Stuttering Devices

I haven't been posting much this month, but with Christmas, I was doing other things as I know you are. Great seeing the family, and relaxing. But now things are back to normal so onward!

As you know, stuttering devices work..for some but not all people. And there are alternative ways to control stammering. I found this great article from http://www.naturaltherapyforstuttering.com from a fellow stutterer.

Does Stuttering Device Minimize Stuttering Disability?


I tried to avoid talking about any stuttering device previously. The main reason is I do not want to "attack" personally anyone's product. However, I am often asked what I think about this topic. Since I do not want to repeat my answer over and over again, I will post my full response here. It does not matter if you agree or disagree with something I have to say. The most important thing is to derive some benefit from this discussion.

There are so many electronic speech aids available on the market today. DAF, Desktop Fluency System, Fluency Master, Masking Auditory Feedback, Frequency Auditory Feedback, Pocket Fluency System, Telephone Fluency System, Wireless Fluency System are just several of those aids I have come across.

Over the years, I tested almost all electronic devices. There is no shortage of them. It seems as if there is a new device being sold on the market each month. Although the products might have different names, it is very easy to group them together. The main reason is because they operate on the same principles. I will tell you right away I was disappointed with all of them. Some devices I purchased were subsequently donated to my university's speech clinic. As I checked recently, they are now used for demonstration purposes only. I am glad all young speech pathology students are able to learn how these devices work even though I do not personally see any benefit for people who stutter from such learning. The other devices simply broke on their own. I felt there was no need to fix them as they were useless.

As we already discussed, there is more than one electronic device for stuttering you can purchase presently. Generally, all devices can be put into one category. Some of them tend to "mask" one's voice by producing awful sounds into one's years. The others slow down one's speech and change one's pitch.

I know many scientists who created these products can provide us with very complex explanations on how they work. These explanations tend to be based on sound speech principles, which many of ordinary people do not understand. However, it is safe to place each stuttering anti device into one of above categories.

Personally, I am not against anything that can help us to deal with this communication disorder better. If there is anything you can use, which will help you with stammering, I will recommend you to use it. I came across some speech therapists who are against using any fluency device. They stated that such devices are often used as crutches. They act as distractions that can enhance one's fluency only temporarily. Apparently, they would rather teach you how to use prolongations and cancellations. As I understand they are mainly afraid that these crutches will become like those filler words you use in your speech. You rely on them heavily till they become a part of this problem.