Part of my practicum graduate training as a speech language pathologist was to go to three separate places and stutter on purpose to see how other people responded and how it made me feel. Well, of all the assignments I’ve ever had in my school career this was a lesson learned and remembered for over 25 years. The general public can be impatient, condescending, perplexed and even mean when it comes to dealing with a person who stutters. I encountered these attitudes and it caused me to feel inadequate, self conscious, and out of place.
Whenever I work with a client/patient I try to remember how I felt when I posed as someone with a speech impediment. I remind myself that this is their every day life. Communication is one of the most essential parts of our existence as human beings other than the bodily functions that keep us alive and productive.
People who stutter are predominately male at a ratio of 5 to 1. They are usually high achievers, perfectionists, and average to above average intelligence. Rather than continuing to profile these people into a specific set of criteria, suffice it to say…they are in good company with other people that stutter such as: Winston Churchill, Bruce Willis, Carly Simon, James Earl Jones, John Stossel and Tiger Woods. I believe that the statistic one of every one hundred people have some level of dysfluency is accurate.
If Stuttering is so prevalent why don’t we know more about it? Good question. My response to that is we need to make the effort to learn more about those who stutter, why people stutter and what the listener can do so we can be helpful to a very important segment of our population that is often misunderstood and often harassed, teased, and taunted.
First and foremost we need to define stuttering. In the book Terminology of Communication Disorders Speech Language Hearing; the authors Lucille Nicolosi, Elizabeth Harryman and Janet Kresheck define stuttering as, “Disturbance in the normal fluency and time patterning of speech characterized by one or more of the following: (a) audible or silent blocking; (b) sound and syllable repetitions; (c) sound prolongations; (d) interjections; (e) broken words; (f) circumlocutions; or (g) words produced with an excess of tension”. These are the primary characteristics of stuttering. Secondary characteristics often accompany the primary symptoms such as; loss of eye contact, body position and posture, hand banging, kicking or tapping, avoidance behavior …just to name a few.
Stuttering usually begins around the ages of two years of age to about six. These same ages are also indicative of a normal developmental dysfluency that a youngster will grow out of naturally. It is important to differentiate the two and may be advisable to seek professional help to discern the difference. It is not possible to explain all the characteristics of stuttering in an article such as this. But I’m sure that if you have any concerns at all for yourself or your loved ones you should learn more on your own.
When speaking to a person that stutters try to follow these guidelines.
1. Let them finish what they are saying with patience.
2. Model a slower easier pattern of speech to help pace them.
3. Do not tell them to stop or relax or slow down while they are speaking.
4. Maintain eye contact with them.
5. Do not finish their thought.
In conclusion, if you or someone you know stutters educate yourself with resources such as the Stuttering Foundation of America (easily found on the internet) and books and articles found at the library and universities. Please call a professional for help. Recovery for fluency therapy can be as high as 80%. Early intervention is the key to avoiding negative social interaction and encouraging better self-esteem.
Robin Best, M.A., C.C.C., P.A. Received bachelor's degree
from Adelphi University, NY. Received Master's degree from Hofstra
University, NY. Post Masters work done at Southern Connecticut State College,
New Haven, CT. Worked in Schools, Rehab, Nursing Homes, and Clinic settings.
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