Q&A: Dispelling myths about stuttering

Nervousness. Stress. Shyness. Talking a couple of language. Considering too rapidly.

None of those are explanation why individuals stutter.

But, these misconceptions stay all too prevalent, says Angela Medina. For the estimated 80 million individuals worldwide who stutter, they are often hurtful and even typically give rise to stigma.

For Worldwide Stuttering Consciousness Day on Oct. 22, Medina—an affiliate professor of Communication Sciences and Issues in Florida Worldwide College’s Nicole Wertheim Faculty of Nursing & Well being Sciences—shines a lightweight on this oftentimes misunderstood and sophisticated speech dysfunction, how there’s typically hidden emotional impacts, in addition to what she’s discovered via her latest analysis on a mindfulness meditation program for adults who stutter.

First, inform us a bit bit about stuttering. What’s it?

Stuttering is a speech disorder that’s comprised of behavioral, cognitive and affective (emotions, ideas) parts that may be evaluated, identified and managed by a speech-language pathologist.

I believe what involves thoughts for many individuals first is the speech behaviors. Clinically talking, these embody repetitions of sounds and syllables (mo-mo-mo-mo-mommy), blockages of air (… mommy) and prolongation of speech sounds (mmmmmommy).

Over time, these speech behaviors might also be accompanied by different seen behaviors that present indicators of stress or wrestle akin to grimacing, straining of the neck muscle groups and blinking onerous. Stuttering does not begin out with these different behaviors. They’re discovered.

What many individuals don’t contemplate, although, are the “invisible” features of stuttering, akin to the sentiments and attitudes individuals who stutter maintain towards themselves and their stuttering. How these affective and cognitive parts are managed has implications for the stutterer’s high quality of life and well-being.

How are they managed?

It’s completely different for everybody. For some, it would imply utilizing medical and/or self-taught speech methods to reduce the severity of their stuttering as wanted.

For others, it could be a matter of engaged on not letting stuttering negatively influence their lives by going forward and saying the precise phrases they need to say after they need to say them—whether or not they know they’ll stutter on these phrases or not.

What are the most important myths surrounding stuttering?

There are such a lot of nonetheless floating round on the market concerning the causes of stuttering! Those I’ve heard most incessantly are that stuttering is attributable to nervousness, the mind pondering sooner than the stutterer can discuss, not respiration accurately or bilingualism.

Many of those incorrect beliefs concerning the causes of stuttering place blame on the stutterer as if they’re doing one thing unsuitable. I believe this crops the seeds for individuals’s well-intentioned however unhelpful recommendation for “curing” the stutter like telling the stutterer to “decelerate,” “take a deep breath,” or “take into consideration what you need to say earlier than you say it.”

“The very fact of the matter is that stuttering is attributable to variations in the way in which stutterers’ brains are structured and performance. It can’t be cured.”

As you stated, stuttering can’t be cured. So, how do speech-language pathologists assist?

About 75% of youngsters who start stuttering across the ages of 2-4 years outdated will develop out of stuttering early of their school-age years with out remedy. The opposite 25% who proceed stuttering previous the age of puberty will stutter for the remainder of their lives.

For youngsters, teenagers, and adults who stutter, speech-language pathologists may fit on quite a few features associated to stuttering, together with self-advocacy, acceptance, stuttering with much less stress and total communication expertise.

Your latest examine explores how mindfulness can assist individuals who stutter. Did it assist with acceptance?

On this eight-week examine, we had 5 adults who stutter take part in our once-a-week hybrid mindfulness program the place they might be a part of us reside or watch a recording of that week’s reside session. The periods consisted of guided exploration of mindfulness matters (intention, acceptance, gratitude), respiration methods for rest, guided meditation, and chair yoga.

After finishing this system, three of our 5 members confirmed enchancment of their high quality of life. Nevertheless, members reported they deliberate to use mindfulness information of their private lives and that they seen constructive adjustments inside themselves.

What does a mindfulness observe appear like for somebody who stutters?

As we noticed in our examine, mindfulness observe for an individual who stutters can look the identical as, if not equivalent to, the observe of an individual who doesn’t stutter. Everybody—whatever the means they converse—can profit from light stretches all through their day, in addition to respiration workout routines designed to calm the nervous system.

Some methods an individual who stutters might need to tailor their observe to suit their particular person wants could also be to do a physique scan train, for instance, and see after which launch stress that they could expertise throughout stuttering moments, as an example within the throat, mouth, face and shoulders.

Equally, finding out and reflecting on ideas inside mindfulness, akin to acceptance, self-compassion and dwelling within the current second might promote improved emotions and attitudes about stuttering. Many individuals who stutter reside with the uncertainty and challenges that include not having management of their very own speech in addition to the next damaging reactions their listeners might should their stuttering.

The idea of staying within the present moment will be life-changing for an individual who stutters as a result of, if they’re staying within the current, they can’t ruminate on previous damaging social interactions nor can they fear about what may occur in future conversations. They will simply “be” and there may be a lot freedom in that.

As well as, you even have researched the bilingual stuttering expertise. What has been the most important takeaway from that work?

Over the previous a number of years of working with this inhabitants, the factor that has left an enduring impression on me is how detrimental it may be to strip a baby of their native language.

I’ve labored with members who stutter who can not talk with their grandparents and different relations as a result of they by no means gained proficiency of their native language because of the false impression that stuttering is attributable to bilingualism. Other than the dearth of reference to family members, stutterers have additionally reported feeling an absence of reference to their cultural communities and a part of who they’re as a result of they can’t talk of their native language.

Sadly, there are nonetheless professionals on the market advising households to talk just one language within the family to keep away from the chance of stuttering. Thus far, analysis doesn’t assist the concept that bilingualism causes stuttering. Quite the opposite, it exhibits the cognitive advantages of bilingualism.