Therapy For Stuttering

[Ails]

My aunty told me that there are many mouth exercises that can be done to help overcome the stutter.Is this advice true?And if it is can you please tell me the different exercises there is?

[howeee]

Dont waste your time and energy,,there is no excercises to do that will stop your stuttering. Take that time and money and do somthing to improve yourself as a person. Like school.

[SELDOM]

The only technique I'm familar with is the "air flow" technique. You can watch it here if you're interested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEwYs9wlmx4&feature=related

[troutbum]

great therapy techniques. something for all of us to put into everyday practice. very informative. thanks for sharing SELDOM.

[howeee]

I am 56 I started to stutter at 5 years old when I went to kindergarden,,thats what I am told.

I have been to well over 20 therapists and every kinda therapy there is lol. i have come to the conclusion that all that therapy complicated my stutter even more.

About 16 years ago I decided to just accept the fact I am a stutterer and swore off any kind of therapy in the future. My speech is the best I can ever remember. The secondary symptoms are 95% gone.

I think stuttering therapy is a scam,,there is no scientific study that suggests, air flow, easy onset, prolongations, purposeful stuttering yada yada yada have any lasting effect towards more fluency.

At the beggining of any therapy they make sure they put the blame on you before you even start for the failure they know for sure is to come. They give you the its all up to you bull crap speech. Then when the inevitable failure comes you feel like a bigger peice of crap than you did when you started. Multiply this by the more than 20 times you went to therapy then you are really screwed up.

Thats all I have to say about that (-:

[prg5001]

I have done various therapies over the years (30 years approx). All of the free (good ol NHS in the UK). None of them cured me but most helped to some extent. I don't remember everything but what sticks as helping is:
1 Slow talking, and I mean really slow, like 10 words per minute. Obviously this can't be done as part of a normal conversation but can be done either by yourself or with a friend or therapist. I found it taught me that I don't need to rush through speech and get stuck, I can slow it down a bit and this often helps my fluency a bit. (see Malcom Fraser)

2 Post, Mid and Pre block modification. Post-block modification is where you complete the stutter but then repeat the stuttured word again. Often I am fluent the second time but, if not, then repeat again for at least a couple of times. Mid-block is to attempt to relax and take the energy out of the stutter as it is occuring. Post-block can be done again after mid-block. Pre-block is to try and relax and slide into a word you are feeling you will stutter on. It's kind of hierarchical in that try and practice post-block first, mid-block next and then post-block. Then you can try pre-block first, if it doesn't work then try mi-block and then do post-block.

3 Investigate your stutter. How does it feel before, during and after? What physical attributes are manifest? What thoughts appear?

Nothing has cured me but having some techniques that work to some extent has given me confidence and some degree of power over my stutter rather than my stutter controlling me.

There's probably a ton of therapies and I'm sure one could spend a lot of money on them. I'd suggest try out as many as possible without breaking the bank. Give each one 6 to 12 months to work and to stop working (they will all probably work great at first) and discover what helps you or not.

Cheers, Paul

[Adrian]

I would avoid the "air flow" technique. I did that technique years ago with Martin Schwartz and it did not help at all. All techniques have their limits but fluency shaping and costal breathing were far more effective.

[howeee]

I wish instead of all that therapy, they would of coached me on life instead. On how imporatant skills and education is, even more important to the person who stutters, And would of coached me on how to succeed in school inspite of my stutter. How to talk to teachers, what to do if a stutterer fears speaking aloud in class and all those things.. That kind of advice is far more productive for a stutterer,,than all that usless therapy. Once again I challenge any of you to produce a scientific study that shows that any of that therapy has any lasting positive effect on stuttering.

[millyclair]

Hi. there are some breathing excercises that you can do to help control your stammer. this is called costal breathing. There is a course in thU.K that you could attend where they teach you how to use costal breathing and also give you the oppurtunity to meet other people from your age group who are also trying to control their stammer.

[Clutterer]

I was thinking of something similar to this that might help. Instead of actually exhaling and using the air flow technique, why don't you just say uh (the schwa vowel sound http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwa) before producing a sentence. This would make more sense because it would get the vocal folds to move and it releases air at the same time. A lot of people say the schwa sound before talking anyway so it wouldn't sound that abnormal. The air flow technique might work better for sentences that start with h though.

[Nemo]

Instead of actually exhaling and using the air flow technique, why don't you just say uh (the schwa vowel sound http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwa) before producing a sentence. This would make more sense because it would get the vocal folds to move and it releases air at the same time. A lot of people say the schwa sound before talking anyway so it wouldn't sound that abnormal. The air flow technique might work better for sentences that start with h though.

I agree that the 'uh' sound will get the vocal folds to move, and that many non-stutterers also use it so that it sounds natural. But don't you think that this could become just another 'starter' sound? People tend to become too dependent on starters, so that they in due course need to repeat the starter; then it becomes uh-uh-uh-uh etc. That's not much better than 'real' stuttering.

[ron99]

I've taken many therapies over the years. You name it I probably took it. The only thing that gave me lasting results was the PFSP therapy. It's a lot of work, it's pretty expensive and to maintain it you still need practice on a regular basis.

Of course I would rather have a magic pill like anyone else for me PFSP has given me more control than any other therapies I've taken.

[Clutterer]

I agree that the 'uh' sound will get the vocal folds to move, and that many non-stutterers also use it so that it sounds natural. But don't you think that this could become just another 'starter' sound? People tend to become too dependent on starters, so that they in due course need to repeat the starter; then it becomes uh-uh-uh-uh etc. That's not much better than 'real' stuttering.

I don't understand how you could stutter on that sound though. All you have to do is open your mouth and let your vocal folds move.

[Nemo]

I don't understand how you could stutter on that sound though. All you have to do is open your mouth and let your vocal folds move.

Well, it depends on one's definition of 'stuttering'. In the case of 'uh', the real problem is usually the sound AFTER the 'uh'. Some people use 'uh' to reduce vocal cord tension so that, by the time they say the sound AFTER the 'uh', the vocal cord tension is sufficiently reduced to say that particular sound.

The problem with starter sounds such as 'uh' which is used to initiate vocal cord vibration (phonation) is that it can become a habit due to conditioning. The reward for using it is being able to pronounce the sound after the 'uh', so it becomes a habit. That wouldn't be a problem if the 'uh' always allows saying the sound after the 'uh', but unfortunately the starter trick doesn't always work, for instance when vocal cord tension is VERY high -then the starter won't be able to reduce the vocal cord tension sufficiently.

I have known a stutterer who used an incredible number of starters. For instance, he would say a sentence such as 'The dog barked at the postman' as follows: 'Uh-the uh-well-the uh-dog well uh-barked-uh at uh well yes, at uh the uh well yes post uh well yes man.' Strictly speaking this is not really 'stuttering', it's an excessive use of starters. Using too many starters sounds unnatural.

This individual used three starters: uh, well, yes. In the past these starters were successful for him, but eventually they lost their magic and were unable to reduce his vocal cord tension, probably because of high stress. Instead of discarding them, however, he retained them, and they became part of his speech and of the whole stuttering problem.

In my view, starters are not the best way to initiate phonation, because of their tendency to become part of the stuttering problem. A better way to initiate phonation is to let a slight amount of passive air out before phonation, in order to open the vocal cords.

[Clutterer]

Well, it depends on one's definition of 'stuttering'. In the case of 'uh', the real problem is usually the sound AFTER the 'uh'. Some people use 'uh' to reduce vocal cord tension so that, by the time they say the sound AFTER the 'uh', the vocal cord tension is sufficiently reduced to say that particular sound.

The problem with starter sounds such as 'uh' which is used to initiate vocal cord vibration (phonation) is that it can become a habit due to conditioning. The reward for using it is being able to pronounce the sound after the 'uh', so it becomes a habit. That wouldn't be a problem if the 'uh' always allows saying the sound after the 'uh', but unfortunately the starter trick doesn't always work, for instance when vocal cord tension is VERY high -then the starter won't be able to reduce the vocal cord tension sufficiently.

I have known a stutterer who used an incredible number of starters. For instance, he would say a sentence such as 'The dog barked at the postman' as follows: 'Uh-the uh-well-the uh-dog well uh-barked-uh at uh well yes, at uh the uh well yes post uh well yes man.' Strictly speaking this is not really 'stuttering', it's an excessive use of starters. Using too many starters sounds unnatural.

This individual used three starters: uh, well, yes. In the past these starters were successful for him, but eventually they lost their magic and were unable to reduce his vocal cord tension, probably because of high stress. Instead of discarding them, however, he retained them, and they became part of his speech and of the whole stuttering problem.

In my view, starters are not the best way to initiate phonation, because of their tendency to become part of the stuttering problem. A better way to initiate phonation is to let a slight amount of passive air out before phonation, in order to open the vocal cords.
That makes sense. Thank you.