Q & A\Stuttering decreases with therapy, removal of stress.Byline: Kevin Ainsfeld What is stuttering stuttering or stammering, speech disorder marked by hesitation and inability to enunciate consonants without spasmodic repetition. Known technically as dysphemia, it has sometimes been attributed to an underlying personality disorder. ? It is interruptions in the smooth release of words and sentences. The person cannot seem to get a word out, often trying to change words around or make gestures with their hands in an effort to push the words out. The cause of stuttering is unknown. When does stuttering start? Usually early on, between ages 2 and 5, when children are putting sentences together. Is stress a factor? Stress seems to make the stuttering worse. When a person is uncertain about his or her role, when there is fear of an authority figure, or whether there is pressure to express a feeling about one's self, stuttering often begins. Who has a tendency to stutter stut·ter n. A phonatory or articulatory disorder characterized by difficult enunciation of words with frequent halting and repetition of the initial consonant or syllable. v. To utter with spasmodic repetition or prolongation of sounds. ? Men stutter more than women, and it seems to run in families. It also seems to run in cycles: Stuttering always starts in childhood, improves in adolescence adolescence, time of life from onset of puberty to full adulthood. The exact period of adolescence, which varies from person to person, falls approximately between the ages 12 and 20 and encompasses both physiological and psychological changes. and then starts again. How is it treated? For children, a speech pathologist helps the family to remove any pressure in the household, encouraging a more comfortable environment for the child to communicate. The approach is different for adults: The speech pathologist makes the stutterer stut·ter intr. & tr.v. stut·tered, stut·ter·ing, stut·ters To speak or utter with a spasmodic repetition or prolongation of sounds. n. The act or habit of stuttering. stop avoiding words they have trouble with and makes them change their stuttering by learning to prolongate pro·lon·gate tr.v. pro·lon·gat·ed, pro·lon·gat·ing, pro·lon·gates To prolong. pro the beginning sound of words. |
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