Can Stuttering Therapies Work Effectively?

When it comes to stuttering therapies, the real question of how “success” is defined remains. A person seeking help for a stuttering problem might feel that going from stuttering in every sentence down to only stuttering in every ten sentences is a marked improvement. Yet, critics might argue that any stutter is still a problem and not a cause for celebration. A third school of thought suggests that success has been achieved when the speech stuttering therapy enables a person to have renewed self-esteem, pursue his or her goals and enjoy a greater satisfaction in life.

With regard to children, it was discovered that a computer-based anti-stuttering program with minimal interaction from speech-language pathologists held the most promise for keeping disfluency rates below 2%. In the 1996 “Controlled Clinical Trial for Stuttering in Persons Aged 9 to 14 Years,” researchers found that 71% of the children treated with computer programs and minimal speech pathologist interaction became fluent, compared to 63% of the children whose parents were trained by a speech pathologist to complete therapy at home, and 48% of children treated by the actual pathologist him/herself. These findings shed light on the important role of family when it comes to language skills.

Fluency shaping is one of the common stuttering therapies used today. This therapy attempts to change all speech of the person who is afflicted, rather than singling out specific trouble spots. The individual is prompted to monitor his or her speech, slowing down and smoothing out all words. The goal is to gain fluency by placing the emphasis on fluency, rather than the stuttering. This approach is best used on young children under the age of 8 who are also undergoing other techniques, such as the use of delayed auditory feedback devices.

Experts say self-therapy is important for any of the stuttering therapies. In his book “Self-Therapy for the Stutterer,” Stuttering Foundation of America originator Malcolm Fraser said that those who stutter should make a habit of talking slow and deliberately; speaking easily, gently and without force; and taking advantage of block correction procedures. A stutterer should approach the issue directly, rather than try to hide the truth, and should focus on eliminating facial contortions, jaw tensing, rapid blinking and other reactions. The best approach is to practice speaking with varying inflections and melody and to continue moving forward with speech, rather than back-tracking or repeating.

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