stuttering: Speech fluency blog post – HealthifyMe Blog – HealthifyMe – The definitive guide to weight loss, fitness, and healthier living.
Human communication is very complex. It includes many ways of speaking, gestures and expressions, and we are not always fluent in expressing ourselves. We stagger, stammer, slur, stammer, and stammer. These mistakes, known as misalignments, are of different types and are more common in young children who are learning to speak. They have difficulty speaking because their speech is not fully developed to keep up with what they want to say. The child repeats or stretches a word, a syllable, or a consonant or vowel. They may even stop while speaking when they stumble upon questionable words or sounds. All of the incorrect speech errors listed above fall under the broad spectrum of stuttering or stuttering.
Before we get started, let’s clear the confusion between the two terms we just used. How is stuttering different from stuttering? There is absolutely no difference between the two except for the fact that stuttering is an American English word while stuttering belongs to the British dictionary. So now that you have your vocabulary, let’s talk about stuttering in general. What causes stuttering, what are its signs, treatment and how can we help people who stutter?
(You see how we use both terms? We’ll do it blog-wide so our readers from both parts of the world can get in touch.)
Float with the flow
Stuttering is a fluency disorder that involves frequent and severe problems with the flow of words. Stuttering people know exactly what to say but have trouble speaking. This speech disorder, also known as childhood-onset fluency disorder, is quite common in children who are learning to speak. According to the National Institute of Deaf and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), about 5 to 10 percent of children stutter at some point, usually between the ages of 2 and 6. However, the problem is this. can sometimes last into adulthood and that’s when it becomes problematic. While most children stutter, some are unable to speak fluently, which can have a negative impact on their self-esteem and interpersonal relationships.
Stuttering can cause negative feelings like stress and shame in some people and interfere with the way a person talks to others. It can even cause us to avoid certain words or situations. For example, if the word Krishna makes you stutter, you will avoid all conversations where you will have to pronounce it or find alternatives to the word that can sometimes complicate a simple dialogue. other. Furthermore, if talking on the phone makes you stutter, you can avoid phone calls altogether, talking to very few people, or for very short periods of time.
Stuttering can vary from day to day. There may be times when you are completely fluent while at times you may stutter more than usual. Stress, excitement, anger and other strong emotions have a direct effect on our speech and thus can cause us to stutter more or less. In addition, situations where we lack self-control, rush or pressure, can also cause us to stutter more.
In addition to these cases, there are some obvious signs of people stuttering. We have listed them for you to get a clear picture.
Just A Moment
According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, people who stutter can be extremely nervous or out of breath when they talk. They may feel that their speech is being blocked when their mouth is in the right position to say the word but no sound comes out. To overcome this, they pause in the middle of a sentence or use word breaks like ‘um’, ‘like’, ‘well’, etc. to delay the start of words they have difficulty pronouncing.
Viz – I want (pause) biscuits and milk / I want um, biscuits and milk.
Other common signs and symptoms associated with stuttering include:
- Repetition: There are different patterns of repetition that are considered stuttering:
1. Repeat whole words (viz– I want cookies… cookies and milk)
2. Repeat parts of words (viz– I want cookies and milk)
3. Repeat a phrase (viz– I want… I want cookies and milk)
4. Repeat one syllable (viz– I want coo..cookies and milk) - The sound lasts: Extend a word or sounds in a word (viz– I want ccccccokies and milk)
- Review: Change the wording of sentences they find difficult to say (viz– I want to cccc…. Cookies and milk)
There are several other indicators observed in stutterers. The accompanying stress causes people to blink rapidly along with other physical changes such as facial tightening, lip tremors, and tension in the face and upper body. People who stutter may also experience tension, tightness, or movement of the face or upper body to make a word.
So now we understand stuttering and its types but what made us stutter in the first place? Let’s dig inside!
What makes us stutter?
While there is no clear cause for stuttering, there are a number of possible reasons for stuttering. Family history and genes also affect the way a person speaks. This means that if members of your family stutter, you are also likely to stutter because it is a genetic abnormality in the part of the brain that governs language.
An oddity in speech motor control, such as timing, and sensory and motor coordination, may also be involved in causing a person to stutter while speaking. Furthermore, brain trauma such as stroke trauma can cause neurogenic stuttering while severe mental trauma can lead to psychogenic stuttering. Mental stuttering originates in the part of the brain that governs thinking and reasoning.
While we can’t always be sure which children will continue to stutter, there are a number of factors that can put them at a higher risk of developing the condition. These include age and gender. Research indicates that boys are more likely to continue stuttering into adolescence or adulthood than girls. In addition, people in families with stutterers are more likely to continue to stutter.
This may lead you to question that if stuttering is common in children, when should we seek professional help? We have the answer to this question.
Seeking Expert Help
For most children, ages 2-6 are when they learn to speak and this is the time when they are most prone to stuttering, which gets better as they enter adolescence. However, persistent stuttering may require treatment from a speech-language pathologist (SLP) to improve speech fluency.
Some signs to look out for are:
- Stuttering persisted for more than six months.
- Becomes more frequent or continues as the child grows
- Stuttering occurs when muscle tension or difficulty speaking
- Stuttering affects children’s ability to communicate
- The child avoids speaking or speaks too hard to speak.
The SLP will evaluate the problems the child has with speech and their frequency. They will also assess how they deal with stuttering. They may perform other assessments, such as speaking speed and language skills, depending on the individual’s age and history.
The SLP will analyze the data and determine if a fluency disorder is present and how it affects the child’s life. Based on their observations, SLP may also recommend corrective therapies and other interventions. Treatment will largely depend on factors such as
- How much does the child stutter?
- How children react when stuttering
- How does stuttering affect your child’s daily life?
- How other people react when they stutter
- Child’s age
Now you can ask the question “what about adults who stutter?”. Well, the drill is still the same. You contact SLP and they will deal with it. However, if you are a stutterer and want to improve yourself, we have some tips.
Tips to reduce stuttering
- Speak slowly
Slow down your speaking speed and pause intentionally in between. This can help you reduce stress related to speaking and your nervous coordination will also improve. It will also add tweaks to your speech and make it more effective. You can read aloud at your own pace in front of a mirror while alone and then gradually inculcate it as a habit. Let those around you know that you’re trying this and their patience can really help. Practicing in front of a mirror will also make you less self-conscious.
- Record your own speech
Record yourself while you read aloud. This can help you track your progress. It can also help clear up words or phrases that make you stutter and make you notice things that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to. If listening to your own voice is jarring or anxiety-provoking, start slowly. While hearing your own progress can be encouraging, it may not work for everyone. Stop this practice if this has a negative effect on you. Remember that you know yourself best.
- Try mindfulness
Mindfulness is a form of meditation that allows you to calm down and focus on your thoughts or a particular action. This can help you relax and reduce anxiety. Furthermore, preliminary research indicates that mindfulness techniques can help with comprehensive treatment planning for stuttering.
Finally, if you are someone who doesn’t stutter but your loved ones do, we have some key lessons learned, especially for you.
Talk to someone with anxiety
If you are talking to a stutterer, it is important that you let them speak at their own pace. Trying to speak hastily will only make it harder for them to finish sharing their thoughts.
You should not try to finish the sentence for them. Be patient and allow them to complete on their own. Not only did this help them overcome their stuttering, but it also had a positive effect on their overall sense of well-being. Besides, you may finish their sentence with pure intention but it can intimidate them and they may comfortably shy away from saying that their stuttering annoys you. Which brings us to another point, which is to never ask them to speak faster. You have to realize and keep in mind that their speech is not up to par with yours. Give them confidence to speak and let them know you want to hear what they have to say by maintaining eye contact.
Another thing you shouldn’t do is ask the photographers to ‘relax’ or ‘take a deep breath’. It will only make them conscious and depressed. Instead, be patient and give them the time needed to express their opinion. Encourage and allow them to speak in a larger group. And needless to say, never mock someone who stutters. Remember, modesty is not measured in grammar, nor in fluency, but vividly expressed in manners.
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