Stop Stuttering

What do you know about stuttering? Everybody experiences this, especially when the pressure is on and the stress is becoming too unbearable. What most people do not know is that this is actually a medical condition which symptoms include repetition, stumbling on words or prolonging words while speaking and looks disconnected with his or her thoughts.

The Factors

Stuttering may likely run in families. But up to now, it is still unclear how the genetic factors affect this condition.  Experts are looking into the neurological aspect causing this speech disorder. There are some evidences that point to this as the source of the condition.

The Stages

You will notice that little kids do stutter. But they only do so for a short period of time. Only a little percentage from such case will develop the situation into something of a medical condition. They usually go from repeating consonants or having a hard time starting out their thoughts into repeating of words, phrases and sentences. Studies show that this will likely to develop more on males than females on the adulthood phase.

This speech disorder is more common on kids from age’s three to five. It should just be a passing phase. Their speech should normalize once they develop their own speech patterns as well as their self confidence. If you pay too much attention on this speech flaw it might just worsen the condition. The child will become very conscious that instead of overcoming it he or she will just dwell in self pity.

An individual who has this can overcome this speech disorder by reading aloud if when alone. Another effective technique is singing out the words to improve fluidity of pronounced words.

The Treatment

If the stuttering is very obvious then there is no need to examine and individual manifesting this speech disorder. Diagnostic exams will only be conducted when the disorder is more than just having a speech difficulty and other conditions arise.

Kids experience the stuttering and tend to just resolve this condition naturally. This is the part that is mind boggling for most experts. That is why tests are still on-going to find the real cause and the best cure for this condition. If in any case this condition becomes uncontrollable then one must need to undergo speech therapy.

The Setbacks

The tendency of most stutterers is to shy away once they experience the bullying from other people. They become introverted and this affects their social skills. They would prefer to be alone than socialize and experience further humiliation. To avoid this scenario, parents should take an active role in the intervention and prevention of this harsh treatment by other people.

When stuttering is greatly affecting a child’s behavior, parents should intervene. They should talk to the teachers so that information will be disseminated to the students. In this manner, the bullying is minimized if not completely stopped. Parents should also need to consult a medical expert. Do not allow your child to suffer and miss out on a lot of good things life has to offer.

Stuttering Families, Notes, Stammering, Stuttering, Treatment

Studies are still on-going about stuttering. Also, drugs that will serve as medications are continuously being developed. Currently, this speech disorder remains an unsolved medical mystery. A number of parents resort to speech therapies. While some adults just seek solitude in reclusion.

The advancement in science and technology has given most of us comfort and convenience. Nowadays, most ailments have cure. The sad thing is the breakthroughs in the medical field have not been successful in treating stuttering.

Various studies have been conducted about this speech irregularity. Different routes have been taken but somehow they converge in one similar spot. That spot is the brain which contains the direct links for speech. The anatomical discrepancies or irregularities have been considered the main cause for this disorder.

Many people also think that one’s emotional state contributes to stuttering. Emotional turmoil that is not expressed is being manifested through this speech impediment. There are definitely a lot of factors to be considered.

An example is when someone is in love and is about to profess that love to that significant other. Usually, one’s tension and fear can cause uncontrollable stuttering. Another example is when someone is giving a presentation whether it is in an academic or business scenario. Usually the presenter can experience stuttering caused by so much anxiety and pressure.

People who have stage fright experience episodes of stuttering. The fear of being in front of people can cause this speech impediment.

The Medicines

There are only a few medications available that can help alleviate stuttering. The good news is that there are really drugs that you can use especially when the disorder becomes incontrollable. However, not all drugs are effective since there are different reactions for different people. Most of them say that only fifty percent of the stuttering is lessened.

So how will you know if the drugs work? Well the only way is to take the drugs and experience the effects it gives to your system. It is still a trial and error procedure that you have to take in order to ameliorate your condition.

Make sure you get all the information about these drugs and their possible side effects before agreeing to what should ba a last resort solution.

Here is a list of the popular drugs which you can try to minimize the effects of your condition and the drugs that you should be more careful about.

1. Anti-dopamine medicines. These drugs are known for their effects to suppress and withhold stuttering. The brains of stutterers were found to have high levels of dopamine that is why these medications work.  The known brands for this purpose are Risperdal, Zyprexa and Haldol. These three drugs are known to have worked to many stutterers.

2. Be careful in using Zoloft and Prozac. These two can worsen the condition because they tend to increase the dopamine levels on the brain.

Empower yourself with knowledge. Make sure to research about stuttering and the drugs that can be used to help your condition before committing yourself to your chosen therapy. In this manner, you are assured that you know what your body is getting into.

Stuttering Doctors, Drugs, Medication, Stuttering

In our daily activities, we often encounter people who have speech disorders. Stuttering is the most common among these speech impediments. It is a condition which is caused by anxiety and stress starting from the person’s early developmental stages. Nowadays, more studies show that there are a growing rate adults and kids that suffer from this speech impediment. There is a proliferation of stuttering simply because it is not addressed properly during the early stages of its growth.

Stuttering becomes a problem especially for kids who have this when they are growing up. This disorder hinders their normal communication with other kids or other people not within their age bracket. This develops into more serious psychological problems. They become so withdrawn from the outside world that they are afraid to even open their mouths to speak. They start to develop a form of defense mechanism that will protect them from rejection.

Day-to-day struggle due to stuttering

Stuttering is indeed a very serious problem for young and old people. With stuttering problems, simple daily tasks like saying their names when somebody asks for it, answering the telephone for a call or making a phone call, giving out directions for people asking, asking for specific instructions, and even ordering a meal from a fast-food store can be hugely disappointing and frustrating.

Stuttering is a very serious problem for kids and adults who are covered by the pressures of the real world. Simple tasks become a major source of disappointment and frustration. Some of the daily routine tasks that will challenge their situation are the following: Answering a phone call, making a phone call, introducing themselves in public, asking and giving instructions, etc.

Just because of this speech disorder a number of stutterers experience a lot of rejection and humiliation in the society. This inability of expressing one’s self to can actually irritate the people they converse with. When they get the feeling of indifference, they tend to isolate themselves from normal people. Studies have been conducted in schools. The results show that ninety percent of kids who do not have this speech impediment tend to bully kids who stutter.

Kids are kids. Their level of maturity is still inconsistent. Kids, who have this speech disorder, experience the harsh treatment of bullying inside the classroom, in the canteen, washroom, any single nook within the campus. There’s no escaping the constant humiliation inflicted by insensitive and ignorant kids. They think this condition is funny and it’s funnier if they make fun of the involved stutterer. The bullying continues even outside the campus.

An adult who has this condition are experiencing harsher scenarios in the workplace. Their inability to express themselves fluidly harbors more rejection from insensitive colleagues. The rejection pushes them to be introverted. It’s a domino effect. An unhealthy adult stutterer will not be able to enjoy the comforts of a normal adult in the workplace. This may also hamper their need to move up the corporate ladder.

What the society can do

Parents and siblings are the major components of the society. The understanding and acceptance should come from them unconditionally. Proper education of this condition can immensely help in the early acceptance of the stutterer’s condition. If a child has a healthy environment, it will be easier for him or her to cope with this condition.

Parents should constantly reinforce that they love their child unconditionally. No Ifs and no Buts. They should focus on the child’s special talents and skills. Let their child realize that he or she can always overcome this speech disorder. Instill to the child that dreams are free and that he or she has the same opportunity to actualize them. Encouragement plays a key role to their child’s success. Motivate them properly and their child will be impervious to any form of outside rejection.

For teachers, they should always make the child feel secure and understood whenever he or she is inside the classroom. They should avoid pressuring the child who is stuttering because the more pressure he or she feels the bigger room for mistake there is. Teachers should always act as the second parents of children in school, providing them all the support, care, and understanding they need.

The society at large can also greatly help people who are suffering from stuttering by giving them proper respect and treating them as normal people who equally deserve the rights and freedom they enjoy.

Teachers should represent the child’s parents the best way possible. A child spends a lot of time in school and without their parents’ protection; the teachers should be their source of this needed support system. Teachers should educate other kids about stuttering. Knowledge is power. The dissemination of information to other kids will greatly help in the understanding of a stutterer’s condition. In this manner, bullying will be easily eliminated.

The society can definitely help curb the rate of rejection and humiliation experienced by stutterers. The government together with private and non-government  organization should promote campaigns that will help disseminate information about stuttering. If autism gets attention from the society, stuttering deserves the same kind of attention as well.

Stuttering Kids, Solving, Teachers

Man is always in a constant search for the ultimate wonder drug. Many are still fascinated with the existence of the fountain of youth. Most of us want quick fixes as we got used to fast food meals. There have been a number of scientific advancements but there are diseases that have no known cure yet. Dementia, Alzheimer’s, AIDS are just some of those diseases that are still incurable. Stuttering has not perfect cure yet. Therapies and medical innovations help alleviate this speech impediment.

Stuttering is a speech disorder that causes a person to repeat or prolong the syllables, word or phrase in his or her statement. This is often caused by anxiety, self consciousness, over excitement, stress, and even embarrassment. Individuals who are put in a hot seat situation often times stammer and stutter with the words they want to say. The stuttering of some people can also be considered as a form of defense mechanism. Adults who have developed stuttering may also suffer from lack of self confidence, poor self-esteem, weak personality and weak communication skills.

Usually children who have developed stuttering outgrow it in their early childhood years. They may have developed stuttering at the time when they were just about to learn how to speak. The rationale behind is that they are yet to familiarize themselves with the various textures of sound. Also, they are still in the process of becoming comfortable in reciting syllables, phrases or words that they find most convenient and appealing to them.

Children who are given special guidance and attention with their condition can easily outgrow stuttering without any complications. Those children who do not get the right support from their parents and other family members usually have the most difficulties improving their disorder. The other aspects being considered that may cause stuttering are children who have multi-lingual families. Just when they are about to learn a language, they are exposed to complex words, accents and etymologies. This can be very confusing for their minds. This gives them a lot of stress and anxiety.

Parents and siblings should play an active role in the improvement of stutterer’s condition. A child who has this condition who constantly receives positive feedback, reinforcements and encouragements can quickly improve and accept this disorder. The child will be more motivated in conquering this flaw. On the other hand, unloved and ignored kids with this condition will more likely develop insecurities. This will result to poor social and communication skills. They will be more recluse and introverted even in their adult life.

Parents and siblings should exert more effort in spending time with a child that stutters. They should be able to provide activities that will help stimulate and motivate the child’s social and communication skills. In this manner, the child will develop a healthy self-esteem and will learn how to talk in a normal manner.

Parents should always keep an open mind to all possible treatments available to their child. Never deprive your child of his or her right to get well. Parents should love their child unconditionally. Never be ashamed of your child’s disorder. Remember that it is not a disease.

Parents should not rely on quack doctors or any mystical belief that it is their child’s karma to have a speech disorder. There have been medical advancements and there have been scientific approaches that can help improve this condition. Do not be afraid to ask for professional help. Various facilities and speech language pathologists are trained to handle this disorder. You just have to conquer fear itself.  Once done, the healing begins.

Stuttering Children, Cure, Parents

Parents are the most influential people in a child’s life. They are accountable for their child’s life. Habits and values are instilled at a very young age. The experiences that a child goes through in childhood with his or her parents mold his or her character. It is vital for parents to rear a healthy child even with stuttering issues.

Tips for Parents

It is very important for parents to realize the serious repercussions of the emotional traumas that their children are dealing. They must work quickly and must not take things for granted. Remember that having emotionally and mentally healthy kids are parents’ major accomplishments. Here are some valuable tips that parents can definitely use in helping their kids grapple with their condition:

1. Educate your child on the real meaning of his or her condition. Explain to him or her in the most simple and understandable manner what causes stuttering. Present to them the facts in the most scientific way possible. Make them understand that it’s a speech impediment that occurs to millions of people. Make them realize that their condition can improve in time with proper therapy and practice. In this manner, the child will have an easy task of self acceptance. That it’s not the end of the world. That there is hope and he or she must just keep a positive outlook in life.

2. Maintain a positive outlook in life. Make sure you are consistently practicing positive reinforcements in your child. Kids are normally happy individuals but there are outside forces that can distract them. They can be easily consumed with the negativity that they hear from other kids. Once they allow these negativities to consume their existence it is a spiral case to self pity and depression. If your child is in this state, it will be very difficult for a parent to pull him or her out in this state of hopelessness.

Parents must constantly instill in their child that there nothing to be ashamed of if he or she stutters. Millions experience this speech impediment. Educate your child and the acceptance of his or her condition will be faster and easier. The child will be able to cope with the harsh reality of bullying and teasing. The child will be confident in knowing that there is more to life than sulking in depression.

3. Be truthful to your child’s condition. A parent should stress on what his or her child can do to improve his or her condition. This condition is not an embarrassing one that will destroy his or her future. There is no need to feel inferior. The parent should instill in the child that he or she is with him or her every step of the way.

4. Focus on your child’s strengths. Learn his or her talents and special abilities. Stuttering is just one of those hurdles your child has to go through in life. Encourage your child to socialize and observe the good social skills he or she has in social contacts. Instill in your child the importance of overcoming this speech impediment and that he or she can still do more productive things and triumph over this situation.

5. Give your full support to your child. Parents should be the best support group a child can have with a stuttering condition. A child might have this speech disorder but he or she can still live a full and healthy life. Let your child know that he or she is loved unconditionally. Let your child realize that he or she is meant for greater things.

Stuttering Children, Parents, Tips

It’s no secret that scientists haven’t really known what causes stuttering or stammering but there’s some interesting research that suggests that it may be caused by an abnormality in the left side of the brain. A study in The Lancet suggests that a disconnection in speech-related areas in the brain is to blame.

There’s no immediate fix offered but the first step is obviouly finding a definite physical cause so it’s a step in the right direction.

Stuttering brain, causes

It is very important to know that stuttering is a speech disorder not a disease. There are no exact causes of its occurrence. It is good to know that a number of famous personalities are stutterers or have once stuttered. Stuttering can occur in childhood and in other cases, in the adult stage of life. In this case, what can an adult do to overcome this disorder?

If a child suffers from this disorder, it is permissible that the parents are the ones actively seeking solutions. Now if one is an adult and is just experiencing this disorder, be accountable and do not rely on your parents’ help. You may need to get professional assistance which was not made available years ago. You will have to exhaust all resources possible to improve on your speech abilities.
Now the professional you need to consult is what we call a speech language pathologist. An SLP studied and trained to handle any speech disorder. In looking for this kind of professional, make sure to check if he or she has a certificate from ASHA or American Speech Language Hearing Association and has passed the state licensure exam.  The SLP will conduct diagnostic exams to be able to provide the patient with the appropriate treatment and therapy.
Seeking professional help can be scary. Do not be consumed with fear. Always keep in mind that stuttering is not a disease. It is a speech disorder that can be treated. Keep an open mind and be positive. This is for your own personal development which is always a good thing.

Set realistic goals for yourself if you are still undergoing treatment. Do not expect to be cured overnight. Practice the drills and techniques that will help you overcome if not minimize stuttering. Keep a moderate pace in talking. This will help minimize repetition of words. When panic sets in, remember to breathe properly. This will calm your nerves and facial muscles.

Observe and learn from your drills. One therapy may not be effective to you. If this is the case then you must discuss this concern to your SLP so that he or she can try other drills and therapies that will suit your condition. Be open to other solutions.

Patience is indeed a virtue that is essential to the treatment of this disorder. No pain - No gain. Nothing was ever achieved overnight. You have to sweat it out. Perseverance and determination are your traits for success. Whenever you encounter setbacks use them to motivate yourself. Remember that you have to please yourself first before others.

They say that beauty is within. Stuttering is not something that will take away the beauty that is innate in you. There are other traits that can outweigh this speech disorder. Your determination, perseverance and patience to overcome this flaw are determinants on what is your character is truly made of. You can still be a successful person even when you have it.

We are not perfect beings. In fact, our flaws and deficiencies make us beautiful and unique beings. We have a choice to be happy or sorrowful or even be remorseful to life. We should not take life too seriously. Learn to laugh at your flaws and do not be too hard on yourself. Love yourself! Embrace your flaws!

Stuttering Children, Stuttering, Tips