Stuttering

What Causes People To Develop A Speech Impediment?

2009-10-30T20:31:00.000-07:00

I am one of many people who are unfortunate enough to develop a speech impediment in childhood. This article describes why these impediments may occur and how I went about achieving fluency. For the purpose of this article, I concentrate on the speech impediment known as stuttering.

There are many reasons why people may develop a stutter, it can be as a result of bullying from school, an over aggressive member of the family, a shock reaction to an event such as a car crash, or it could be passed down from another member of the family who has a stutter.

I have met many people who stutter as I now help people to achieve fluency as a career. I always ask them to talk about how and why their stutter started. The reasons above are the type of answers I receive.

Stuttering normally originates in childhood and nine out of ten people who stutter are men. Around 1% of the population has a stutter according to recent reports.

I have now managed to beat my stutter which had basically ruined my life for eighteen years. When I had a stutter, I found it difficult to say certain words beginning with certain letters. I would always avoid these words or I would think of an alternative word to say.

Aged twenty-two I decided it was time to try to overcome my communication problems. I started to observe what I called very good fluent talkers, I was watching and trying to work out how they were talking and breathing. I also tried to find differences between their speech and my own. I also started to read books about things like, positive thinking and mind over matter as I also realised I needed to change the way I was thinking.

After nearly a year of working and practicing very hard, I managed to overcome my stutter, much to my relief. As a career I now help other people to achieve fluency by running one to one speech courses from my home in Birmingham. A also offer a self help ebook and seventy minute dvd for people who are unable to attend the courses.

Stephen Hill has a number of websites including:

stuttering children

stutter cure

stuttering advice

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Basics Of Stuttering

2009-10-30T20:29:00.000-07:00

Stuttering is a problem that affects approximately one in every hundred people. It is mainly men who stutter, seven out of ten people who stutter are male.

There are many types of stutter. Family and friends may not even be aware that a person they know has a stutter. That is because the person is able to hide the stutter, by using word avoidance or word substitution.

Other people are unable to ddo this and have what they would consider an openely more severe stutter.

Stuttering would normally occur more when a person is:

under pressure
when tired
meeting new people
speaking in an uncomfortable situation
asking questions, for example asking for directions
introducing people

Stuttering can also be known in some areas as stammering.

Stuttering therapy:

People who have a stutter have different options when seeking therapy. They can go to a speech therapist or speech pathologist. Alternatively they can attend a speech course. These courses can be on a group basis or on a one to one basis.

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Stuttering And It Can Impact On A Persons Life

2009-09-30T23:09:00.000-07:00

When I was at school, I would dread the time when I would have to read out aloud in class out of a book. I would count down to which paragraph I would have to read and then I would look through to see which words I was going to have to say. I was hoping that there would not be many words beginning with b,d,v, or g, as I found these words especially hard to say. When speaking in a conversation I would always try to avoid these words or would think of an alternative word to say. When reading though, you have to read what is written. I had many unpleasant days attempting to read and I am now very happy those days are over.

Trying to meet girls and to get a girlfriend proved very difficult and not because I am ugly. My negative brain would always be talking to me stating that a particular girl that I was interested in would not want to go out with someone who has a stutter. If I did manage to date a girl, I would then have the horror of meeting her family and friends. Socialising when you have a stutter is not easy.

Other areas of life which proved difficult for me were:

Ordering food or drink at a bar

Trying to obtain employment

Speaking on the telephone

Answering peoples questions

Introducing people

Introducing myself to a group of people, for example at the start of a course at work

As you can tell, it is quite difficult having a stutter at times.

By: blueboy

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Stuttering Treatment

2009-08-28T07:43:00.000-07:00

Speech therapy is the normal course of therapy people who stutter try. In my opinion this is useful however has limited power as the therapists themselves do not believe a stutter can be overcome. They are therefore merely helping people cope and from my own personal experience the main advice given, is to slow down when talking and to take a deep breath before speaking.

Hypnotherapy is another form of stuttering therapy. Success is no doubt largely dependant on the quality of the hypnotherapist involved. In my opinion stuttering is not only an emotional problem but also a physical problem and that hypnotherapy only deals with the emotional side.

Group speech courses is the next form of stuttering treatment. There are many of these type of courses which will either teach costal breathing, or slowed or prolonged speech. I think this form of stuttering help is better than the first two however I believe that every person is an individual and needs individual treatment with courses tailored to their individual needs.

One to one speech courses are for me the best form of treatment. There is nowhere to hide and the speech coach can really get to grips with the type of problem the person who has the stutter has. The speech coach can fully concentrate on that person for the duration of the course and a type of bond can form. This is the form of stuttering treatment which I believe is likely to prove the most beneficial and successful.

By: blueboy
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Kill Your Stuttering Demons

2009-08-28T07:41:00.000-07:00

When I had a stutter, I used to be afraid of certain words beginning with certain letters. Words which began with "b" were especially hard to say. If somebody asked me where I lived, I would have a voice in my head, which is what I call my demons, which would tell me that I could not say the word "Birmingham". It would also advise to say "West Midlands" instead. This word substitution is something that I regularly did. I was not happy though and was desperate to stop this voice and believed if I could stop it, then I would be able to overcome this stuttering disablity once and for all.

I would see a potential job in the newspaper, the demons would tell me not to apply for it as the interview would be too difficult for me with the pressure of having to answer all of the questions which would be asked. I used to listen to these demons and therefore would not apply for these positions, I stayed in the same dead end job for six years.

When I was about sixteen I became drunk for the first time and the alcohol gave me a huge but somewhat false confidence boost. I now had no fear and the demons did not appear, I was also able to talk superbly. Now I am not saying that you should all be in a permanent drunken state, however this showed me not only was I able to talk well but that the stammer must not only be a physical impediment but also physcological.

There are many forms of stuttering help out there including tradional speech therapy, group speech courses, one to one speech courses and even hypnotherapy. I personally believe that the way to go is one to one speech courses as every person who has a stutter is an individual and has an individual stutter.

By: blueboy
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Some Important Notes about Stuttering

2009-07-25T04:23:00.002-07:00

What do you know about stuttering? Everybody experiences this at times, especially when the pressure is on and the stress is becoming too much to bear. But this is actually a medical condition which symptoms include repetition, stumbling on words while speaking and far out hesitation as to go on with the thought or not.

The Factors
This case is very likely to run in families. But until now, it is still unclear how the genetic factors affect the condition and how important are these in such case. Another source that experts are looking into is the neurological area. There are some evidences that points to this as the source of the situation.

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.

The situation is a passing phase on children's lives. This is more common on ages 3 to 5. It will return to normal once the person has developed their speech patterns as well as their confidence. Too much fuss about the situation will only make the situation worse. This will make the person who has this self conscious to the point that they will think about it too much and that will only make the situation worse.

But a person who has this will often be able to overcome the situation or the sickness, if they are alone and talking to themselves or if they are singing. They will also find themselves being able to overcome the condition when they are reading aloud.

The Treatment

A person who is experiencing this kind of problem no longer needs to be examined to know that something is wrong because it is very evident with the way they talk. Check ups will follow up if more than having speech difficulty, other conditions arise.

As the earlier cases of people who tend to stutter have likely been resolved on their own and happen only on a short term period of time. That is why there is not one best cure for this condition. But studies are still being done as well as the observation of people who have this. But if the problem becomes uncontrollable, then you may need to go through speech therapy.

The Setbacks

People who always stutter tend to shy away from other people. As a result, their social skills are being affected in a negative way. Children fear the fact that other people will make fun of them and that they will be ridiculed. If parents will not intervene at such point, children may tend not to speak at all. And this must be avoided.

So when stuttering is already affecting the person on a different level, like they cannot concentrate on school or they cannot make friends in fear of the consequence, consult a medical expert about this. Do not wait for your child to miss out on the glee moments that they must experience just because they have a difficulty in communicating their thoughts.

How to spot a Stuttering Stanley

2009-07-25T04:23:00.001-07:00

People with stuttering problems are easy to pinpoint in crowd, usually there are the ones who hide in their shells and never try to open up to people. Usually they keep to themselves or stay in a corner out of attention's way. We don't even have to know what the symptoms are, we just need to be observant enough to spot them from a distance. The main reason they stay in the dark is because they don't want people making fun of them or their stutter. It is understandable enough that these people only want to live a normal life but because of their stutter they have a hard time having one.

If people can still remember the movie about a kid who thinks he is a freak because he can see ghosts. Of course we can't mention it proactively but we are going to use it as a reference to the point we are trying to get to, if one can remember the teacher who scolds the kid for not paying attention. He has a problem with nervous stuttering or stuttering triggered by nervous reaction and anxiety.

When the boy mentions the incident when the teacher was back in elementary school they used to call him "stuttering Stanley", the teacher in his anxiety and nervousness starts to stutter to himself words and phrases that is meant to clam him down. But when the boy kept on repeating what the teacher's class used to call him with he snaps and with a stuttering tone he tells the kid "shut up you freak!" clearly a statement made out of anxiety and pressure.

This is the kind of burden people who suffer from stuttering have to deal with every single day of their lives, yes it's easy to tell them that you need to see a speech therapists to straighten out your tongue or you need to go through this kind of anxiety therapy to over come you stutter. Even though the therapies and the treatments are for their own good sometimes these people are reluctant to adhere to them because they find it embarrassing and shameful to admit to the fact that they have this kind of problem. With out the proper support group and emotional encouragement these people would go on their lives having the label of stuttering Stanley.

How do we spot people that need our help?

Look for the signs and the signals. First off all, to help these people we have to avoid calling stuttering a sickness or say that the signals are symptoms. People with stuttering issues usually have confidence issues as well. So let's not dampen their already wet spirits.

Be aware of what you need to look out for. People need to be educated about what exactly it is they are trying to find., you wouldn't just go out and catch fish without knowing how to. First of all, know the signs of stuttering, the signs and signals of stuttering are:

- Speech. A person suffers from stuttering when he or she person is having a hard time starting a word, sentence or phrase, there is repetition or prolonging of a sound, syllable or word, and difficulty in pronouncing certain letters;

- Physical signs. The person who has speech problem such as stuttering experiences a succession of rapid eye blinks, trembling and tremors of the lips or jaw, and the involuntary tension, tightness or movement of the face or upper body.

10 Essential Steps to Communicate Effectively As a Speaker

2009-06-27T07:17:00.000-07:00

Being able to communicate effectively through words has been a much-coveted secret for centuries. Take the blarney stone in Ireland, for example. The blarney stone is part of the Blarney castle in Ireland and it is tradition that those who kiss this stone are given the gift of the gab. If you want to have the gift of the gab but kissing the blarney stone is out of the question, maybe you could benefit from the 10 basics of communication and public speaking.

1. Education
In order to be an effective speaker, you need to know what you are talking about and be able to practice what you have learned in your speaking. This does not mean that in order to be an effective communicator we need to be a walking encyclopedia. It just means that we must be willing to learn and share what we know with others.

2. Listening
Have you heard of the expression that we were given one mouth but two ears, so we should listen twice as much as we speak? In order to speak well, we must be able to listen to what others have to say. If you learn to listen to the sound of your own voice while speaking, you will also learn to be confident in what you are saying and say it with conviction and meaning.

3. Humility
Humility is an attribute that should be learned and practiced to become effective at communicating and speaking. We make mistakes often, such as slurring our words, stuttering or even mispronouncing our words. Instead of getting yourself worked up over this, try asking the group if you are pronouncing a word right or make light of the situation and turn it into something humorous.

4. Make Eye Contact
By making eye contact, you can keep your audience interested and bring further conviction and meaning to your words. Just keep in mind that, when you are speaking to a large group of people, you should try not to let your mind wander and keep yourself focused.

5. Add Humor
Unless your main aim is to bore to sleep every one in the room, you need to add some humor and liveliness to your speaking. Not only will a lively humorous speech hold your audiences attention, it will also help them to perceive you as an approachable person.

6. Learn To Interact
If you learn to interact with people, you can even further enhance your speaking. Find out about the people that you are going to be speaking with, learn what makes them tick and what their interests are. This is a great source for ideas.

7. Look For A Mirror
We mentioned about listening to the sound of your own voice earlier and how this method can help you with your speaking and conviction. Add to this technique by watching yourself speaking in the mirror. You will be surprised at how effective this method is for correcting the stress areas of your speech.

8. Say It With A Smile
How can you expect others to enjoy your speech, if you look like you are speaking at a funeral? Speak and smile as you are talking. This will convince your audience that you mean what you say and you enjoy speaking to your audience.

9. Pick A Role Model
Everyone has had a role model some time in his or her life. A role model is a person that you like to watch and learn from, someone that you admire. Find a great public speaker whom you admire, watch how they speak and use emphasis. Then try to implement their tricks into your speaking.

10. Be Prepared
Preparation is important to your speaking. Everyone does things to their own liking. Try a few different things until you find the right way for you. Some people scribble a few notes at the last minute, others use small index or palm cards to keep them on track, while others resort to writing prompts on their hands.

These 10 steps are set out to help you with one goal and this is to empower yourself with the basic steps to becoming a great speaker - without needing the blarney stone!

Author Resource:- Leon Edward helps people improve in Goal Setting, Public Speaking, Communication, Success, Leadership, Motivation, Stress Reduction and more. Visit his Self Improvement Articles at hisSelf Improvement Blog Download his IQ Mind Brain Memory Self-Help library at his website Be Smarter website

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Speech Therapy for the Hearing Impaired

2009-06-27T07:15:00.000-07:00

Hearing is conversely associated with speech in that initial communication and hence understanding, arises primarily from learning spoken language through listening and building up symbolic thinking processes. This is why speech therapy is a must for people with hearing impairment.

1.Developing Auditory Awareness
Auditory awareness is the ability to be conscious of the fact that sound is present. During this period, the child is to learn to wear appropriate amplification. Therapy involves playing with toys that make sounds and listening to music.

2.Developing Auditory Attention or Listening
Auditory attention is the ability to give some real notice or interest to the sound that is heard.

The clinician focuses the child's attention to the sound by saying two or three times: Listen, I hear something. What is that? The clinician pats his ears, but does not show the source of the sound until the child is listening. The clinician rewards the child's attention by showing the source of the sound.

3.Developing Auditory Localization and Distance Hearing
Auditory localization is the ability to recognize the direction from which the sound is coming from. Distance hearing, on the other hand, is the ability to hear the sound even from afar.

The therapist shows the child how to respond whenever he hears a sound. Some of the activities are opening the door when someone knocks, dancing to music, clapping to music, building blocks when a sound is heard, marching to a drum and picking the phone up when it rings.

4.Developing Vocal Play
Vocal play is the ability to use the speech structures to produce various sounds that are not necessarily meaningful but are sound productions nonetheless. This stage requires making lots of sounds when playing with toys, especially animal and vehicle noises: growl for the teddy bear, meow for the cat, or click tongue for the horse.

5.Developing Auditory Discrimination
Auditory discrimination is the ability to identify one sound from another. Activities include reviewing vowel sounds and varying pitch, loudness and rhythm: oo--- vs. oo-oo. For example, the therapist can build a train with blocks and say oo-oo or oo---, as the train is being pushed on the table. For older infants, they can look at books, making similar sounds for the pictures.

6.Developing Auditory Discrimination and Short-Term Memory
Activities include teaching discrimination of noise makers in audition and incorporation of phonemes into words in use.

7.Developing Auditory Processing
Auditory processing is the ability to associate sounds with memories of past events. Activities include naming of abstract ideas like sadness and joy. The therapist also starts to teach the child to call the names of the people that he has constant contact with.

8.Developing Auditory Processing of Patterns and Auditory Memory Span
Activities for the child's audition include testing the child's recognition of words and testing of auditory memory span. Auditory memory span is the ability of the child to remember in sequence the things that he has heard. An example would be the sequence of the instructions that the therapist gave to him.

9.Developing Auditory Figure-Ground Discrimination
Auditory figure-ground discrimination is the ability to choose among the sounds that are present in the environment and to focus on that one sound alone without being distracted by the rest of the surrounding sounds.

Activities for the child's auditory skills include clapping or dancing to different rhythms, learning to count from one to ten, saying the alphabets, days of the week, nursery rhymes, holiday songs, prayers, his own address or telephone number, and also remembering two or three directions at a time.

10.Auditory Tracking
Auditory tracking is the act of listening closely to a material to be able to follow what is being stated in the said material. Auditory tracking using a tape recorder is included in the activities. Also included are reading aloud, practicing using the telephone, listening for information and using internal repetition.

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Discover The Healing Power Of Art

2009-06-27T07:10:00.001-07:00

We are all creative beings. Men's creative minds made them reach the peak of the highest mountain in the world, plant a flag on the moon, fly into outer space. Our creativity brought about inventions that have changed human history and culture such as the computer, the Internet, cell phone, TV, x-ray machines, and a long list of other innovations. These are all the end result of man's creativity.

Suffice it to say, creativity produces works of art, which in turn, plays a large role in our everyday lives. We can see them in almost every corner, every space or walls around us. Art has been used as a visual means of communication and expression dating back to prehistoric times. Art speaks of originality, individuality, a creative process, graphic materials, colors, textures, spontaneity, risk, alternatives, and imagination. But art is not only for the creative minds or the famous painters. It is also a healthy way to express the way we feel and deal with our emotions. Art has been of central importance to the healing practices of many cultures over much of human history. As time went on, art has been developed as a tool for psychological diagnosis and treatment called Art Therapy.

According to the American Art Therapy Association, art therapy is a method that utilizes art media, images, and the creative art process to help a patient to address concerns and conflicts. Art Therapy is based on the knowledge of human development and psychological theories which are implemented in the full spectrum of models of assessment and treatment including educational, psycho-dynamic, cognitive, trans-personal, and other therapeutic means of reconciling emotional conflicts. It is also used as a tool for fostering self-awareness, developing social skills, managing behavior, solving problems, reducing anxiety, aiding in reality orientation, and in increasing self-esteem.

The beginnings of modern art therapy can be traced to the early 1900s when psychiatrists first wondered if there was a relationship between artworks and the illnesses of patients. At the same time, art educators began to observe how the free and spontaneous artworks of children were a form of personal storytelling which conveyed emotionally and symbolically meaningful messages. These two areas of interest that eventually resulted in the emergence of the distinct discipline of art therapy in the 1930s. During the second half of the twentieth century, art therapists became increasingly organized, setting up graduate programs, professional associations, and journals.

A variety of artistic methods are used in Art Therapy. These methods or professional areas include: music therapy, dance therapy, psychodrama, and movie therapy. Other methods include speech therapy, recreational therapy, photo-therapy, and poetry therapy.

Art therapy has actually developed into a human care service which expands the psychotherapeutic process to encompass the client’s visual and verbal expressions, and intellectual insights or reflections. Art therapy clients are able to deal with the same kinds of issues they would deal with in conventional talk therapies. They are not required to have any special artistic skills or abilities in order to benefit from art therapy. However, the clients engage in the therapy by creating with art materials in collaboration with the art therapist. The art therapist serves as a witness, guide, and facilitator --- helping the artist-client to express their unique creativity and then "translate" their creative language into meaningful avenues of exploration and personal insights.

Drawing, painting, and sculpting help many people reconcile their inner conflicts, release deeply repressed emotions, and foster self-awareness, as well as personal growth. Some mental health providers use art therapy as a diagnostic tool and as a way to help treat disorders such as anxiety, abuse-related trauma, and schizophrenia. Art therapy sessions are also given to prison inmates and HIV patients.

Although there is relatively little scientific evidence to prove that that it helps people with cancer, many health professionals think it may encourage the cancer patients to express their emotions, which could help them improve their relationship with others. It can also take their minds and feelings away from pain and discomfort.

Art is found to be of great help most especially to a depressed individual. Through art, they can discover their anger and express it in a healthy way. In one study, art therapy was used with suicidal teenagers, and results showed that it had positive effects as part of an overall treatment plan. Teenagers with depression are often slowed down in their journey towards independence and to having a secure self-identity. Therefore, it is very helpful to provide a safe outlet for the distress that has triggered the depression. With the creative process of art therapy, negative factors that cause depression such as guilt, worthlessness, and hopelessness are gradually addressed.

When used along with other interventions for the treatment of depression, art therapy can be an effective and creative way to aid an individual’s journey toward self-knowledge and emotional health. The idea is not to focus on producing a masterpiece. The important thing to remember is to concentrate on the act of creation itself. The images that are produced can help lead the individual to a new and different understanding of how they think and feel, and this knowledge may be the tool that helps them unlock their inner happiness.

Emotional disturbances such as depression, anxiety, and stress overload are the result of losing touch with one’s own thoughts and feelings. One way to get back in touch with these thoughts and feelings is through the use of art. Art therapy provides a sense of accomplishment, enjoyment, and personal expression for those interested in simple relaxation and self-discovery.

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Helpful tips on stuttering from stutters

2009-05-23T22:41:00.004-07:00

Today people need to be mobile and social to cope up with the needs of society. It is very important to deliver one's message concisely and as briefly as possible to save time and motion. Concepts of how to manage time better are some of the best-selling concepts of the upbeat society. But among us some people suffer from a speech impediment that hinders them from being competitive in the world. Stuttering is one of the most common problems that people face nowadays, young children to working adults stuttering affects people adversely both in school and at work.

People who are suffering from stutters need not despair, there is a way to overcome stuttering and the ways to overcome it are from people who suffered stuttering as well. Majority of people who is suffering from stuttering agrees that it will help a lot if the stutter would:

- Sing away. If you are having speech problems such as stuttering they should try to speak the words and sentences is a singing way. Making speaking a fun activity could make stuttering easy to overcome. People with a stutter often times find it hard to remember concepts and ideas because they are too shy to say what they want to say and they find their stutter something to be ashamed of. Needless to say, people with a stutter find t easy to relate to words when they are said in a "singing way."

- Visualize what you’re about to say. People who are having stutter will avoid unnecessary commotion if they try to visualize the letters of the word they are going to say. One of the main reasons why people find it hard to say what they want to say is because they don't have a picture of what they want to say in their heads.

It is especially true for people that stutter because on of the root causes of stuttering are from not knowing exactly what to say and how to say it. Having a mental picture of what we want to say makes it easier to find the right words to use to describe the word.

- Speak on 'breathing out'! Before saying a very difficult word take a deep breath. It is always a good idea to take a deep breath before we that one difficult word that we have in mind. One of the reasons why even people who speak normally have a hard time with words is that they rush in to say what they want to say. There is nothing bad about speaking in moderation because it would make whatever you will say more understandable.

- Say it in your mind. Let your mind hear yourself successfully saying the word you want to say, do this every time you have something to say that you think you will have a hard time with. This is a type of aural visualization. People who successfully visualized what they want to say wil be able to say it 90 % of the time.

Saying it in your mind is a kind of mental exercise where you let your self be more familiar with how it sounds the texture and the aural patterns and the up and downs of the words.

- Don't put undue pressure on yourself. We all know that one of the factors that contribute to the development of stuttering is pressure and anxiety. Putting yourself in a stressful situation would cause more problems for the person who is suffering from stuttering. Remember to keep a stress-free environment when coping up with stuttering. Always keep these stuttering tips handy.

Effective communication with stuttering people

2009-05-23T22:41:00.003-07:00

To make communication more effective with people, who have speech problems such as stuttering, it is a must that other people exert more effort in understanding the condition and knowing how to deal with them. The following are some tips that people without speech impediments can use to better communicate with people that stutter.

1. Fight the urge to end their sentences or say words for them. This is a very practical tip in creating better communication with people who stutter. Why? Because when try to finish their sentences, they get nervous and conscious that makes the room for error larger. Not doing this will make people stutter feel respected and one way of letting them know that they are not too different from normal people.

2. Refrain from saying words or phrases such as "Take a breath," "Relax," or "Slow down". When you say these phrases—even if you have good intentions—will only make the person who suffer from stuttering feel more like they are different and there's something wrong from them. Saying these things is like rubbing salt into the wound and will make them feel more ostracized from the society. Instead of saying these things, try more encouraging words such as "I understand" or "Go on" even if it takes them some time to finish the sentence.

3. Don’t look like you do not understand what he or she is saying. For people without speech problems, it is understandable to have a hard time understanding the words and sentences of people that suffer from stuttering. But then again, it is important that we show these people that they are no different from us. Most of the time stuttering is caused by none acceptance or rejection from a community. The best way to effectively send the message that we care is by understanding them even if it takes more time and effort.

4. Be more understanding and patient in listening to people who stutter. This can be shown by allowing the person to finish speaking. This is very important and a must be followed tip for communicating with people who stutter because one of the reasons behind all the stuttering that a person does is his anxiety and his lack of social skills. Being patient and allowing a person that stutters to finish what he is saying gives them the feeling of respect and acceptance which is important to their therapy.

5. Be more sensitive. If you are conversing with a person with speech problem such as stuttering, a moderate pace is very significant because it allows the conversation to naturally flow in a more relaxed manner and subtle rate. If you were talking too fast, this would put pressure on the person that stutter which will make it harder for him or her to communicate effectively.

6. Don’t show any signs of pity. The worse thing that can happen to a person with disabilities is to be treated with so much pity. Unless these people are asking for it we should look at them with pity. We should give them an equal chance to everything.

7. Always maintain eye contact. Making eye contact is important for strengthening respect. Looking a person in the eye in a conversation gives them the feeling of respect.

8. Don’t pretend that you understand what the stuttering person said even if you didn’t. Most people who stutter won't mind repeating themselves if you tell them honestly that you didn’t fully understand what he or she just said.

By saying, "I'm sorry, I didn't understand what you said" will help them exert more effort in communicating effectively.

Stuttering And Its Causes

2009-04-29T21:04:00.000-07:00

Are you one of the many people who has a stutter? I am somebody who has overcome a stutter and who now helps other people to achieve fluency. This article looks into the reasons why people start stuttering, I hope you enjoy the read.

It can be a very worrying time for parents who realise that their child has started stuttering. Not all people who have a stutter have it from childhood. I have met quite a number of people who were fluent in childhood, however started to stutter when they were an adult. So what causes a stutter?

There are many reasons people start stuttering in the first place. These are some of them:

It can be as a result of a traumatic event.

A family member may have a stutter, and they have picked up the bad speaking habits.

People may copy a friend at school who has a stutter and then it sticks.

An over aggressive relative who is not very patient.

A few years ago, I had a female client who explained how she had developed a stutter. She had been fluent until the age of twenty four. At this age she became pregnant for the first time, she was very happy and excited about the prospects of motherhood and was certainly not prepared of what would happen next.

She was quite nervous about giving birth of the baby and her friends had been winding her up telling her how painful the experience is. She realised that they were only trying to wind her up and basically ignored them.

The day of the birth arrived and unfortunately the delivery was particulary long and difficult. She was extremely shocked about how bad it actually was and for whatever reason she develpoed a stutter after the birth of the baby, who was a healthy boy.

Not all people who stutter have it from an early age, another one of my clients was fluent until the age of nineteen. At this age he had a car crash and this was the trigger to him starting to stutter.

About The Author

Stephen Hill offers various forms of stuttering therapy. For a free information pack you can access his website at: http://www.stammering-stuttering.co.uk

He has other websites at: http://www.stutter-stuttering.com http://www.stutter-cure.com

Kill Your Stuttering Demons

2009-04-29T21:03:00.000-07:00

Apparently one percent of British people suffer from the speech impediment called stuttering. Only people who stutter can ever really know how difficult life can become when you are unable to speak fluently in all situations.

This article looks into examples of what I call, the stuttering demons and options of how to eradicate them once and for all.

I would see a potential job in the newspaper, the demons would tell me not to apply for it as the interview would be too difficult for me with the pressure of having to answer all of the questions which would be asked. I used to listen to these demons and therefore would not apply for these positions, I stayed in the same dead end job for six years.

When I was about sixteen I became drunk for the first time and the alcohol gave me a huge but somewhat false confidence boost. I now had no fear and the demons did not appear, I was also able to talk superbly. Now I am not saying that you should all be in a permanent drunken state, however this showed me not only was I able to talk well but that the stammer must not only be a physical impediment but also physcological.

There are many forms of stuttering help out there including tradional speech therapy, group speech courses, one to one speech courses and even hypnotherapy. I personally believe that the way to go is one to one speech courses as every person who has a stutter is an individual and has an individual stutter.

About The Author

Stephen Hill helps people who stutter/stammer to achieve fluency. He has a number of websites including:

http://www.stammering-stuttering.co.uk

http://blog.stammering-stuttering.co.uk/blog

http://www.stammering-therapy.com

info@stammering-stuttering.co.uk

Stuttering Brain – Explaining the Connection

2009-03-27T09:41:00.001-07:00

Stuttering may be hard to be dealt with by adults, especially when they can’t get the jobs that they want simply because they don’t have enough confidence or the right approach to be able to express their thoughts. But just imagine how this situation affects children who are only starting to spread their wings and socialize only to be ridiculed because of the condition that they have. Ones stuttering brain and words will have a great impact on one’s life if they will not get the proper treatment and actions to try and cure the condition.

On Your Mind

It may be amazing to see this condition being able to sing fluently, even read aloud with such ease and talk to oneself with not so much of fumbling. What does this prove? Up to this date, studies are still being conducted to strengthen the claims and proofs to relate one’s stuttering to something that has gone bad on their brains.

But is this really all on your mind? In Minnesota, researchers proved that more than the emotional anxieties that a person who stutters goes through, what gravely affects the condition are the irregularities in the composition and anatomical being of their brain areas which directly affect language and speech patterns.

It was also published on the scientific journal called the Neurology, owned by the American Academy of Neurology that there are evidences leading to the conclusion that the brain affects the speech patterns. They published the first findings about how the specific brains areas that are responsible for such patterns affect and puts the person at risk of developing the condition.

Different Studies

Specialists continue on finding explanations and solutions about the root of this condition. Anne Foundas, MD of Tulane University in New Orleans conducted a study. She tested 16 patients with unrelenting PDS or persistent developmental stuttering and 16 with controlled cases of stuttering. She used MRI scans for this purpose to measure these people’s brains. She found out that all patients with PDS have significantly bigger right and left temporal lobes and the shapes of their brains contain irregularities than with those who can control their condition.

Your Call

If you have a child who is suffering from stuttering, you cannot just sit comfortably at your homes while waiting for these studies to be completed. These studies can give evidences or might also strengthen the beliefs that you already have about the condition of your child. But you can help in your own way by observing and determining other factors which might worsen your child’s situation.

1. Look at their environment. Where do they usually go? How do people react to their situation? The way these people respond to your child will also affect how your child responds to them. So if you can still intervene to make the situation lighter and better for your child, then do so. It is your responsibility as a parent. And you will be helping your child in the process.

2. Observe their social skills. Your child might be feeling intimidated when associating with other people, especially those with strong personalities. Maybe you can make the process easier for them by preparing them as to what to expect once they have met with certain people with different attitudes and skills.

3. If the problem all lies in the stuttering brain, do your part in healing your child. If studies haven’t progressed that much about this field, you can opt for other ways like speech therapies and the like to control the situation while you still can.

Stuttering Brain – Explaining the Connection

2009-03-27T09:41:00.000-07:00

The emotional effects of stuttering on children

2009-03-27T09:40:00.000-07:00

Many people don’t realize it but stuttering greatly affects the emotional state of a person, especially that of a child. The emotional effects of stuttering on children alone are very much devastating on his or her emotional health. Not only that, stuttering unfavorably affects not just a child's social skills but his or her communication skills as well.

Because of stuttering, many kids think that making friends and building relationships become very disappointing and sometimes traumatizing. Having to live through stuttering at this stage in a person's life is very awkward and painful. Friends also don't come easy for children with stutters according to research kids with a stutter often have to cope up with bullying from peers and classmates.

Studies say that 40 percent of school-aged kids who suffer from stuttering reveal that they been a victim of teasing, bullying, name-calling and worst of all, experienced physical harassment because of their condition. They confess that just because they don't speak too well, other kids simply don’t respect them and don’t listen when they try to say something. The tendency of this inability to express one's self is for stuttering kids to be introverts, always veering away from crowds who might judge and tease them.

Majority of school administrators also agrees that children that stutter are bullied 82 percent of the time inside the classroom, within the school vicinity, and even outside the school premises. This is because many kids without speech problems try to make fun of them especially when there's no adult nearby.

Kids get their self-confidence and esteem from the people around them, people like their families, authority figures or people outside their family unit that they look up to and of course their localized peer group. As children become more mature, the influence that their friends have on them steadily increases and the need to be part of a bigger stratum in society becomes more prevalent.

Children suffering from stuttering are often set aside and picked last or not picked at all to join any of the related activities of a certain group. This makes them feel that they are unwanted, resulting to low self-esteem, lack of self-confidence, mood swings, lack of initiative, depression attacks, and a weak personality in the long run.

What can be done?

Parents and teachers can greatly help a lot to lessen the emotional effects on shuttering on children. This is because they can directly affect how the child with stuttering problems think and socialize with others.

For parents, they should always give their full support to their kids that suffer from stuttering no matter what. They should be able to explain to their kids what is their condition, its causes, how it happens, and what could be done about it to make kids feel that they are not alone in dealing with the problem. Parents must always provide their kids an environment that where they can feel safe, loved, and nurtured for them to overcome the condition at their own pace.

Teachers can also play a big role in helping minimize the effects of stuttering on kids. This is by extending a helping hand and more patience to child in the school setting. Teachers must realize that kids who stutter tend to lose self esteem quickly so they must do something to make the child understand that he or she is not inferior compared to other classmates.

Improve Receptive Aphasia with Speech Therapy on Video!

2009-03-15T01:02:00.001-07:00

Now you can practice professional speech therapy to improve receptive aphasia everyday! Designed by a team of professional speech pathologists, this innovative video is the most affordable, easy-to-use therapeutic tool in the industry!

Speech-Language Pathologist

2009-03-15T01:00:00.001-07:00

Interview of Jennifer Oelfke, a speech-language pathologist and alumna of the University of Central Florida's (UCF) program in communication sciences and disorders (formerly communicative disorders).

Speech Therapy 22 Months

2009-03-15T00:59:00.001-07:00

He is having his first speech therapy session using tactile cueing. This is for my family to see his progress.

Stop Stuttering With This Program MPI

2009-03-15T00:55:00.001-07:00

Want to Stop stuttering. This is no miracle cure for stuttering and it wont happen overnight. But with the determination and desire to stop stuttering anyone who stutters can use this treatment / program. This can be available to anyone that stutters. I am sharing this video with everyone only to let the people know that there is a system / treatment for stuttering that works and that it has been tested and a before and after results have been documented on video. This clip is some of that before and after video

Stuttering is a neurological condition

2009-03-15T00:54:00.001-07:00

Now there's new hope for a life-altering condition. Growing evidence suggests stuttering is neurological, not emotional, as so many have thought. And help may soon be on the way.

Ways of helping stuttering kids

2009-03-10T04:23:00.000-07:00

Stuttering is a very common problem in the world today. There are millions of people in the world today suffering from stuttering and they need our help. But to help these people—especially the kids—we must first understand how stuttering affects them. In finding out how kids are affected by stuttering then we can formulate a good way of helping stuttering kids.

Awareness is a must

To better help kids with stutters we must first know what stuttering is. "Stuttering" or "stammering" in modern medicine is described as a speech impediment that involuntarily disrupts the flow of normal speech. Normally, some words, sounds, and syllables are repeated in a specific pattern such as "li-li-like this", or prolonged excessively such as "lllllike this".

Oftentimes, it could also be that there are abrupt stoppages or absence of sounds of sounds and syllables at all. And in some cases, especially in kids, they usually stutter from the beginning of a word or phrase and there are also those who show difficulties at the end of the word/s.

The next step to help kids that stutter is to know what causes stuttering. Studies show that the causes of this speech impediment range from virtually unidentifiable at all to genetic and inherited reasons. More and more experts believe that genetics could cause stuttering because there are cases that this speech problem runs in the whole family.

Some scientists also say stress—along with rejection, anxiety, and other negative emotions—can be related to stuttering because these contribute a lot on how kids express themselves.

Another possible of stuttering is the stage of language development. This theory says that stuttering may be caused by a developmental recession when small children who are learning to talk find it hard to express themselves fluidly—especially when it comes to expressing their needs. But, as they grow older, many kids overcome this kind of stuttering with proper encouragement from parents and siblings as well as support and motivation from teachers and peers.

There is also a theory, which says that stuttering is neurogenic—meaning the connection between the brain and the muscles are disrupted somewhere along its path. Experts say that this can cause stuttering especially to people who have suffered from cardiac arrests, repeated strokes and even mild heart attacks. This is more applicable to older people but can appear in kids who have accidents, which can cause brain injury, and underwent medical procedures or operation.

After knowing the possible reason, you can now look for alternative—which comes in the form of therapies. Today, there are many therapies available that may improve stuttering, but at the present time there is no cure. In treating cases of developmental stuttering, therapy generally involves helping the parents to restructure the child's speaking environment to reduce episodes of stuttering.

Other suggestions for treating kids suffering from speech impediments such as stuttering is providing a relaxed speaking environment with few distractions, practicing attentive listening, and refraining from being critical about the child's condition. For other types of stuttering, medication may be prescribed, or electronic devices may be used to improve fluency.

Some therapies focus on relearning how to speak, or in unlearning faulty ways of speaking. To find the best course of action, it is best to consult with a competent speech and language pathologist first.

What Can Parents Do To Help a Child That Stutters

2009-02-11T04:47:00.000-08:00

Stuttering is something that happens to a child is between the ages of 2 and 5. It may disappear as the child grows older but it doesn’t mean you should not take any action. To help you, here are a few things that you can do together.

1. Whenever you speak, make sure to say it slowly and with frequent pauses. Studies show that this is more effective than criticizing your child because it is not their fault that they have this problem.

2. If you know what your child wants to ask, never cut them off and just give them time to finish what they have to say. Remember to listen to what he or she is saying, not how it is expressed.

3. You should also reduce the number of questions you ask your child. By giving them more time to speak freely, you enable the child to express their own ideas. Of course, you have to acknowledge what they said so they know you heard them by using facial expressions or other body language. If the child is right in front of you, always maintain eye contact.

4. Letting your child speak should be done at a regular time daily. One good example is when you are eating. This is because everyone is present at the table. There shouldn’t be any disruptions while you are together so you should turn off the television or the radio.

5. If you are not doing anything during the day, set a certain time in the morning or the afternoon. Give them the opportunity to do whatever they want and you should join in. This is considered as a confidence builder especially among children since they know they can talk about anything with the parent.

6. You are not the only one who should take the brunt when your child stutters. Your spouse needs to help out. If you have other kids, they should do the same because those who stutter will find it easier to talk with people around.

7. Should you correct a child for mispronouncing a word? Not all the time. The important thing is that hey enjoy talking because corrections although well intentioned have a way of making the child very self-conscious of the way they speak.

These are the things you can do as a parent and as a family if one member stutters. But a parent can only do so much if the problem is getting out of hand. For that, you will need to see a specialist who is trained in various techniques to help treat the disorder. This person is known as a speech language pathologist.

Before treatment is done, the pathologist will have to do ask you some questions. There will be one on one interaction between the specialist and the child. You will also have to keep a journal as to how often the stuttering occurs. There is no cure or one treatment that works so this is done through trial and error.

When you look for speech language pathologist, make sure that he or she is a licensed professional certified by the state and by ASHA or American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. You can also get a referral from the Stuttering Foundation of America, a nearby university, hospital or clinic.

When Should Your Stuttering Child See a Specialist

2009-02-11T04:45:00.000-08:00

Babies are not able to speak yet for the first few years after they are born. However, if the child is already 5 years old and is still stuttering, perhaps you should already see a specialist.

Some instances that merit the need to see a specialist include repeating whole words or phrases, sound and syllable repetitions start to happen more often, an increase in the prolongations of words, the child’s speech begins to be effortful or strained, an increase in facial tension or tightness in the speech muscles, vocal tension resulting in high pitch or loudness, the child chooses to avoid speaking and other facial or body movements that go along with stuttering.

The specialist who will see your child is a called a speech language pathologist. This person is trained in human communication, its development and the various disorders including stuttering. Most individuals have a master’s degree and must pass a state certification or licensure exam in order to practice as well have a certificate from the ASHA or American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. If the doctor is not around, a speech assistant can help out.

It is hard to ask your friends the name of a specialist. Fortunately, you can turn your attention to the Stuttering Foundation of America who will be able to provide you with the name of a pathologist. You may also check out the nearest university, hospital or clinic for assistance. These places will offer testing and therapy for those who are stuttering.

At home, you should be very understanding with your child by talking to him or her slowly and encouraging the other family members to do the same. Give them some quality time so they can ask questions and you should wait at least a second or two before giving your response. Just don’t make the mistake of speaking too slowly since this will sound strange.

The most challenging thing to do is not being upset or annoyed when the stuttering increases. Remember you are already getting help and it takes time for the child to learn new skills and overcome this situation.

You should also reassure your child because if you think that you are the only one who feels frustrated, they feel it too.

There are 3 basic categories of stuttering and the second and third category will need the help of a professional because you don’t have the expertise to do this on your own.

Some parents wait several months before doing anything but you don’t have to wait that long. You can do a simple test by observing your child for ten minutes when he or she is very talkative. If the child stutters more than three times and there is a history of this in the family then you need to seek the help of a speech language pathologist.

There is no cure yet for stuttering. The only thing professionals can do is treat it. If you talk to someone who claims that they have a cure, don’t buy it. If you have tried one form of therapy and it does not work, don’t give up because there are others you can try.

You should not take any chances if your child stutters because you are not sure if he or she will be able to outgrow this like others have in the past.