Archive for the ‘Stuttering’ Category

Nature and Causes of Stuttering

Monday, November 1st, 2010

When you think about Stuttering, what do you think of first? Which aspects of Stuttering are important, which are essential, and which ones can you take or leave? You be the judge.

There is no single cause of stuttering to date. Many researchers have come out with varied results?some psychological basis and others neurological causes. There is another field that says stuttering is a homogenous disorder but this is yet to be disputed. It says that stutterers suffer from one underlying problem. Nevertheless, popular theories are based on heterogeneity of the disorder.

One theorist has argued that since there no measurement and causes of fluency, it is harder to define the causes of abnormality. For a long time, theorists believed that the concept of stuttering was an outgrowth or exacerbation of normal disfuency. Yet, these premises and models are still subjected to further experiments and studies.

To further aid in the study of stuttering, theorists tried to categorize and make a sub-group of people who stutters. First is the severity as a grouping variable. Many studies used this sub-grouping with so far mixed results of analyses. Meanwhile, the intriguing sub-grouping of Van Riper described four tracks in the development of shuttering.

The model of fluent speech production presents two important points in understanding the categories of stuttering.

First, stuttering shows a failure in temporal processing. Second, stuttering shows an imbalance between the capacities of the fluency generating system and demands of the environment.

Following the model of fluent speech production, hypothetical types or sub groups in stuttering are formulated. First, the speech motor control sub-groups which have two distinct groups called dyspraxic stuttering and respiratory control stuttering. The first is characterized by phonological and fluency problems thus causing delays in the appearances of intelligible words and sentences, articulation problems, and slow speech rates.

If you don’t have accurate details regarding Stuttering, then you might make a bad choice on the subject. Don’t let that happen: keep reading.

For example, some adults have the difficulty of pronouncing longer words and have inconsistent articulation errors. Thus, stuttering occurs on longer and unfamiliar words.

The second one is directly linked to difficulties in voluntary control of muscles of respiration. That is why children who stutter most likely have asthma, allergies, and upper respiratory distress. This disorder is characterized by blocks and unvoiced prolongations.

Some theorists also consider the linguistic processing problems as main etiologic factor. Many children show delayed language development. This general category is called linguistic stuttering. There are three sub-types of group. The first one involves the developmental delays in aspects of linguistic processing. The second one is associated with problems in word finding or retrieval. The third is associated with problems in generation of complex grammatical forms and the last involves problems with auditory processing.

Another sub-group involves the cognitive processes. Problems in this area lead to disfluent speech production. However, one theorist says most likely a person who stutter has cognitive abilities that are superior to their linguistic and speech motor abilities.

Psychologically related factors cannot be eliminated in the sub-groupings of the causes stuttering. Anxiety is an important factor in stuttering. This is a critical factor with respect to severity of stuttering.

Theorists have based these groupings mainly on present results of studies. The sub-groupings of stuttering are yet to be tested and experimented.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit his top ranked GVO affiliate site: GVO

Helpful tips on stuttering from stutters

Saturday, October 30th, 2010

Today people need to be mobile and social to cope up with the needs of society. It is very important to deliver one’s message concisely and as briefly as possible to save time and motion. Concepts of how to manage time better are some of the best-selling concepts of the upbeat society. But among us some people suffer from a speech impediment that hinders them from being competitive in the world. Stuttering is one of the most common problems that people face nowadays, young children to working adults stuttering affects people adversely both in school and at work.

People who are suffering from stutters need not despair, there is a way to overcome stuttering and the ways to overcome it are from people who suffered stuttering as well. Majority of people who is suffering from stuttering agrees that it will help a lot if the stutter would:

- Sing away. If you are having speech problems such as stuttering they should try to speak the words and sentences is a singing way. Making speaking a fun activity could make stuttering easy to overcome. People with a stutter often times find it hard to remember concepts and ideas because they are too shy to say what they want to say and they find their stutter something to be ashamed of. Needless to say, people with a stutter find t easy to relate to words when they are said in a “singing way.”

- Visualize what you’re about to say. People who are having stutter will avoid unnecessary commotion if they try to visualize the letters of the word they are going to say. One of the main reasons why people find it hard to say what they want to say is because they don’t have a picture of what they want to say in their heads.

The information about Stuttering presented here will do one of two things: either it will reinforce what you know about Stuttering or it will teach you something new. Both are good outcomes.

It is especially true for people that stutter because on of the root causes of stuttering are from not knowing exactly what to say and how to say it. Having a mental picture of what we want to say makes it easier to find the right words to use to describe the word.

- Speak on ‘breathing out’! Before saying a very difficult word take a deep breath. It is always a good idea to take a deep breath before we that one difficult word that we have in mind. One of the reasons why even people who speak normally have a hard time with words is that they rush in to say what they want to say. There is nothing bad about speaking in moderation because it would make whatever you will say more understandable.

- Say it in your m

ind. Let your mind hear yourself successfully saying the word you want to say, do this every time you have something to say that you think you will have a hard time with. This is a type of aural visualization. People who successfully visualized what they want to say wil be able to say it 90 % of the time.

Saying it in your mind is a kind of mental exercise where you let your self be more familiar with how it sounds the texture and the aural patterns and the up and downs of the words.

- Don’t put undue pressure on yourself. We all know that one of the factors that contribute to the development of stuttering is pressure and anxiety. Putting yourself in a stressful situation would cause more problems for the person who is suffering from stuttering. Remember to keep a stress-free environment when coping up with stuttering. Always keep these stuttering tips handy.

Now you can understand why there’s a growing interest in Stuttering. When people start looking for more information about Stuttering, you’ll be in a position to meet their needs.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit his top ranked GVO affiliate site: GVO

Vital Notes about Different Aspects of Stuttering

Friday, October 29th, 2010

The best course of action to take sometimes isn’t clear until you’ve listed and considered your alternatives. The following paragraphs should help clue you in to what the experts think is significant.

Stuttering is considered as a kind of speech disorder that manifests through a person’s hesitation to continue what they are saying, repetition of syllables or whole words and phrases and prolongation of sounds while they are speaking. This is usually experienced by children from ages two to five because this is the stage when they are only learning to form sounds, words and complete sentences.

There are some people who suffer from this due to genetic factors, but there are no proven studies to claim this point. Other people suffer from this speech disorder as a result of neurological events like traumatic brain injuries and stroke. The case is sometimes considered a psychological problem. It can get worse when the stutterer is faced with many stress factors or they are dealing with anxiety and nervousness. There are cases when people can sing without any hints that they have the condition and you will only notice such once they begin speaking in a conversational manner.

Symptoms

The known symptoms of this condition include extended pauses while delivering your message, creating long sounds in between words, repetition of words or certain parts of the words. If you have this case, you may also find it hard or feel hesitant in starting your phrases. There are also physical manifestations like too much blinking of the eyes, jaw jerking and involuntary movements of certain body parts without intending to do such.

Treatment

Hopefully the information presented so far has been applicable. You might also want to consider the following:

If the condition is only mild, you must learn how to handle it on your own. It will help if you are going to find out what’s causing the problem. What makes you feel nervous when you are talking with other people

? Why can’t you speak to a large crowd or why can’t you look directly to the eyes of the person you are talking to?

After you have accepted that there really is a problem and that you can’t handle it on your own, you can go to a professional speech language pathologist to help you in this case. They can recommend you good medications to help you at the start. This must be backed up with therapy sessions and you should also initiate to practice facing your fears as you progress through the process.

If you are dealing with a child who has this problem, you have to guide them by giving them time to finish what they have to say. Allow them to talk in a slow manner and do not interrupt that much as they try to convey their message.

Both adults and children should also try doing regular breathing exercises. It will also help if you are going to practice singing your thoughts. While you are still in the process of finding a cure, you must avoid situations where you will feel very stressed out because this will only aggravate your condition.

Studies are still being conducted to find the right and the best cures for stuttering. Even if this is the case, this must not stop you from researching and applying good tips on what you can do to overcome the condition or help someone who is suffering from this.

Those who only know one or two facts about Stuttering can be confused by misleading information. The best way to help those who are misled is to gently correct them with the truths you’re learning here.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit his top ranked GVO affiliate site: GVO

Various Treatment Options for Stuttering in Adults

Monday, October 25th, 2010

Shocking and Interesting Facts about Stuttering

Sunday, October 24th, 2010

Have you ever wondered if what you know about Stuttering is accurate? Consider the following paragraphs and compare what you know to the latest info on Stuttering.

How do people usually react when they hear someone stutter? They most likely make fun of the stuttering person. And how do people usually perceive someone who stutters? Stupid, dumb, or even good for nothing. A person’s competence or personality is always judged based on how good a speaker he is. That is a sad reality for many people who tend to stutter. Whether you are among the 1 percent of the world’s population that stutters or not, it helps to know and understand the basic facts about this speech condition to put things in a better perspective. This is especially helpful for parents with children who stutter.

The following are some of the essential and interesting facts about stammering that people should know:

? Individuals who stutter are normal, as they lack only the ability to express words fluently. They are not mentally incapacitated as what others perceive them to be. Stutterers can be as smart as non-stutterers are.

? Speech disfluency typically begins at the age of two to five.

? Boys are four times more likely to stutter than girls.

? The real cause of stammering has not yet been determined.

? Speech disfluency runs in families, leading scientists to believe that this condition can be hereditary.

If you find yourself confused by what you’ve read to this point, don’t despair. Everything should be crystal clear by the time you finish.

? A lot of well-known people in the field of politics and entertainment stuttered and were able to cope with their speech difficulties. The world’s famous stutterers include actress Marilyn Monroe, British politician Winston Churchill, King George VI, author Lewis Carroll, musician Carly Simon, and former U.S. president George W. Bush.

? For many people, stammering gives them a feeling that their speech is way beyond their control. Such a feeling makes them worry and disturbed about their self-image, causing them to feel ashamed of themselves and to be extremely anxious every time they speak. Their tendency to stutter also makes them fear talking in front of others.

? The anxiety that a person feels boosts the intensity and frequency of stammering. This creates a cycle that only escalates the condition.

? Stammering behaviors develop and change in a person’s entire lifespan. Most people who stutter experience variations in the level of their speech problem. There are times when they stutter frequently, while at other times, they stutter just a bit.

? In children, there are times when stammering seem to disappear on its own, but it goes back later on a more severe level.

? About 80 percent of toddlers who stutter will eventually outgrow their speech disfluency. The remaining 20 percent of these children continue the speech condition for the rest of their lives. These children tend to talk very fast and struggle to say words that seem to stuck. This behavior increases the likelihood of stammering in later years.

People with stuttering problems are often misunderstood, and this make the problem worse for them. It is important that you know how to deal with and help your family members or friends who stutter so that they will be able to cope better with their condition.

That’s the latest from the Stuttering authorities. Once you’re familiar with these ideas, you’ll be ready to move to the next level.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit his top ranked GVO affiliate site: GVO

The Normalization of Speech Patterns in People Who Stutter

Saturday, October 23rd, 2010

Michael Susca, a speech language pathologist, has presented a treatment process for stuttering. He called it the normalization of speech patterns.

He believed that people whom stutter comes from a very heterogeneous group. As such, he designed a program specific only to a certain group of people who stutter, but is applicable to a wide range of age.

Though it is still a working progress, the eligibility of a patient to undergo such program includes many factors such as normal intelligence, recognition of the stuttering problem, current motivation to eliminate the stutter, the absence of a deep or broad “genetic tree” of stuttering, report of a history of fluent communication experiences before stuttering problem to name a few. Patients are expected to meet as many criteria as possible to be appropriate in the program.

His program focuses on fixing underlying problems causing the symptoms and changing physiological processes with emphasis on normal speech and perpetual processes.

The program aims to teach patients to become their own therapists. In addition, it aims to improve their communicative skill through self-perception, volition, effectiveness, and naturalness. Patients are thought to change their self-image into a positive belief system.

See how much you can learn about Stuttering when you take a little time to read a well-researched article? Don’t miss out on the rest of this great information.

It teaches patients to learn the willingness and confidences to begin communication with other people at varied time and place. It further teaches people who stutter to learn to respond, make changes in the environment verbally, and adjust to a new way of effortlessly sounding normal.

Unlike other stuttering programs, Susca’s treatment process does not have particular duration. It changes according to particular patients’ problems, needs, and logistics. However, the treatment sessions usually last for one hour and with a minimum of three times a week. Depending on the progress of patients, treatment sessions are normally reduced to once a week and then to once every other week, to once a month until the termination of treatment.

The first concern of the treatment program is patients’ use of cognitive secondary mannerisms. This process focuses on elimination of the use of avoidances, substitutions, and circumlocutions. The next step concerns with the increase of patients’ awareness of sensory inputs. Usually, patients are asked to go through an exercise that provokes the use or sensory inputs such as proprioception, kinaesthesia, and tactility. This is briefly repeated to develop awareness of sensory parameters in body movements.

Personal assessments are asked from the patients for them to lay out their progress and difficulties. Through continuous recognition of used techniques, patients learn the normal speech patterns and need less exaggerated techniques.

There are major techniques taught in this treatment process. One example is the developing of belly-breathing.

This teaches patients about the general dynamics of breathing. In this technique, they are encouraged to use easy belly-breathing while laying their back on the floor.

The other technique is to develop and open throat posture that can be achieved in any one of four methods. This posture emphasizes an open, relaxed, pharyngeal structure through which airstream flows. It causes resonance change; teaches proper speaking posture to aid in reducing stuttering.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit his top ranked GVO affiliate site: GVO

A Speech Language Therapist Can Help Treat Stuttering

Thursday, October 21st, 2010

Effective communication with stuttering people

Tuesday, October 19th, 2010

To make communication more effective with people, who have speech problems such as stuttering, it is a must that other people exert more effort in understanding the condition and knowing how to deal with them. The following are some tips that people without speech impediments can use to better communicate with people that stutter.

1. Fight the urge to end their sentences or say words for them. This is a very practical tip in creating better communication with people who stutter. Why? Because when try to finish their sentences, they get nervous and conscious that makes the room for error larger. Not doing this will make people stutter feel respected and one way of letting them know that they are not too different from normal people.

2. Refrain from saying words or phrases such as “Take a breath,” “Relax,” or “Slow down”. When you say these phrases?even if you have good intentions?will only make the person who suffer from stuttering feel more like they are different and there’s something wrong from them. Saying these things is like rubbing salt into the wound and will make them feel more ostracized from the society. Instead of saying these things, try more encouraging words such as “I understand” or “Go on” even if it takes them some time to finish the sentence.

3. Don’t look like you do not understand what he or she is saying. For people without speech problems, it is understandable to have a hard time understanding the words and sentences of people that suffer from stuttering. But then again, it is important that we show these people that they are no different from us. Most of the time stuttering is caused by none acceptance or rejection from a community. The best way to effectively send the message that we care is by understanding them even if it takes more time and effort.

4. Be more understanding and patient in listening to people who stutter. This can be shown by allowing the person to finish speaking. This is very important and a must be followed tip for communicating with people who stutter because one of the reasons behind all the stuttering that a person does is his anxiety and his lack of social skills. Being patient and allowing a person that stutters to finish what he is saying gives them the feeling of respect and acceptance which is important to their therapy.

So far, we’ve uncovered some interesting facts about Stuttering. You may decide that the following information is even more interesting.

5. Be more sensitive. If you are conversing with a person with speech problem such as stuttering, a moderate pace is very significant because it allows the conversation to naturally flow in a more relaxed manner and subtle rate. If you were talking too fast, this would put pressure on the person that stutter which will make it harder for him or her to communicate effectively.

6. Don’t show any signs of pity.

The worse thing that can happen to a person with disabilities is to be treated with so much pity. Unless these people are asking for it we should look at them with pity. We should give them an equal chance to everything.

7. Always maintain eye contact. Making eye contact is important for strengthening respect. Looking a person in the eye in a conversation gives them the feeling of respect.

8. Don’t pretend that you understand what the stuttering person said even if you didn’t. Most people who stutter won’t mind repeating themselves if you tell them honestly that you didn’t fully understand what he or she just said.

By saying, “I’m sorry, I didn’t understand what you said” will help them exert more effort in communicating effectively.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit his top ranked GVO affiliate site: GVO

Stuttering Symptoms: Understanding the Signs of Speech Problems

Monday, October 18th, 2010

Stuttering is a normal speech behavior that occurs in ordinary conversations, public speaking engagements, or group discussions. Almost everyone has had experienced it, and it is not a cause for alarm if it does not interfere much in the clarity of a message or speech. However, some people tend to stutter more often than others do. Stammering becomes a speech problem if it gets in the way of communication or expressing oneself clearly.

There are many misconceptions about people who stutter a lot. One is that they are not as smart or well adjusted as non-stutterers are. This is mainly because of their difficulty in expressing themselves. However, people who stutter are not as unintelligent as they may appear. Stammering and intelligence have nothing to do with each other.

To know more and understand what stammering is and how it is manifested in children and adults, you have to learn the symptoms of this speech condition. Learning the symptoms enables you to take immediate actions once you have confirmed that you have speech disfluency.

Problems with speech production are the first symptoms of stammering. The most obvious sign of stammering is the repetition of syllables, sounds, or words. This occurs usually at the start of a word. Hesitation is another symptom. A person who stutters prolong or hold certain sounds at the start of a word for a few seconds. Stutterers also add a particular word or sound to his or her sentence in place of the word that’s stuck in their tongue.

Hopefully the information presented so far has been applicable. You might also want to consider the following:

The other symptoms of speech disfluency manifest themselves when a person attempts to control his or her stammering. Several movements of the body can be noticed while a stutterer is speaking. These include jerky head movements, rapid blinking of the eyes, poor eye contact, and shaking of the lips and jaw.

A few symptoms are more difficult to see than the physical symptoms of stammering. These symptoms involve the emotions, which can be recognized by the stutterer himself. The worst among all symptoms of stammering include fear of the condition itself, inability to express oneself clearly, and avoidance of situations in which a person has to speak. Intense fear of being ridiculed and embarrassed is fairly common among people who frequently stutter.

Stutterers also tend to become angered and frustrated because of their condition and the reactions of other people about it. As a result, the self-esteem and self-image of a person who stutters go into a nosedive. All these emotional symptoms lead to another cycle of stammering symptoms, thus worsening a person’s speech difficulties.

All symptoms of stuttering vary throughout a person’s lifespan. They may increase or decrease, depending on the physical and emotional state of the stutterer. The symptoms may lessen when the person whispers, sings, talkx to pets, speaks along with others, or copies another person’s manner of speaking.

On the other hand, symptoms get worse because of certain situations such as increased anxiety and nervousness when a person has to speak in public or to talk on the phone. Also, there are particular medications that trigger or aggravate the symptoms of stammering.

I hope that reading the above information was both enjoyable and educational for you. Your learning process should be ongoing–the more you understand about any subject, the more you will be able to share with others.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit his top ranked GVO affiliate site: GVO

Anti-Stuttering Tips: How to Stop Stuttering

Saturday, October 16th, 2010

When you think about Stuttering, what do you think of first? Which aspects of Stuttering are important, which are essential, and which ones can you take or leave? You be the judge.

More than three million Americans stutter. Stuttering occurs normally in children during their speech development years. However, if you’re an adult and you still stutter, then you’ve got to do something about it before your life becomes a total disaster.

In medical parlance, people stutter when their natural flow of speech is hampered by repetitions of syllables, sounds, or words. Some people who stutter find it difficult to start a word when speaking. This speech disorder may be accompanied by symptoms such as shaking of the lips, jaw, or both as well as rapid blinking of the eyes. If left untreated, the condition may cause side effects, which can ruin one’s performance in social situations. People who usually stutter are fearful of speaking in front of many people or even simple interactions such as talking on the phone.

So how do you control your speech condition? Here are the ways:
* Breathe in deeply before you speak. That way, words and sounds will smoothly flow out of your mouth. Also, learn to exhale while you’re speaking. To help yourself relax before you start speaking, you need to learn some breathing or relaxation techniques. Controlled breathing is crucial in treating speech disfluency. Yoga and meditation prove to be useful for that purpose.

* Refrain from pressuring yourself to speak fluently. The more you pressure yourself, the more anxious you become. And anxiety help increase your chances of stammering.

* Before you speak the words, think about them first. Be sure what words you want to say before you blurt them out. Project the words you want to say in your mind so that they come clearly once you speak. To make that a bit easier for you, try to visualize the letters of every word you are going to say.

Sometimes the most important aspects of a subject are not immediately obvious. Keep reading to get the complete picture.

* Practice pronouncing words by letter. In doing so, you ease up your speech, making it more comfortable for you to say a word without stammering.

* Speak in a slow and relaxed manner. The faster you talk, the harder it will be for you to speak fluently. Try to sing the words to lessen your chance of stammering. Normally, most people don’t stutter when they sing. So sing your words to make yourself sound more pleasant as you speak.

* When speaking in front of an audience, refrain from looking only at one person. Instead, look above the heads of the people in front of you. Shift your focus on an area at the back of the room (or space, if it is an open area).

* Speak loudly. It may seem to be counteractive because the louder you talk, the more people would notice your stutter. But that’s not completely true. Speaking loudly in fact helps you vocalize each sound of your words properly, keeping you from repeating certain syllables or words.

* Practice, practice, practice. If you frequently stutter, avoiding any situation in which you have to talk will not help you in any way. In fact, it will only worsen your condition because you will never learn how to pronounce words smoothly.
There are many ways to control stuttering. Give them a shot now to gain more confidence when you have to talk to somebody.

I hope that reading the above information was both enjoyable and educational for you. Your learning process should be ongoing–the more you understand about any subject, the more you will be able to share with others.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit his top ranked GVO affiliate site: GVO