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Stammmering

UPCOMING EVENTS

STAMMERING

Everybody stammers, mostly when nervous, afraid or unsure of what you want to communicate. However, the occasional anxious stammering that everyone experiences is very different from living with a stammer.

It is devastating when you’re in the spotlight and cannot complete a sentence without pausing or repeating yourself over and over again. Your head starts to spin, your heart rapidly races, your stomach turns, and to the extreme, you can barely breathe. When this happens, you cannot help but think that people are tired of listening to you. Some might even mock or mimic you.

What exactly is stammering?

Stammering- also sometimes referred to as stuttering is characterized by repetition, prolongations and blocks in speech. These may be more common on particular sounds, words, or in certain situations.

What is the difference between stammering and cluttering?

Cluttering- Like stuttering, cluttering is a fluency disorder, but the two disorders are not the same. Cluttering involves excessive breaks in the normal flow of speech that seem to result from disorganized speech planning, talking too fast or in spurts, or simply being unsure of what one wants to say. By contrast, the person who stutters typically knows exactly what he or she wants to say but is temporarily unable to say it.

What causes stammering?

Most experts agree that it is due to a combination of factors- physiological, neurological, psychological and environmental – but the precise ways that these factors operate together is not known, and clearly the combination will differ from one individual to another.

Sex differences and genes

Stammering is more common in boys than girls. Differences in brain development between the sexes might make boys more vulnerable to speech and language difficulties.
Genes are also thought to play a role. Around two in every three people who stammer have a family history of stammering, which suggests the genes a child inherits from their parents might make them more likely to develop a stammer.

Age factor and stammering during therapy

Speech and language therapy has a high success rate in children under five years of age when they are supported in their early dysfluency, and it reduces the chances of developing into a lasting stammer Adults and older teenagers are offered a range of approaches and techniques, and from these they focus on the ones that they find most helpful. A speech therapist will support whatever choice you make. Whilst there are no guarantees, many people who work conscientiously and in a sustained way with these sorts of approaches and techniques make real progress, in terms of speaking more freely and feeling more at ease with themselves as communicators.

School situation and stammering therapy

If the child is old enough but not aware of their difficulty then with the parent’s permission the teacher can talk to the child about stammering
Try to be flexible with oral tasks. Routines like answering the register can be a daily nightmare for a child who stammers – is there another way? E.g. Putting their hand up instead.
Paired reading can be really good practice and often results in the child reading more fluently too
When reading out loud in class, having random or early turns works better than anticipating a turn.
Ask one question at a time
Raise awareness amongst all staff, with the school
Don’t advise the child to take a deep breath or to slow down. It probably won’t help for more than a few moments
Don’t finish the child’s words for them – it may increase anxiety and tension
Reduce time pressures to speak quickly.
Deal with bullying and teasing immediately – these make stammering much worse
Deal with unkind behaviour – e.g. mimicking or sniggering
Praise them for the things that they do well, e.g. listening, taking a turn, being polite, helpful with tidying etc

Family and friends’ environment and stammering therapy

Avoid guessing the word or finishing sentences – it is tempting, but you may get it wrong or just make a person feel frustrated.
Use normal eye contact – this doesn’t mean staring.
Do not appear uncomfortable listening, remain calm and comfortable and interested in what one has to say
Do not show you are in a hurry – a sense of urgency builds tension in your child.
You might try to talk more slowly to take away the pressure of fast-paced conversations.
Don’t ask someone to “slow down” or “take a deep breath”. These can actually become part of the problem.
If you don’t have time to listen, then say so. You can say this, “I really want to hear what you have to say, but I have to take this phone call now – can we talk later?” Make sure to remember your promise!

Can stammering be cured?

Unfortunately, there is no evidence of a universal cure for stammering – in other words, there is no approach that works like a magic pill for everyone.

Is stammering a disability or not?

It is entirely individual based. Some with severe stammering have registered with the Disability Council and benefited from its support, while others feel they are not severely affected to be registered as Persons with Disabilities. Though many people would want to register, they need a report from a speech and language therapist at a government hospital while all therapists are in private practice.

A tip to regulate your stutter

: Deep breath, speak slowly.

Successful global celebrities who overcame stammering

: Joe Biden, Steve Harvey, Tiger Woods, Samuel L. Jackson, Kendrick Lamar, Rowan Atkinson among others.