Stuttering

Stuttering

“The stutterer must conquer his own problems. No one else can do it for him.”—Van Riper

Stuttering is a disruption in the fluency of verbal expression characterized by involuntary, audible or silent, repetitions or prolongations of sounds or syllables. These are not readily controllable and may be accompanied by other movements and by emotions of negative nature such as fear, embarrassment, or irritation. Strictly speaking, stuttering is a symptom, not a disease,but the term stuttering usually refers to both the disorder and symptom.  Developmental stuttering evolves before puberty, usually between two and fi  ve years of age, without apparent brain damage or other known cause (“idiopathic”).

1. There is nothing wrong inside your body that will stop you from talking.You have the ability to talk normally.

2. Because you stutter doesn’t mean you are biologically inferior to the next person.

3. No one but myself improved my speech. Others have helped me by providing information, giving emotional support, identifying bias, etc. but the dirty work of therapy is, and always has been, my responsibility.

4. Don’t ever forget that even if you went to the most knowledgeable expert in the country, the correction of stuttering is a do-it-yourself project. Stuttering is your problem. The expert can tell you what to do and how to do it, but you are the one who has to do it. You are the only person on earth who can correct your stuttering.

5. The stutterer must conquer his own problems—no one else can do the job for him.

6. Needless to say, each stutterer must from the beginning of therapy
accept the responsibility for his problem. This implies self-therapy which is
essential.

7. The importance of motivation cannot be exaggerated.

8. A major problem in the treatment of stuttering is how to encourage the stutterer to stay in and continue with the course of treatment.

9. Based on your understanding choose the most appropriate therapy program you can, and work at the program with more consistency, devotion and energy than any other task you’ve ever tackled. As success is obtained, maintain it with equal vigor.

10. Stuttering is an anticipatory struggle reaction.

11. The old saying that no two stutterers are alike is undoubtedly true.

12. The speech behavior patterns that have usually been associated with or dentified as stuttering vary from person to person, and from time to time with any given person.

13. We all have different personalities and our pattern of stuttering is distinct and interwoven in the unique personalities.

14. Because you stutter it doesn’t mean that you are any more maladjusted than the next person.

15. On the whole people that stutter are highly intelligent and capable.

16. Many stutterers have mistakenly believed that if only the “cause” could be found, a fast cure would result.

17. In other words, stuttering is what you do trying not to stutter again.

18. Positive changes in attitudes and feelings about yourself and your stuttering will lead to positive changes in your speech.

19. Although there are new drugs, which work to reduce fear and anxiety, unfortunately there are no drugs approved specifically for stuttering at this time.

20. Crucial to this point is the fact that struggle and avoidance worsen a problem of stuttering.

21. Stuttering results when the speaker is unable to cope with excess muscular tension in the speech mechanism.

22. Since the exacerbation of stuttering by anxiety is a common experience,it might be assumed that drugs that relieve anxiety would be beneficial.

23. The fundamental principle holds that the more calm and relaxed you are, the less stuttering you will do.

24. A few minutes of meditation and relaxation each day can help the spirit.

25. Accept the fact that you have a serious problem. Stand squarely on both feet, place your shoulders back and begin to earnestly attack your problem.

26. Assume an assertive posture - physically be committed to moving forward. Use your body language to advantage.

27. You appreciate most in life those things you do for yourself. Getting over stuttering takes tremendous self-discipline and desire.

28. Although it is a tough row to hoe at first, there is nothing as therapeutic as self-confrontation.

29. Alleviating one’s stuttering is ultimately a matter of self-discipline and control.

30. Be assertive and believe in yourself.

31. Stuttering is a tough opponent. It never gives up. You’ve got to keep knocking it down to stay in command.

32. Men who have achieved in this world have been guided by inspiration, by vision, by faith in themselves and by faith in the unknown.

33. Some famous people who stutter have been of above normal intelligence: Winston Churchill, Charles Darwin, Lewis Carroll, Jack Welch of General Electric, actor James Earl Jones, etc.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_stutterers