The power of speech

[Storyteller.]

The power of speech
by Holly Marie (Rie)

Those who stutter may face discrimination, bullying, prejudice and even be led to social isolation. Around 60 million people struggle with stuttering, yet most people know very little about this speech disorder.

Stuttering may also be referred to as 'stammering', or as a broader term, 'disfluent speech'. Stuttering is a speech disorder in which the sounds and syllables spoken may be prolonged or repeated, disrupting the regular flow of speech. These speech disruptions may also be linked with other behaviours, such as rapid blinking or tremors of the lip. Stuttering can make communication difficult, which often highly affects a person's quality of life. In general, someone who stutters may find that talking on the telephone worsens their stuttering, whereas talking in unison may temporarily improve and reduce the stutter.

Two common types of stuttering include developmental stuttering and neurological stuttering. At one time, there was believed to be a third type of stuttering, called 'psychogenic stuttering'; however, it has now been realised how rare this type of stuttering is. Developmental stuttering, the most common type of stuttering, tends to develop in young children who are still learning speech and language skills. Developmental stuttering often runs in the family; earlier this year, researchers isolated three genes that cause stuttering. Some scientists believe that developmental stuttering occurs when children cannot meet their verbal demands. The second most common type of stuttering is neurological stuttering, and may occur after head trauma, following a stroke, or another type or brain injury. Trauma causes the brain to have difficulty coordinating the different components involved to allow speech, because of signaling problems between the brain and nerves or muscles. The least common type of stuttering is psychogenic stuttering, which is said to be caused by emotional trauma, or similar issues with thought or reasoning.

Stuttering is usually diagnosed by a speech-language pathologist, who is a health professional that specializes in testing and giving treatment to those struggling with a voice, speech, or language disorder. The speech-language pathologist must consider a variety of factors before making a diagnosis, including the patient's history, an analysis of the patient's stuttering behaviours, and an evaluation of the patient's speech and language abilities and the impact of stuttering upon their lives. When evaluating a young child, the pathologist will try to predict whether the child is likely to outgrow it. This usually depends on the family history of stuttering, the length of time the child has stuttered for, and whether the child has any other speech and language problems.

There is currently no cure for stuttering, although there are a variety of treatments available to increase the quality of life for those living with stutters The treatment will vary depending on the age of the patient and the individual communication goals. It is always best to work cooperatively with medical professionals in finding the best treatments for the individual.

Many types of therapy are available to adults and teens to focus on learning ways to minimise stuttering as they speak. For example, speaking slowly, using breathing exercises, progressing from single syllable words to more complex sentences, and other activities help address the anxiety of a person who stutters in order to make them feel more comfortable in social situations. Some drugs that are used to treat other conditions have also shown that they can be beneficial in treating stutters, and there are currently clinical trials taking place to test possible drug treatments. Sometimes a small device that fits into the ear canal, much like a hearing aid, that replays an altered version of the wearer's voice to give the impression that they are speaking in unison may be used. Researchers are now studying the long-term impact of using electronic devises in real-world situations. Many people find that using therapy and other self-help groups leads to large improvements in their lives.

Stuttering can be a horrendous experience that robs you of your confidence and silences you. Stuttering occurs across all backgrounds and cultures, and is more than just a tangled tongue. Will you speak out to stop the stutter?