There are myriad of ways to treat stuttering. One should not let stuttering get in the way of their speaking and conversing with other people, especially when one needs to demonstrate emotions.
A very popular treatment in stuttering is the speech therapy. This requires consulting a speech-language pathologist. However, finding the right speech-language pathologist for you is very important for they vary in expertise. Some may work perfectly with young children, while others specialize in problems associated with brain damage.
There are key factors to keep in mind in entering a therapy process. Pathologists and clinicians will not solve your disorder. They will be just key instruments in aiding you to eradicate stuttering. First, you should remember that all stuttering therapies are self-help process. Second, such therapy is long term and full-time process for stuttering affects not only your speech but also attitudes and behaviours. Thus, the third key point is about a therapy that alters speech, attitude and behaviour. Last, be sure to be clear about the process.
Speech therapies are sometimes available at local health clinics or university speech clinics. But do remember that mostly clinicians and pathologists here are graduate students in training. The graduate students also change each semester, so your relationship with your clinician is also changing.
Choosing a clinician and pathologist is another important factor in your therapy process. Vital aspects of time, financial resources, and plans are to be considered here. As a guide in selecting your clinician, here are some key points to look at. This advice is from Hugo Gregory of North-western University, a known speech-language pathologist.
One is the perspective of clinician on how to treat and use a program for his patients. Does he believe in one general type of program or a varied program that fit a particular characteristic of a stutterer?
Second is the content of the program. Does it focus on altering speech or does it include change in thoughts and feelings, or a combination of both?
Third is the process of the program. Does it include mechanisms for modification of stuttering or does it emphasize on learning skills for a stutter-free speech? This is also related to the fourth one. Does the program combine procedures for modifying stuttering with teaching of skills for building fluency?
Fifth is the practical aspect of the program. Does the program ensure a practice of learning from the clinic to real-life situations?
Sixth is the effort of the clinician to understand and link the frustration of the stutterer and his life experiences to be able to map how his patient will succeed in therapy and life in general.
Seventh is the span of time the therapy process will take. Is it short term or it has follow-up program to assist the stutterer in the process of change?
Lastly, has the clinician provided several opportunities for his patients to express their experiences before the therapy, during and after the therapy?
Generally, people who plan for a stuttering therapy should remember that good clinicians are honest, positive in their attitudes, open-minded, informative, and detail disciplined.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Symptoms of Stuttering
Stuttering is a normal speech behavior that occurs in ordinary conversations, public speaking engagements, or group discussions. Almost everyone has 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. 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.
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.
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.
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.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Foolproof Ways to Control Stuttering
An effective speaker is someone who can speak fluently without any trace of mumbling, rattling, and stuttering. If you speak well, people perceive you as a smart, charismatic person. On the other hand, if you often stutter and cannot express yourself clearly when you speak, people see you as an incompetent and weak person. Between the two kinds of speakers, which would you rather be? Of course, anyone would choose to be a fluent speaker.
However, as much as you would like to be flawless when you speak, there are times when anxiety and nervousness get the better of you. Sometimes as you speak, your tongue seems to trip itself over no matter how hard you try not to stutter. Don’t worry, it is possible to overcome this speech problem if you know the ways to control it.
If stuttering has become more of a habit than an exception to you, here are the steps you can take to curb that habit:
1. Create a mental picture of what you are going to say.
People who frequently stutter fail to visualize the words they intend to say before they start to speak. Worse, most of them have no idea what to say exactly and how to express it verbally.
If you try to picture in your mind what you wish to say, then it will be a lot easier for you to find the right words to use to convey your message. It would be better if you practice visualizing the letters of the word you are going to say as you speak.
2. Perform an aural visualization.
Practice speaking the words you usually find difficult to pronounce. That way, you make it more comfortable for you to speak those particular words. Let your brain hear the words you are going to say. This mental exercise helps you get used to speaking the words that typically cause you to stutter. Stutterers who perform the exercise successfully get more confident when they speak.
3. Avoid pressuring yourself too much.
The more you pressure yourself to speak fluently, the higher your chances of stumbling when you speak. It is because you increase your anxiety and stress when you are pressured, causing you to stutter. Stressing out yourself won’t do you any good—just relax and you will soon get the hang of it.
4. Speak more slowly.
The problem with many stutterers is that they speak very fast and forget to breathe before they start speaking. Take a deep breath before you speak and feel the rhythm of every word that comes out. Speaking too fast can lead to more stammering. So speak in a moderate pace so that you will stutter less often and will be understood by your listener.
5. Speak as though you are singing.
Try this: when you speak, do it in a singing way. Do you feel how much easier it is to speak that way? It is because people tend to stutter less when they sing. So why not use that technique to minimize your stuttering?
However, as much as you would like to be flawless when you speak, there are times when anxiety and nervousness get the better of you. Sometimes as you speak, your tongue seems to trip itself over no matter how hard you try not to stutter. Don’t worry, it is possible to overcome this speech problem if you know the ways to control it.
If stuttering has become more of a habit than an exception to you, here are the steps you can take to curb that habit:
1. Create a mental picture of what you are going to say.
People who frequently stutter fail to visualize the words they intend to say before they start to speak. Worse, most of them have no idea what to say exactly and how to express it verbally.
If you try to picture in your mind what you wish to say, then it will be a lot easier for you to find the right words to use to convey your message. It would be better if you practice visualizing the letters of the word you are going to say as you speak.
2. Perform an aural visualization.
Practice speaking the words you usually find difficult to pronounce. That way, you make it more comfortable for you to speak those particular words. Let your brain hear the words you are going to say. This mental exercise helps you get used to speaking the words that typically cause you to stutter. Stutterers who perform the exercise successfully get more confident when they speak.
3. Avoid pressuring yourself too much.
The more you pressure yourself to speak fluently, the higher your chances of stumbling when you speak. It is because you increase your anxiety and stress when you are pressured, causing you to stutter. Stressing out yourself won’t do you any good—just relax and you will soon get the hang of it.
4. Speak more slowly.
The problem with many stutterers is that they speak very fast and forget to breathe before they start speaking. Take a deep breath before you speak and feel the rhythm of every word that comes out. Speaking too fast can lead to more stammering. So speak in a moderate pace so that you will stutter less often and will be understood by your listener.
5. Speak as though you are singing.
Try this: when you speak, do it in a singing way. Do you feel how much easier it is to speak that way? It is because people tend to stutter less when they sing. So why not use that technique to minimize your stuttering?
Thursday, February 24, 2011
The Normalization of Speech Patterns in People Who Stutter
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.
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.
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.
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.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Stuttering in Children: A Brief Guide for Parents
At the age of three to four, children begin stuttering as they develop their speech and language skills. That is just normal during the speech development stage, which causes toddlers to constantly repeat, hesitate, and mispronounce words, sounds, and syllables. This temporary stage is called normal disfluency or pseudo-stuttering that occurs as children learn how to speak properly. Parents have no reason to worry because kids will eventually outgrow this stage after several months.
Causes
Until now, the exact cause of speech disfluency in children is still the subject of numerous studies. However, there are factors that may possibly trigger speech disorders in children such as genetics and the malfunction of the mechanisms responsible for speech production in the brain, nerves, and muscles.
Symptoms
Stammering in children becomes a cause for alarm when they fail to show signs of improvement after six months since the onset of stammering. The following are the symptoms every parent should watch out:
• Frequent repetition of a certain syllable (e.g. “Mom, I want some cho-cho-cho chocolates.”)
• Tendency to pronounce particular sounds in a lengthy way (e.g. “Ccccccan I wwwwatch TV?”)
• Substitution of vowels when repeating certain syllables. (e.g. “I will wuh-wuh-wuhsh my feet.”)
• Change of tone and pitch when the child gets stuck with a word
• Avoidance of speaking for fear of getting embarrassed
How to Help Children Overcome their Condition
As a parent, you have to make life a bit easier for your child and lessen the struggles he or she has to endure while going through the speech disfluency stage. The following are useful tips to help your child cope with the speech problem:
• Refrain from asking your child too many questions. Toddlers will find it easier to speak more clearly when they are allowed to express themselves instead of answering questions often.
• Do not react negatively or scold your child whenever he or she stutters. Making your child feel that you dislike stammering will only make him or her more self conscious. Just listen and show a neutral reaction or simply smile. Also, avoid the urge to complete or correct the sentence for your child. Let him or her express the message without any interruption.
• After your child has completed the sentence, say it again in a slow manner to let him or her know that you understood the message.
• Speak to your child in a moderate pace. This will train your child to speak calmly instead of hurrying to say things. In addition, pay attention to what your child has to say. If you look like you’re in a hurry, your child will tend to speak faster to keep up with you.
• Encourage—but don’t force—your child to talk. That way, the child learns to be confident when speaking. Whenever your child says a complete and correct sentence, praise him or her.
Your child needs your care, understanding, and support to be able to cope with stuttering. Give your child the assurance that you won’t punish him or her for every mistake. That way, it will be easier for the child to outgrow the speech problem.
Causes
Until now, the exact cause of speech disfluency in children is still the subject of numerous studies. However, there are factors that may possibly trigger speech disorders in children such as genetics and the malfunction of the mechanisms responsible for speech production in the brain, nerves, and muscles.
Symptoms
Stammering in children becomes a cause for alarm when they fail to show signs of improvement after six months since the onset of stammering. The following are the symptoms every parent should watch out:
• Frequent repetition of a certain syllable (e.g. “Mom, I want some cho-cho-cho chocolates.”)
• Tendency to pronounce particular sounds in a lengthy way (e.g. “Ccccccan I wwwwatch TV?”)
• Substitution of vowels when repeating certain syllables. (e.g. “I will wuh-wuh-wuhsh my feet.”)
• Change of tone and pitch when the child gets stuck with a word
• Avoidance of speaking for fear of getting embarrassed
How to Help Children Overcome their Condition
As a parent, you have to make life a bit easier for your child and lessen the struggles he or she has to endure while going through the speech disfluency stage. The following are useful tips to help your child cope with the speech problem:
• Refrain from asking your child too many questions. Toddlers will find it easier to speak more clearly when they are allowed to express themselves instead of answering questions often.
• Do not react negatively or scold your child whenever he or she stutters. Making your child feel that you dislike stammering will only make him or her more self conscious. Just listen and show a neutral reaction or simply smile. Also, avoid the urge to complete or correct the sentence for your child. Let him or her express the message without any interruption.
• After your child has completed the sentence, say it again in a slow manner to let him or her know that you understood the message.
• Speak to your child in a moderate pace. This will train your child to speak calmly instead of hurrying to say things. In addition, pay attention to what your child has to say. If you look like you’re in a hurry, your child will tend to speak faster to keep up with you.
• Encourage—but don’t force—your child to talk. That way, the child learns to be confident when speaking. Whenever your child says a complete and correct sentence, praise him or her.
Your child needs your care, understanding, and support to be able to cope with stuttering. Give your child the assurance that you won’t punish him or her for every mistake. That way, it will be easier for the child to outgrow the speech problem.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Is There a Cure for Stuttering?
Do you often feel embarrassed whenever your friends make fun of how you speak? For sure, you are wondering if there is any cure for stuttering. Unfortunately, no magic pill or miracle can stop this speech problem.
However, here’s the good news: there are several methods that can help you reduce your tendency to stutter. With sheer determination and commitment, you can use some of these ways to improve your speech over time. Try to be positive—for sure, your efforts will eventually pay off.
The number one rule you must keep in mind when speaking: relax. You will stutter less often when you learn to relax while speaking. Let the words flow smoothly from your mouth. Never force yourself to talk too fast or else you only increase the likelihood of your stammering. Rushing your words only makes you stutter more. While keeping yourself relaxed, take deep breaths before you try to speak. And as you’re speaking, don’t forget to breathe out. Failure to breathe properly while speaking may have its serious consequences, including stammering.
As you are speaking, try to visualize the words in your mind. This will make it easier for you to speak slowly and fluently. Say each syllable or letter slowly. This tip is very helpful especially for words that usually make you stutter.
On the market today, there are several medications formulated to reduce stammering. These drugs work by affecting the brain as well as the nerves and muscles responsible for controlling speech. However, you cannot use them as a long-term treatment method because of their undesirable side effects.
Electronic gadgets that help people control their tendency to stutter are another option. But instead of aiding people to speak fluently, these devices tend to be disruptive. That is why only a few people use these gadgets along with speech therapies.
That being said, it would be better to rely on the specialists or people who are trained to treat people who stutter.
Of course, you have to consult your doctor or a speech pathologist to check your condition and identify the problem. The doctor can refer you to speech specialists who can treat stammering.
It helps to see a hynotheraphist who will treat your speech condition. A hypnotherapist specializes in using hypnosis to condition your mind in your favor. A speech therapist can also aid you in reducing the frequency of your stuttering. The therapist will train you to enhance your speech abilities by teaching exercises that help you visualize what you are going to say. Speech therapy is one of the most popular ways to treat speech problems such as stammering. Undergoing therapy can cost you money, but it can help you get results after several sessions.
Finally, having more self-confidence greatly improves the way you speak and lessens your stuttering. What does confidence have to do with your speaking abilities? Well, many people stutter a lot whenever they are very nervous or anxious. When you speak in front of people without being anxious at all, you will become more relaxed. And when you are relaxed, chances are you will become more fluent.
However, here’s the good news: there are several methods that can help you reduce your tendency to stutter. With sheer determination and commitment, you can use some of these ways to improve your speech over time. Try to be positive—for sure, your efforts will eventually pay off.
The number one rule you must keep in mind when speaking: relax. You will stutter less often when you learn to relax while speaking. Let the words flow smoothly from your mouth. Never force yourself to talk too fast or else you only increase the likelihood of your stammering. Rushing your words only makes you stutter more. While keeping yourself relaxed, take deep breaths before you try to speak. And as you’re speaking, don’t forget to breathe out. Failure to breathe properly while speaking may have its serious consequences, including stammering.
As you are speaking, try to visualize the words in your mind. This will make it easier for you to speak slowly and fluently. Say each syllable or letter slowly. This tip is very helpful especially for words that usually make you stutter.
On the market today, there are several medications formulated to reduce stammering. These drugs work by affecting the brain as well as the nerves and muscles responsible for controlling speech. However, you cannot use them as a long-term treatment method because of their undesirable side effects.
Electronic gadgets that help people control their tendency to stutter are another option. But instead of aiding people to speak fluently, these devices tend to be disruptive. That is why only a few people use these gadgets along with speech therapies.
That being said, it would be better to rely on the specialists or people who are trained to treat people who stutter.
Of course, you have to consult your doctor or a speech pathologist to check your condition and identify the problem. The doctor can refer you to speech specialists who can treat stammering.
It helps to see a hynotheraphist who will treat your speech condition. A hypnotherapist specializes in using hypnosis to condition your mind in your favor. A speech therapist can also aid you in reducing the frequency of your stuttering. The therapist will train you to enhance your speech abilities by teaching exercises that help you visualize what you are going to say. Speech therapy is one of the most popular ways to treat speech problems such as stammering. Undergoing therapy can cost you money, but it can help you get results after several sessions.
Finally, having more self-confidence greatly improves the way you speak and lessens your stuttering. What does confidence have to do with your speaking abilities? Well, many people stutter a lot whenever they are very nervous or anxious. When you speak in front of people without being anxious at all, you will become more relaxed. And when you are relaxed, chances are you will become more fluent.
Monday, February 21, 2011
The Nature and Causes of Stuttering
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.
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.
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.
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.
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