The Truth About Stuttering
Almost everyone has heard of stuttering and has a vague idea of what it is. You have probably also interacted with someone who does stutter and heard the difficulties they can have when expressing themselves. Very few people actually know more about stuttering than the fact that it is a fluency issue, but there is so much more to stuttering than what we see or hear!
Stuttering is a communication disorder in which the flow of speech is broken by repetitions, prolongations, or blocks.
Did you know???
Here are some fun facts and myths about stuttering that many people may not know:
- King George VI, Marilyn Monroe, President Joe Biden, James Earl Jones (voice of Darth Vader), and Ed Sheeren are all famous people who either have stuttered or currently stutter.
- Individuals who stutter when they speak do not stutter when singing.
- People do not stutter because of anxiety. This is a myth!
- People who stutter are not less intelligent or capable.
- Stuttering decreases when people participate in something called “choral speech” where a group of people are saying the same thing at the same time.
Types of Stuttering
Stuttering-like disfluencies are disfluencies that occur only in the speech of someone who stutters.
- Repeating parts of words, usually the beginning of the word.
- Ex. I k-k-k-keep my keys by the door.
- Holding out (prolonging) sounds
- Ex. I sssssssssaw him driving his new car yesterday.
- Getting stuck (also known as a block) and being unable to move through a sentence or word
- Ex. I (block) need to fill up my gas tank this morning.
Typical disfluencies are disfluencies that most of us have at one time or another. These are not considered stuttering, but they appear more frequently in the speech of someone that stutters.
- Using interjections
- Ex. uhh, umm, ahh, hmm
- Repeating whole words and phrases
- Ex. I like to I like to go to the movies.
- Changing (revising) what you are saying
- I don’t like-I prefer to go to see action movies.
What causes stuttering?
- We aren’t really sure what exactly leads to stuttering, but we do know that genetics play a big role. We also know several risk factors that can indicate who is more likely to stutter. Some of these are as follows:
- Gender (Boys are more likely to stutter than girls.)
- Family history (If someone in your family stuttered, you are more likely to do so too.)
- Big changes in schedule, lifestyle, routines, etc.
- Other difficulties with speech and language
- Differences in the brain
How do you treat it?
- Treatment for stuttering differs depending on several things, including a patient’s age, goals, and difficulties. When we recommend a treatment approach, we look at all of these factors and try to choose the most appropriate approach for each patient. Sometimes switching approaches is also necessary to improve responses to treatment.
- There are typically three main approaches that we use in stuttering therapy:
- Direct approach (Stuttering Modification): Focuses on reducing negative emotions and fears related to stuttering while changing stuttering to allow the patient to “stutter more easily”
- Indirect approach (Fluency Shaping): Focuses on reducing the amount of stuttering by using techniques such as speaking slower and using easy starts to reduce the overall amount of stuttering
- Parent-education and environmental changes
- This is typically used with preschool age children and involves us making changes in our speech or in the child’s environment to reduce communication pressures and increase the fluency of the child.
- *This is a version of fluency shaping!
- Some ways to do this include the following:
- Reducing your rate of speech when talking with the child by adding pauses
- Looking at your child when he/she is speaking
- Reducing use of direct questions and critical comments
- Reducing interruptions from other speakers
Other treatment considerations
While stuttering is not caused by anxiety or stress, these emotions can certainly increase the severity of stuttering. When addressing stuttering, we also address negative emotions related to stuttering. Therapy can help patients grow more comfortable with their stuttering by practicing engaging in a variety of situations that are stressful to them to reduce their sensitivity to these activities. Some more challenging speaking situations may be speaking on the phone, talking in a group, giving a prayer at the dinner table, ordering in a drive through, speaking with a consultant at a store, etc. It is important for therapists to include these activities in treatment to ensure that the stuttering strategies taught within the therapy room are generalizing to other daily routines.
Want to learn more about stuttering?
Take a look at the Stuttering Foundation website (https://www.stutteringhelp.org/) or ASHA.org or email us at office@mtwspeechtherapy.com to learn more about stuttering.
Resources
Stuttering, An Integrated Approach to its Nature and Treatment; Barry Guitar