The Passive Airflow Technique

[cotton]

This is based on a book by Dr. Martin F. Schwartz. I'm going to give you a summary.

Stutter No More

"Any therapy would have to address the physical response (locking of vocal cords) and the psychological triggers associated with stuttering."

In an interview of 42 "recovered" stutterers, Dr. Schwartz found that in 11 of them, a tiny flow of air like a tiny inaudiable sigh came out of their mouths just before they spoke. This flow is passive, never pushed and it kept the vocal cords relaxed and apart.

"The vocal cords are controlled by the breathing centers of the brain. During normal, quiet respiration they open slightly just before inhalation, then close slightly as the airflow is reversed and exhalation begins." The exhalation phase is passive.

"The trick then, was to somehow learn to exhale just before speaking as if one were not going to speak at all but were simply quietly breathing. The brain had to be fooled into believing the speaker was simply taking another breath. If the brain was fooled, it would develop no prespeech tension on the cords. The brain was deprived of the neccessary signals to trigger a stutter reflex."

Dr. Schwartz experimented by asking a patient to produce a long audible relaxed sigh while saying a one-syllable word halfway in this sigh. More one-syllable words were added in a sigh until fluent speech was accomplished.

Beware of the four mistakes when using this technique:

1. Pushing the flow. When you push or force the air this will lead to locking of your vocal cords. Let it be absolutely passive. A pushed flow would sooner or later be interpreted by the brain as an h, and then the brain would "think" all sentences began with an h and stuttering will appear.

2. Failure of transition. The lack of smooth flow into the first sound of the first word. The flow appeared short, with a pause between the end of the flow and the beginning of speech. This is as if the patient was catching his breath, to initiate inhalation. The pause in the flow allowed the cords to lock.

3. Failure of intent. Patients are so preoccupied with the upcoming first sound that their mouths form position for that sound during the final instants of airflow. Thus the airflow is affected by the anticipating sound, and one of the effects of anticipation is always a tensing of the cords -- which often leads to a stutter. Patients are then reminded to fool the brain into thinking they're just taking another breath.

I'll write number 4 later.

[DrLove]

Hi,

Is this material enough to get the results from the book?
I have the book & book is quite big in pages so need to know is it enough to follow what u have
written in the article to get postive results?

Regards,
Ranjeet Kumar

[cotton]

Oops I mean to write "summary of the chapter" on this technique. The other chapters helps you understand types of stuttering, psychological triggers, physical triggers, primary vs. secondary stuttering, overcoming anticipatory stress.... too much to write!

I think the book by itself is not enough to get results. How else would the doc pay his bills? :) I think he just introduces this technique. Wouldn't hurt to try by oneself. I tried this but it was impossible with a severe stutter. The Hollins technique worked a bit better.

[alok daga]

cotton
can you let us more on the hollins technique please?

[happy7117]

cotton
can you let us more on the hollins technique please?

Severe, moderate, or mild, that airflow does not work with me!!!!!!!

My stutter could be severe--- just think a few years ago it was moderate---- and the reason it is severe
is cause there is no auditory feedback device
for me to use---

I would rather be a moderate stutterer than severe...

Severe stuttering to me means a person
is "virtualy" mute....

Severe as in can't talk-- that's a very ugly way
of putting it-- but to those who can barely "spit it
out"-- i guess there's no other way to phrase it....

I always think of a moderate stutterer as
inconvenient-, I always think of severe stuttering
as a miserable wall one is being slammed against
repeatedly...more i think of it-- more it
makes me sick...

This airflow thing does not work for certain stutters-i believe it all depends on certain symptoms--i do not
have the symptoms that would be needed to be helped with the airflow deal...

I speak while letting out air-- i still
jam against words!!!!!

[cotton]

cotton
can you let us more on the hollins technique please?

The Hollins program is very intensive. I'm not sure if the materials alone can do much help. They use computers to record your voice. You are made to go out in a mall and make phonecalls, and talk to as many people as you can with your new speech and to overcome fear.

My friend gave me 2 books and 3 audio tapes. I'll try to describe the techniques in another thread but it's unlikely you can get much from a post than from the tapes and the whole program itself.

If anyone's interested I can send you copies of the 3 audio tapes for the price of blank tapes and shipping. PM me.

[cotton]

I think there's more to the technique than what the book entails. The book is an infomercial binded with a spine. You need to buy the product.

[studentdoc]

thank you for all of your help cotton.

[happy7117]

I still stutter while releasing the breathe
as i exhale- i get hard core stuck-- and
no matter how much i use the airflow it does
help- schwartz thinks blocked vocal chords are the cause of stuttering-- but my vocal chords are completely open as i speak and or stutter-- so it's not that!!! His approach is too narrowminded-

It's alot about hearing my own voice delayed or
hearing it in real time!!

[Gary1450]

When I'm stressed on the phone or talking to people I don't have time to think about breathing techniques.

[happy7117]

Exactly how I feel!!!

So in other words passive airflow is not the way
for all stuttering!!!

Schwartz needs to wake up and think outside
of the box-- the box being passive airflow!!!!

Oh yeah- and theres only so much mocking and ridicule one can take from stuttering untill the one stuttering loses control and knocks another one out!!!

The stuttering humiliation builds up and has to be
released somehow!!!

[gnurt]

I've read Dr.Schwartz's book "Stutter no more" and I've spent sometime to try his technique since I found the online book last month.In my opinion,he have found the right cause:the lock of the vocal cords.It seems to me that we'll totally fluent if we do the airflow technique perfectly.But the problem is while we stress we usually get the difficulty to do the technique in the right way.What do all of you think about that technique?Have anybody successed with it?Reading through the book I think Dr.Schwartz has got a deep research work about stuttering and he didn't say anything wrong about stuttering in theory(however practical is more difficult than theory)
http://www.stutter-no-more.com/

[Jimmy169]

Very interesting post! This is what I feel when I stutter, it's as though my vocal cords lock up, Happy I remember you were confused on what I meant when I said that, but the first post here describe's it the best.

[Jimmy169]

This airflow thing does not work for certain stutters-i believe it all depends on certain symptoms--i do not
have the symptoms that would be needed to be helped with the airflow deal...

I speak while letting out air-- i still
jam against words!!!!!


Happy I'm just curious, but can you better explain how you stutter? I'm curious if I have had any similar instance's myself to the way you stutter.

And I agree with some of you guys, when I'm on the phone aspecially, or about to pick it up, I even pause and think to myself how I will say the word, but it just doesn't work. Either I didn't have enough time to calm myself or I can't, or there is something I'm doing wrong and am still forcing the word out, which they are saying you're not supposed to do, but most time's I can't help it...I guess I'll try to work on it but boy have I had some bad experiences recently.

[happy7117]

Happy I'm just curious, but can you better explain how you stutter? I'm curious if I have had any similar instance's myself to the way you stutter.

And I agree with some of you guys, when I'm on the phone aspecially, or about to pick it up, I even pause and think to myself how I will say the word, but it just doesn't work. Either I didn't have enough time to calm myself or I can't, or there is something I'm doing wrong and am still forcing the word out, which they are saying you're not supposed to do, but most time's I can't help it...I guess I'll try to work on it but boy have I had some bad experiences recently.

I am not sure how to explain my stutter. I repeat constantly, start over, facial blocks, avoiding situations so I don't make a fool of myself, I never order out cause I am not understood and get hung up, my lips tense, lot's of times my words just don't come out!

One thing that works for me and gets me very fluent is talking along with someone else. I hate it when I am talking to someone with no one talking beside me as I speak.......it's called the choral effect, and I so really need that to help me say stuff!

Happy New Year to all!

[CoreThrasherGLB]

I am not sure how to explain my stutter. I repeat constantly, start over, facial blocks, avoiding situations so I don't make a fool of myself, I never order out cause I am not understood and get hung up, my lips tense, lot's of times my words just don't come out!

One thing that works for me and gets me very fluent is talking along with someone else. I hate it when I am talking to someone with no one talking beside me as I speak.......it's called the choral effect, and I so really need that to help me say stuff!

Happy New Year to all!

It's fair to say that when we stutter it is only after we anticipate it right? Well to me, stuttering is an non-conscious attempt to speak fluently. It is also a habitual action designed to fight imperfect speech. Ironically, this fight to speak perfectly is stuttering itself. Because people who stutter have over perfectionistic qualities, the predicted imperfection in our speech makes our subconscious minds hold back while consciously trying to speak which is why there is so much tension and resistance. Stuttering is like trying to pull open a door when your subconscious foot is holding it closed.

[Thecoherentman]

Stuttering is like trying to pull open a door when your subconscious foot is holding it closed.

Very good picture!!!

[Nemo]

I am so glad that this old thread has been given new life, and I am responding because I seem to be the only person in the thread who has actually attended a Schwartz course (and I also did a refresher course). His books are definitely not enough in order to apply the airflow technique, you really need to get the finer details, individual attention and then practise, practise, practise ...

Unfortunately Dr Schwartz has retired, but he still offers a CD or DVD as a self-help course. I haven't bought the CD so can't comment on that.

I believe that it is the best fluency technique around. Even so, all fluency techniques have their limitations. For instance, you tend to forget to use them; and the airflow technique is difficult to apply when in high stress.

Bearing these limitations in mind, I have been using this technique for 30 years and it has made a huge difference. Apart from the technique itself, what I find especially useful is the theory of stuttering underlying it. The theory of stress-induced vocal cord spasms that cause stuttering has always made sense to me and explains so many features of stuttering. Following from the theory, it makes sense to make stress management, and psychological approaches to reduce stress, a major part of your anti-stuttering strategy. Above all it should be kept in mind that the problem is not so much general stress, but rather localised vocal-cord tension (which is aggravated by general stress). If vocal-cord tension can be kept under control, stuttering is under control. That, of course, is the challenge - to speak while at the same time keeping vocal-cord tension low.

[howeee]

I am so glad that this old thread has been given new life, and I am responding because I seem to be the only person in the thread who has actually attended a Schwartz course (and I also did a refresher course). His books are definitely not enough in order to apply the airflow technique, you really need to get the finer details, individual attention and then practise, practise, practise ...

Unfortunately Dr Schwartz has retired, but he still offers a CD or DVD as a self-help course. I haven't bought the CD so can't comment on that.

I believe that it is the best fluency technique around. Even so, all fluency techniques have their limitations. For instance, you tend to forget to use them; and the airflow technique is difficult to apply when in high stress.

Bearing these limitations in mind, I have been using this technique for 30 years and it has made a huge difference. Apart from the technique itself, what I find especially useful is the theory of stuttering underlying it. The theory of stress-induced vocal cord spasms that cause stuttering has always made sense to me and explains so many features of stuttering. Following from the theory, it makes sense to make stress management, and psychological approaches to reduce stress, a major part of your anti-stuttering strategy. Above all it should be kept in mind that the problem is not so much general stress, but rather localised vocal-cord tension (which is aggravated by general stress). If vocal-cord tension can be kept under control, stuttering is under control. That, of course, is the challenge - to speak while at the same time keeping vocal-cord tension low.

I attended a Schwartz course, it is like any stuttering therapy you always have short term improvement, It is no different than using a foreign accent, talking like John Wayne or tapping your leg.

What almost always happens in the long term is you have a relapse. Your stutter might even be worse than before and maybe you will pick up some secondaries. For sure you will feel like a failure and blame yourself, even though probably 99% of stutterers that took the course end up the same way. They never tell you the last part.

Schwartz is a charleton. Almost every person I ever talked to that took a Schwartz course had long term relapse. His books are a waist of money.

[ron99]

I learned the passive airflow 30 years ago in a weekend session with with the creator. It only helped a little and didn't last.

The only thing that worked for me was an intense 2 week fluency shaping program. It was a lot of hard work but it worked better than anything else I've done. I actually went through it twice, once 10 years ago and another time 5 years ago but it helped to the point that I very seldom think about my speech any more and talk on the phone, teach live classes to adults etc. without fear and very, very little stuttering.

[Chazzler]

Passive airflow(or any physical technique) wouldn't work unless your inner game is tight. What I mean by inner game is your mentality, your mindset and the way you approach to solve this problem.

Unfortunately, I was a victim of trying to find a technique which would help me "fix" my stuttering. However I failed every single time I tried. Nothing worked, and the ones which did were all temporary.

Here is what I learned being in this for almost 10 years now:

It all comes to your inner game. If your inner game is tight and it supports your outer game(in this case your powerful and effective physical technique/s) then you start getting results which can be maintained.

In order to make any effective physical technique work;

You need to be READY for the change, you need to WANT to change and you need to KNOW how to make that change happen.

Good luck,

Chazzler