Help with stuttering.

Out of context: Reply #12

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  • matski1

    As someone who has stuttered all my life, I can shed some light on the condition. The image the OP posted is of someone who is tongue-tied, NOT someone with a stutter. A stutter is sometimes referred to as a "broken tongue", though this is not entirely accurate.

    Someone with a stutter (not someone who might stutter in certain situations) has a neurological symptom, where electrical neurons in the brain fail to connect, they misfire - and this is why people with a stutter will repeat a word or sound over and over, and will keep doing so until the neurons connect.

    A stutter is intensified or worsened by anxiety, so situations where you are nervous, like in an interview situation will make a stutter more pronounced.

    Some people with a stutter take anxiety drugs, which they say aid in lessening the affect of the stutter. I've not done this so can't say if it works (may do for some people).

    The most common form of over coming a stutter is using breathing techniques, to slow the speech right down, which reduces the repetitive nature of a stutter. Also taking deep gulps of air before talking allows for more words to be said, instead of trying to "force" words out, which many people with a stutter will do. Lastly, by extending the pronunciation of words also negates the use of repeating a word or sound. Something like saying "it" - a person extending the pronunciation would say "iiiitttt".

    Speech therapy teaches people with a stutter to combine all these techniques to help in overcoming a stutter. Depending on the level of stutter (some are mild, even very mild and hardly noticeable through to very accute stuttering, whereby saying even a single word is very difficult), these methods can help, however there is no definitive cure for a stutter as its a neurological condition such as parkinson's disease.

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    • Can I ask you a serious/stupid question? Does your stutter diminish if you put on an accent or 'play a role' when you talk?Nairn
    • Interesting. Genuine question, does singing really diminish the effects ?spl33nidoru
    • ha Nairm, we're in sync!spl33nidoru
    • Singing will help a stutter - it's essentially extending the pronunciation of word(s).matski
    • Don't know about an accent or role play. I guess it depends on the person and how bad their stutter is.matski
    • Thank you for your insights.ShenanigansTV
    • thanks matskispl33nidoru
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