Stammering/ Stuttering

I just watched the King’s Speech (Yeah! I know I am kinda stale). Well watching that movie enlightened me and I want to shed a lil bit of light on the subject of speech disorders dwelling particularly on ‘Stammering’ which was the speech disorder that King George VI suffered from. The movie told the story of King George VI speech disorder and how he overcame the problem through speech therapy from the great Lionel Logue. Enough said about the King’s Speech!!

Stammering(alalia literalis or anarthria literalis) is known as ‘stuttering’ (alalia syllabaris). Stuttering is a communication disorder in which the flow of speech is broken by repetitions (li-li-like this), prolongations (lllllike this), or abnormal stoppages (no sound) of sounds and syllables. There may also be unusual facial and body movements associated with the effort to speak.

Stuttering is typically a developmental disorder beginning in early childhood and continuing into adulthood in at least 20% of affected children. In rare cases, stuttering may be acquired in adulthood as the result of a neurological event such as a head injury, tumour, stroke or drug use.

There is essentially no "cure" for the disorder at present. Though the rate of early recovery is very high in a young stutterer, with time a young stutterer may transition from easy, relaxed repetition to more tense and effortful stuttering, including blocks and prolongation. Stutterers commonly report dramatically increased fluency when talking in unison with another speaker, copying another's speech, whispering, singing, and acting or when talking to pets, young children, or themselves. Other situations, such as public speaking and speaking on the telephone are often greatly feared by stutterers, and increased stuttering is reported.

The exact cause of stuttering is unknown but the most likely contributing factors include the following:
- Genetics: Children who have first-degree relatives who stutter are three times as likely to develop a stutter. Approximately 60% of those who stutter have a family member who does also.
- Child Development: There is evidence that stuttering is more common in children who also have concomitant speech, language, learning or motor difficulties.
- Neurophysiology: Recent neurological research has shown that people who stutter process speech and language slightly differently than those who do not stutter.
- Auditory Processing Deficits: Auditory processing deficits have also been proposed as a cause of stuttering. Stuttering is less prevalent in deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals, and stuttering may be improved when auditory feedback is altered, such as masking, delayed auditory feedback (DAF), or frequency altered feedback.
- Pressure: Such as peer pressure, time pressure, stressful speaking situations, insistence on perfect speech, high expectations, and so on.

Therapy
There are no instant miracle cures for stuttering. Therapy, electronic devices, and even drugs are not an overnight process. However, a specialist in stuttering can help not only children but also teenagers, young adults and even older adults make significant progress toward fluency.

The following therapy can be of help to stutterers:
- Fluency Shaping Therapy
- Stuttering Modification Therapy
- Electronic Fluency Devices
- Anti- stuttering Medication
- Diaphragmatic Breathing
- Support Groups

Do you think you are the only one suffering from this disorder? Nope, you’re not, famous Englishmen King George VI and Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who led the UK through World War II stammered. Lewis Carroll, the well-known author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, was afflicted with a stammer. Also the following people stuttered and didn’t allow their affliction to affect their success: Vice President of The USA, Joe Biden, Charles Darwin, Marilyn Monroe, Emily Blunt, Tiger Woods, Nicole Kidman, Bruce Willis, Phillip Larkin, Samuel L. Jackson, and Annie Glenn. Lest, I forget even Moses of old, the leader and liberator of the Hebrews and Demosthenes, the greatest Greek orator of ancient times stuttered!

Let your voice be heard!!