Need To Stop Stuttering?
Speech disorders abound worldwide and yet one of the most common and least understood of those disorders, stuttering, remains largely a mystery today. In spite of the fact that stuttering can be traced back centuries, it’s root causes have been widely misunderstood and misdiagnosed and it’s cure remains elusive. Stuttering is a speech disorder whereby the pattern of speech is disrupted by involuntary repetitions, prolongations or even total stoppages of speech. It may also be accompanied by rapid eye blinks or other unusual facial or body movements.
The Stuttering Foundation of America has identified 4 causes of stuttering. There is a strong genetic link to stuttering, so a previous history of it may be in the family’s gene pool. Secondly, stuttering is a developmental speech disorder that begins in early childhood and generally goes away without treatment, but for approximately 1% of the population, stuttering continues into adulthood and may affect them their entire lives. Thirdly, another type of stuttering is Neurogenic stuttering where stuttering occurs when there are signal problems between the brain and the nerves or muscles. Lastly, family expectations can also be attributed to stuttering when too much emphasis is placed on a child’s academic achievements when they do not have the aptitude for it, and consequently the pressure can lead them to develop a stutter.
Older therories suggested psychogenic stuttering occurs when an individual has undergone an extreme emotional or physical trauma and was widely considered to be the cause of most stuttering until recently. It has now been shown that psychogenic stuttering is actually quite rare.
The most common form of all stuttering is developmental stuttering. An estimated 5% of children will go through a period of stuttering that will last anywhere from 6 weeks to a few years. Boys are twice as likely to suffer from it than girls but only 1% of adults will carry it with them throughout life.
Perhaps the biggest problem an individual with this disorder faces is not the actual stutter itself but rather the discomfort and anxiety that can accompany it. Stuttering can have a tremendous effect on a person’s functioning and emotional well-being. Stressful situations or certain activities may increase the likelihood of stuttering for some people.
However, stuttering need not be a lifelong debilitating affliction. While there is no cure for stuttering at the moment, there are many beneficial treatments and therapies that can improve, if not totally eliminate, the disorder. Whichever route an individual chooses, keep in mind that stuttering need not be a lifelong debilitating challenge. You can still live a full rewarding life.
If you have a strong need to stop stuttering you can have a look at the techniques listed on my website. There are many stuttering treatments that you can take to help you deal with the situation.
categories: stuttering,stutter,stammering,stammer,speech impediment,speech disorder,speech problems,phonetics,talking,speech development,communication problems,speaking,psychogenic