What is Stuttering?

[Tom]

We all have it, and talk about it, but what is it. Even as a stutterer, it's difficult to determine what exactly stuttering is. But I think to curing it (which it can be), it's important to identify what it is. I'll start by explaining what I believe stuttering is (based on my own stutter), and from there, I hope to see input from others.

I'm sure there will be some who disagree with each other, but please keep all debating civil.

So what is stuttering?

It's probably best by first identifying what stuttering isn't. Stuttering is not a physical problem. I'm sure in the comfort and privacy of one's own bedroom, there's not a word that you can't physically say. Stuttering also isn't something you were born with, and it's not a hard-coded problem so to say (it can be cured/fixed/repaired/resolved).

So now we know what it isn't, now we touch on what it is. Stuttering is an pharmacological problem, related strongly to emotion. Anything, if done enough, can become a habit. This is exactly why stuttering can be so difficult to get rid of. The actual stuttering itself (whether it be a block or stammer) isn't necessarily a habit, but the emotions one feels in certain social situation is. My point being, when you meat a new person for example, your habitual response is to get anxious, tense and many other things which obviously result is a speaking difficulty.

That doesn't cover the whole picture though. Why don't non-stutterers have difficulty speaking during uncomfortable situations? It's pretty simple actually. Non-stutterers have absolute confidence in the words they say. They've been speaking fluently for so long (whether it be 7 years or 70 years) that speaking for them, is just like riding a bike. During uncomfortable situations, non-stutterers can continue to speak fluently. It's much like how we can ride a bike even if a crowd of 1000 people are watching. Mind you, with 1000 people watching, you'd feel self-conscious about how you're riding.

On that note, someone who is accustomed to riding their bike in front of large crowd's of people would be mostly unaffected by the crowds, much like those accustomed to public speaking. The bike riding analogy may not be the best, but you get the drift of the point I'm making.

To summarise what I've been explaining in simple terms, and to summarise stuttering I guess, is... stuttering in it's simplest form is a lack of speaking confidence. It's the habitual component of the problem however which is what you really need to break, as even if you go into a speaking situation with absolute confidence, emotional triggers will almost always overcome and take you back to square one. It's that lack of confidence that causes blocks and stammers.

How to Cure Stuttering?

I'm a stutterer, and have been since the age of 4 (now 18). Obviously I haven't got over it yet, and to be honest, progress is a little non-existent. It's been a roller coaster ride for the last year or two with many ups and downs (one month I may be confident and moving forward, while the next month or two maybe terrible).

Something I think will greatly help me overcome my stutter is meditation. I'm yet to really get into meditation, but the just the concept of it seems very promising. Meditation can make you more relaxed, happier and boost confidence. As you get better at meditating you can use self-hypnosis techniques to directly target your stutter by imagining yourself in certain situations speaking fluently. That is one way to directly combat the habitual component of stuttering. On that note, this is based on what I've researched and from other people such as hypnotists and mediators who have shared their knowledge with me.

The key however to anything, is persistence. You've got to combat the habit of stuttering, and the only way you can do that is by creating new habits (which all fluent talkers already have).

That's pretty much all I have to say in this thread. I really do want to hear what you all have to say. Feel free to disagree with anything I've said, but just be careful when reading what I say as stuttering isn't an easy thing to explain, and it's possible you may misinterpret some of the points I make.

Hopefully, with others input, we can all get a better understanding of what stuttering actually is so we can all help each other overcome it.

Thanks for reading.

[Violet]

I have been thinking:

There is this whole debate about whether or not stuttering is a fault in the brain or is a learned habbit or is caused by emotional unrest, etc

but i'm thinking... We are controlled by our brains. Everything happens in our brains. When we miss place a step and trip.. it is because of our brains... well actually isnt it because of the balance thing in our ear?.. well anyaway same thing lol.. A learned habbit is a fault in our brain. and why havnt other people learnt that habbit? I believe that stuttering is a fault in our brain from birth.. and this 'fault' makes us more suseptable to aquiring this 'habbit' of stuttering which is aggravated by emotional things, such as fear.

and furthermore because it is caused by several things, you cannot cure stuttering by only doing the breathing and speaking techniques (while they do help) (and to me, cure = never ever have the sensation of stuttering ever again. Appearing to be fluent is amazing. but we are not going to find a CURE if people are so wrapped up in appearing to be fluent. This is the real deal. not eleviating the pain of stuttering so it is almost a cure)

A cure needs to pay attention to all facets of stuttering; neurological, emotional, physiological, habbitual, etc. and this is why stuttering is so hard to find a cure for. Everyone is different - so how do you find a cure that covers ALL stutterers?

First off a few key questions:
1. What is the definition of a Mild, Moderate, and Severe stutterer??
I find that the lines between them are very hazy. Personally i would say over all I am a moderate stutterer, who can appear to be mild-fluent in the right conditions. when i am in bad conditions I can also appear to be moderate-severe. But hey my definitions of what each of those are could be completely diferent to what you deem a mild, moderate and severe stutter is. :confused:

2. Blocks vs Repetions: I don't know anyone else who stutters, but i block and hardly ever have true repetitions.. like once in a blue moon. When i have repetitions they are half controlled reactions/half secondary symptoms to try and get past the block. I also have prolonged sounds, although less frequently then the blocks, and to me they go under the heading of blocks because i am blocking half way through producing a sound.

Are there any people who have mainly repetitions?? What is that like? Do you feel your repetitions are to stop yourself blocking? or do you feel you occasionaly block to stop yourself having repetitions?

3. Everyone on this forum is linked by stuttering. Is there anything else that links us? Think guys. There has to be something. Something completely abstract. the ratio of stuttering males to females is something like 5:1. Which means theres something more guys have then girls do. Someone previously mentioned something about longer vocal cords? we should all get our vocal cords checked! haha. :p
We clearly all have a stuttering gene, that much is obvious, although whether it is mild or severe is a different story i think.
There are quite a few of you who used to be 100% fluent and then just randomly started stuttering. Soooo.. something triggered off your stutter.. and this trigger had already triggered off the stutters of all the other people who have stuttered since talking. Or we have two completely different things that just look identical.. which s things up majorly.
hmm grrr. I wish they would hurry up and find a cure already. :rolleyes:

[Violet]

I have been thinking:

There is this whole debate about whether or not stuttering is a fault in the brain or is a learned habbit or is caused by emotional unrest, etc

but i'm thinking... We are controlled by our brains. Everything happens in our brains. When we miss place a step and trip.. it is because of our brains... well actually isnt it because of the balance thing in our ear?.. well anyaway same thing lol.. A learned habbit is a fault in our brain. and why havnt other people learnt that habbit? I believe that stuttering is a fault in our brain from birth.. and this 'fault' makes us more suseptable to aquiring this 'habbit' of stuttering which is aggravated by emotional things, such as fear.

and furthermore because it is caused by several things, you cannot cure stuttering by only doing the breathing and speaking techniques (while they do help) (and to me, cure = never ever have the sensation of stuttering ever again. Appearing to be fluent is amazing. but we are not going to find a CURE if people are so wrapped up in appearing to be fluent. This is the real deal. not eleviating the pain of stuttering so it is almost a cure)

A cure needs to pay attention to all facets of stuttering; neurological, emotional, physiological, habbitual, etc. and this is why stuttering is so hard to find a cure for. Everyone is different - so how do you find a cure that covers ALL stutterers?

First off a few key questions:
1. What is the definition of a Mild, Moderate, and Severe stutterer??
I find that the lines between them are very hazy. Personally i would say over all I am a moderate stutterer, who can appear to be mild-fluent in the right conditions. when i am in bad conditions I can also appear to be moderate-severe. But hey my definitions of what each of those are could be completely diferent to what you deem a mild, moderate and severe stutter is. :confused:

2. Blocks vs Repetions: I don't know anyone else who stutters, but i block and hardly ever have true repetitions.. like once in a blue moon. When i have repetitions they are half controlled reactions/half secondary symptoms to try and get past the block. I also have prolonged sounds, although less frequently then the blocks, and to me they go under the heading of blocks because i am blocking half way through producing a sound.

Are there any people who have mainly repetitions?? What is that like? Do you feel your repetitions are to stop yourself blocking? or do you feel you occasionaly block to stop yourself having repetitions?

3. Everyone on this forum is linked by stuttering. Is there anything else that links us? Think guys. There has to be something. Something completely abstract. the ratio of stuttering males to females is something like 5:1. Which means theres something more guys have then girls do. Someone previously mentioned something about longer vocal cords? we should all get our vocal cords checked! haha. :p
We clearly all have a stuttering gene, that much is obvious, although whether it is mild or severe is a different story i think.
There are quite a few of you who used to be 100% fluent and then just randomly started stuttering. Soooo.. something triggered off your stutter.. and this trigger had already triggered off the stutters of all the other people who have stuttered since talking. Or we have two completely different things that just look identical.. which s things up majorly.
hmm grrr. I wish they would hurry up and find a cure already. :rolleyes:

[Violet]

damn it posted twice. woops.
Where is the ing edit button?!

[JoeE]

Great topic, Tom! I, however, do not fully agree with your definition. My gift of stuttering is not habitual and it is not due to the lack of self confidence. I lecture in front of 18+ university students. I do employ the speech tools I was taught in speech therapy, but most of the time find they do not work! My message ( unrelated to stuttering/speech ) is always well thought out and clear even with this uncontrollable gift. I resort to letting the stuttering surface, because that is honest, that is genuine, that is how I communicate. I refuse to believe the condition will interfere with my students' education.
I await a cure ( of course ), but will not sit idly back and let life pass by any longer.

Voilet: You are a very thoughtful and intelligent person.

BTW : Since two Australians have posted before me : Off topic and because it is the weekend : the scariest film I have ever seen was made in Australia - "Picnic at Hanging Rock." Yikes. Could not sleep for weeks ;) Forget the US's "The Blair Witch Project" or the UK's "The Descent."

[John Woo]

damn it posted twice. woops.
Where is the ing edit button?!

wahaha, so cute.......

[Count]

I await a cure ( of course ), but will not sit idly back and let life pass by any longer.

That's the secret! I decided to do the same like you. I'm going to live my life as best as I can without missing anything.


the scariest film I have ever seen was made in Australia - "Picnic at Hanging Rock."

I know that movie! It's scary like hell and based on a real incident.
You hear that Violet? Never make a picnic at Hanging Rock!

[Silent]

"Picnic at Hanging Rock" is good. I also liked "Walkabout" (1971), and a couple other movies I can't remember the titles of...

[Perseverance]

Is this True ?:

Stuttering is caused by the fear of stuttering - If I didn't have the fear of stuttering - I wouldn't stutter ?

[Perseverance]

I often wonder if it's simply the fear of stuttering , that causes us to Stutter

[JDRow]

My point being, when you meat a new person for example, your habitual response is to get anxious, tense and many other things which obviously result is a speaking difficulty.

Except I don't think it's that obvious, because a lot of non-stutterers also get anxious and tense when meeting a new person, and they don't stutter. There are plenty of people with social phobia, for example, who don't have any speech problem but probably because far more nervous than many stutterers when they meet somebody new. I don't think the idea that non-stutterers have some sort of absolute confidence in speaking fluently explains it, because there are a lot of non-stutterers who worry they'll stutter or mess up what they're saying, but they speak fluently anyway.

I think habit certainly plays a role in certain stuttering behaviors, but I don't think stuttering itself is a habit that can be overcome.

[Be YOURSELF]

you are right about it not being a physical issue, however when it happens it can be seen as a physical issue.

Fluent speaking is controlled by a perfect synchrony of the brain, stomach muscles, lungs, vocal cords, tongue.

when stuttering - all the elements are doing something different, (note that all the above are capable of fluent speech) and the brain is like the processor and runs the fluent speech script or the stutter script depending on how you feel

I believe we were born with a susceptibility to acquire stuttering. Some get lucky and avoid, others don't.

Remove all the negative emotions associated with stuttering. because that is the first hurdle. If you cant do this, it will either be longer or you will give up. "just do it"

Start speaking, speaking, speaking, at every chance, stutter freely. Speak your mind. Society is what makes you feel bad about your stutter, however they dont really care about it. so why let someone who doesn't care about your stutter continue to affect how you speak.

An easy options, is to copy the best speakers, eg. actors, actresses, presenters (tv and radio). Please do not copy in your bed room, you must have a live audience. easier one is to join an acting or dramma class. Trust me after a year or less your speaking confidence will be very high.

Soon you will master the art of speaking.

I also think blocking is an advance stage of repetitions, i only started blocking because i didn't like repetitions and i received more negative feedback from it (people laughing)

[Tom]

Well said "Be YOURSELF"...

I believe staying positive, and avoiding negative thoughts and emotions is the most powerful way to improve your stuttering, and eventually cure it. Stuttering is a psychological battle really, and one that can't be beaten using brute force.

Staying positive, happy and being calm, all lead to improved confidence. Also try altering your perception of speaking. Use any method you can to achieve any of the above, such as meditation, relaxation exercises, homoeopathics and/or flower remedies, and whatever else, excluding drugs. I can't see how drugs can possibly aid in improving a stutter (unless your under the affects of the drug).

[eva]

For me stuttering is blocking. When I block, I don't have enough air in my lungs to carry on fluent speech and I repeat in order to get over the block, get the words out in some way. However, it is not physical issue. I am fluent when I talk to myself, because I don't have to take into account any listeners. I can choose the tone and volume of my speech, there's no requirements how to produce speech. There is no pressure, it doesn't matter am I being understood correctly or not.

When there are listeners something changes. I have to know what I say and how I say it. This is not a problem just for me as a stutterer. All people have to consider it. It's communication.
Fluent people can be sometimes very poor at communication with others. I know a girl who is very shy. When she says something, I have to pay extra attention to hear her, her voice is so thin and usually I have to ask her to repeat. I know fluent people who are afraid to make phone calls. They don't know what to say on the phone, they have no confidence. One friend of mine is too shy to even ask someone for directions, travel alone, order food etc. When she talks, her voice is thin and she seems very insecure about what she says. With just us friends she seems happy, confident, talkative...but when new people get in the picture, she becomes shy and quiet again.

I use to think this is funny. These people are fluent, they can say anything what they want in any situation, never have to worry what happens if they don't suddenly manage to get a word out. My friend is just afraid what other people will think of her, will she embarrass herself, do or say something stupid and get laughed at.

Sometimes I feel I am being self centred if I caught myself before or during a speaking situation thinking something like "I'm gonna get stuck, I stutter, what is that person thinking about me". It's not just about me. It's also about the listener. Even if a person is a fluent speaker, when they say something, they might be insecure as well about what they say and how they say it, they have to think about me, how I receive their message they want to deliver.

I think stuttering is a neurological condition. There is just something my system is doing wrong and I'm not sure if this can be fixed. Even if it can't be totally cured (=remove the cause of stuttering) it can be treated. I can learn to communicate in a way that I am being understood. It takes more effort and caution than if I was fluent. As I said, fluent people can have poor communication skills as well. When they do have poor communication skills, they dont care much about the listeners, they're only worried about themselves. Stutterers just need more time. And can fail more often, but hey, no one is perfect. You have to learn how to take your time and also accept failure.

I don't think stuttering is habit that can be overcome by learning a new habit, new way of speaking. With all the negative reactions I've got, I think I would've already conditioned myself to behave differently.

Stuttering is not a communication disorder, but it is closely related to communication, because only then stuttering as an issue is relevant. If you never have to communicate, you never stutter. I've been thinking it would be best, atleast for myself, to approach the issue from this aspect. All the negative feelings are simply waste of time. Only thing that matters is that people understand me. Like Violet said, appearing fluent. And thats all I need right? I can myself push aside the other aspects of stuttering, all the emotional stuff for example. I can make it a big problem and try to find the perfect cure that covers all the aspects but its really not necessary. I think its not even possible. When I talk to others, my whole speaking system does something differently and the result is blocking, then controlled repeating and that result is all I can do something about by practising breathing and speaking techniques.

I dont have to be fluent all the time. I don't have to avoid stuttering every second of my life. It would be easier for me and less confusing for the listener if I could, but I don't think it's possible. There's nothing to be afraid of in speaking situations if you think of it. Only thing you can be afraid is your own emotions. So no, I really don't think stuttering is an emotional problem. If you are afraid of ordering food at a restaurant, you are maybe afraid what the reaction is if you stutter and how a negative reaction could make you feel about yourself. On a bad day I get weird looks, smiles, laughter. But so what if I don't think that is the end of the world. What they think of me is their own business, as long as I do my best to get my message across.

The best advice I have ever got was from my mom. She repeats syllables or words sometimes, especially when tired or stressed. Not like the stutter I have tough. She said : "I speak slowly so that I speak clearly and you can understand me". That is her way of speaking, I'm still trying to find my own that works best for me. That's what I'm looking, not any magical cure for stuttering.

[claragazza]

I have been thinking:
First off a few key questions:
1. What is the definition of a Mild, Moderate, and Severe stutterer??[\QUOTE]

Good question. I consider myself a severe stutterer, and here are a few subjective (completely not scientific) criteria I would propose to help one decide the limite between mild and moderate. For me you are a severe stutterer if
- you stutter also in the middle of words, not only the first syllable
- you stutter also in small words like "yes" or "no".
- people often don't understand what you say and ask you to repeat.


[QUOTE]2. Blocks vs Repetions:

Are there any people who have mainly repetitions?? What is that like? Do you feel your repetitions are to stop yourself blocking? or do you feel you occasionaly block to stop yourself having repetitions?

I have mainly repetitions and prolongations. More rarely blocks. It's difficul to say what it's like! I don't really control it: that is, I am not deciding to repeat/prolong to avoid a block. What I can do if I concentrate is to turn a bad repetition into a prolongation, for instance on Ps to turn a "p p p p p p" into "pfffffffffhhhh".

3. Everyone on this forum is linked by stuttering. Is there anything else that links us?

On this I have no clue. Maybe something veyr early in our childhood.,

[Be YOURSELF]

.... So no, I really don't think stuttering is an emotional problem. If you are afraid of ordering food at a restaurant, you are maybe afraid what the reaction is if you stutter and how a negative reaction could make you feel about yourself. On a bad day I get weird looks, smiles, laughter. But so what if I don't think that is the end of the world. What they think of me is their own business, as long as I do my best to get my message across.
.

Would stuttering be what it is without the negative emotions associated with?

[eva]

Would stuttering be what it is without the negative emotions associated with?
I'm not sure how to answer your question, depends what you think stuttering is. I don't think it is learned behaviour. The core problem would still be there even if you got rid of all the negative emotions. I agree with you though, the negative emotions have to be removed first. But that doesn't take the stuttering away, it makes it possible to practice how to maintain fluency by controlling your speech.