What is Stammering?
Stammering is usually
perceived as being a speech disorder. Stammering is actually an extremely
complex condition involving much more than repetitions of sounds,
prolongations of syllables and other "disfluencies". Stammering affects the
person as a whole and can more adequately be described as a combination of
speech, communication and behavioural disorders.
Stammering is often
compared to an iceberg and speech disorders only represent the tip of the
stammering iceberg.
The bulk of the stammering
iceberg lies below the surface and represents the communication and
behavioural disorders. A whole set of unusual communication patterns and
behaviours work hand in hand with the speech "disfluencies" that
non-stammerers inevitably notice:
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Stammerers tend to avoid eye contact with
their listeners. They probably do so because they don’t want to see their
listener’s reaction to their stammering.
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Stammerers often have irregular breathing
patterns and try to speak with little or no air in their lungs. Some
stammerers even try to speak while inhaling.
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Some stammerers avoid or try to avoid
stammering by resorting to word substitution: If they feel they will
stammer on a particular word, they will replace it with another word with
a similar meaning. Some stammerers are so successful in using this
technique that nobody, not even their spouse, knows that they stammer.
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Stammerers often resort to the use of
useless words such as “you know”, “let’s see” etc. They feel that these
junk words will give them a running start that will help them successfully
rush through a feared word.
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Stammerers tend to react to stress by
tightening the muscles of their vocal cords. This probably explains why
stammering often becomes worse when under stress.
-
Many stammerers avoid stammering by
avoiding speaking altogether.
In addition to these
unusual communication patterns and behaviours, many stammerers also have
negative feelings and perceptions about their stammering and about
themselves:
-
Shame: stammerers are often ashamed of
their stammering and often go to great length to try to hide it.
-
Guilt: stammerers often feel guilty about
not being able to achieve what they think they would be able to achieve if
only they could speak fluently.
-
Frustration: stammerers often feel
frustrated by their inability to communicate effectively with other
people.
-
Lowered self-esteem: stammering often
induces a feeling of worthlessness.
All these hidden elements of the
stammering phenomenon tend to reinforce the speech disorders and a speech
therapy focusing only on the speech mechanism is bound to fail. Only a
holistic and comprehensive stammering therapy addressing each and every
aspect of the phenomenon can succeed in totally eliminating stammering from
your life. This is something you should keep in mind when choosing a therapy
for stammering.
Click
here to browse our selection of
therapies for stammering. |