Stuttering Devices

Stuttering is a speech disorder in which the flow of speech is disrupted by involuntary repetitions and prolongations of sounds, syllables, words or phrases; and involuntary silent pauses or blocks in which the stutterer is unable to produce sounds. Stuttering is known as "stammering" in the United Kingdom, and is sometimes misspelled "studdering".

Stuttering has been correlated with certain genes; however, a genetic cause for stuttering has yet to be proven. Stuttering has been correlated with three genes that control the neurotransmitter dopamine.

Stuttering is not, as many people think, a condition caused by poor parenting or nervous children. Stuttering appears to reduce stress temporarily, but then cause stress, creating a cyclical pattern in which the stutterer stutters on the first syllable of the first word, then says the rest of the word and several more words fluently, then stutters again, then says a few more words fluently, and so on.

Stuttering modification therapy has four stages: -
- In the first stage, called "identification," the stutterer and clinician
identify the core behaviors, secondary behaviors, and feelings and attitudes
that characterize your stuttering.

- In the second stage, called "desensitization," the stutterer tells people
that he is a stutterer, freezes core behaviors, and intentionally stutters
("voluntary stuttering").

- In the third stage, called "modification," the stutterer learns "easy
stuttering." This is done by "cancellations" (stopping in a dysfluency,
pausing a few moments, and saying the word again); "pull-outs," or pulling
out of a dysfluency into fluent speech; and "preparatory sets," or looking
ahead for words you're going to stutter on, and using "easy stuttering" on
those words.

- In the fourth stage, called "stabilization," the stutterer prepares
practice assignments, makes preparatory sets and pull-outs automatic, and
changes his self-concept from being a person who stutters to being a person
who speaks fluently most of the time but who occasionally stutters mildly.

Only one long-term efficacy study of a stuttering modification therapy
program has been published in a peer-reviewed journal. This study concluded
that the program "appears to be ineffective in producing durable
improvements in stuttering behaviors."

Stuttering Research: While no one doubts the importance of basic research on stuttering, there is also a need for research to provide immediate relief for people who stutter.