Stuttering

Stuttering is a disorder of childhood. The incidence of stuttering is highest from the age of six to ten; as the age of puberty is approached, the number of cases of stutter­ing decreases markedly.

More boys than girls stutter.

This fact is certainly significant. This is because boys learn speech more slowly and are more apt to have speech de­fects of all kinds than girls.

Stuttering has certain hereditary aspects. The persistant recurrence of this disorder in certain families is dif­ficult to explain merely on the basis of imitation. The fact that many of the stutterers in those families had little or no contact with stuttering relatives indicated the presence of some biological transmittable factor. Twinning, left-handedness and stuttering are often associated as hereditary factors.

The so-called speech organs of stutterers are structu­rally normal as in non-stutterers.

The stutterer’s articulatory muscles show some slowness. He cannot move his muscles as fast, as continuously, or as independently as a non-stutterer can.

During a stuttering block, a serious disorganization of the integrating centers of the central nervous system takes place. An asymmetrical action of paired muscles оn the two sides of the face appears. Lack of co-ordination of the limbs or eyes осcurs…

It is necessary for parents and teachers to cо-oреrаte with the specialist (speech therapist) in the treatment of stuttering. Irritating factors in the environment should be removed. We have a problem of preventing the development of fears and anxiety. The stuttering sраsms usually produce fear and anxiety; they, in turn, result in more serious and complex speech blocks, which of themselves create fеаrs. Тhe speech-therapist who examines the cases of stuttering will indicate, of course, the specific mеаsures for the treatment of each case. These specific mеаsures are different. There is no sudden cure, but there is every reason to hope for improvement.

But first of all the specialist should persuade the pa­tient that the first thing which he must understand is he must learn to live with the stuttering. Of course he does not want to stutter, he would prefer not to stutter. How­ever the more he tries to avoid stuttering the more he stutters. When he acquires the objective attitude to his stuttering, the second phase of therapy may be begun, name­ly, the process of eliminating the habit of substituting other words for words upon which the stutterer fears he will block. As the speech of the stutterer is rapid, stir­red, indistinct, it is desirable to give the stutterer the opportunity to participate in choral reading and singing. A very important aspect in speech training for the stutte­rer is the acquisition of slow speech of a normal rhythm.

The general principle for speech therapy is this:

a) seek to discover and remove all the possible irritating factors in the child’s environment, b) prevent the develop­ment of fear and anxiety about his speech, c) promote the growth of personality and social adjustment. Since stutter­ing is a disorder of childhood, it is more than probable that as the processes of normal maturation take рlace the symptoms of stuttering will gradually disappear, if a good therapy is applied in treatment of such stuttering children. There is not one simple procedure for treatment, they are many. The speech therapist must have some information about the child: 1) Does he stutter every time he talks or is it spasmodic? 2) Is it getting worse? 3) Does it appear in his speech when he is on the playground, as well as in the classroom? 4) Is there any relationship between appearance of the stuttering and his apparent physical condition, emo­tional state, persons with whom he talks, topics of conver­sation, time of day, attitude of the teacher?

This information is important to choose the most effective procedures for the treatment of stuttering …..

T E R M S

eliminate устранять

stirred возбужденная

stuttering заикание

puberty половая зрелость

hereditary наследственный

recurrence возвращение, повторение

twinning рождение близнецов

left handedness леворукость

stuttering block спазм заикания

integrating centers центры обобщения

paired muscles парные мышцы

cure, treatment лечение

irritating factors раздражающие факторы

to prolong vowels растягивать гласные

spasmodic судорожный

physical condition физическое состояние

emotional state эмоциональное состояние