Does your Child Stutters?

weacceptstutter — Wed, 19 May 2010 23:30:50 GMT

Is your child stuttering?
By Henrylito D. Tacio

NO one knows -- not even science -- what causes stuttering. "Our best guess is that it is due to a combination of psychological, neurological and genetic factors," says Dr. Barry Guitar, American professor of communication science and disorders at the University of Vermont in Burlington.

But they do know that it is habit forming and is usually related to stress, according to Dr. Martin F. Schwartz, executive director of the U.S. National Center for Stuttering in New York City.

When a child is learning to speak, or when an adult has to speak in stressful situations (before a large audience, for instance), the stress focuses tension on the vocal cords, closing and locking them. The person struggles to speak but can't do so easily: The struggle becomes a stutter.

"The Book of Lists" enumerated 14 famous stutters. Most of them beat this speech disorder. Let's start with film actor Bruce Willis. He began stuttering at the age of eight. In high school, he joined a drama club and found that his stammer vanished whenever he spoke in front of an audience.

Another film actor, James Earl Jones, discovered the same solution. As a young man, he stammered so badly that at times he was reduced to writing notes. He overcame the affliction with speech therapy and by joining his high school debating team.

Henry Luce, publisher and founder of "Time" magazine and "Sport Illustrated," was born in China to missionary parents. He was sent to boarding school at age fifteen, where he was called Chink. He began to stammer, and became surly and aloof. Eventually, he conquered his stutter by participating in the Yale debating society.

Novelist W. Somerset Maugham's stutter was so severe that it deeply scarred his life. It was much worse when he was nervous, and only in the company of his closed friends did it disappear. His childhood was full of humiliating moments, such as the time he stuttered in school and the whole class screamed with laughter until the teacher pounded the desk and called him a fool. As an adult, he turned down frequent invitations to speak publicly and read on the radio.

Writer Charles Lamb was disqualified from entering university because of his disability. His alcoholism exaggerated his stammer, and he described himself as "a drunken dog, ragged head, seldom shaven, odd-eyed and stuttering."

Plagued by a lifetime of nervous disorders, another Charles - naturalist Charles Darwin, if you will - turned to science because he stuttered too badly to become a minister. His grandfather, Erasmus Darwin, was a good speaker, in spite of his stutter. When asked whether he found his speech impediment inconvenient, he replied, "No, sir, it gives me time for reflection, and saves me from answering impertinent questions."

Like Darwin, Cotton Mather desperately wanted to become a clergyman. He nearly abandoned all hope because he suffered from a bad stammer. He felt sure nobody would understand his sermons. He took heart from the knowledge that Moses stammered and went on to become one of the greatest preachers of his day.

Two athletes were included in the list. Runner Ben Johnson "learned" to stutter by teasing his brother, who stuttered. Unfortunately, the habit stuck and he couldn't get rid of his stammer.

This happened also to former NBA all-star player Bob Love. He believes he started to stammer in imitation of an uncle he loved deeply. His inability to communicate caused him to turn to basketball. After arduous speech therapy, Love has virtually conquered his disorder.

Two European kings were listed to have suffered speech problem. British king Charles I was a lifetime stutter. He ascended the throne in 1623 and addressed his first Parliament by saying, "I am unfit for speaking." Then he sat down.

How can you get rid of stuttering? "The Doctors Book of Home Remedies" offers some timely techniques. For one, it advises that you should not speak faster. "If you're stuttering, maybe it's because you're trying to speak as fast as or faster than others - and you just don't need to."

The book also urges that you record your stuttering (this way, you can catch the speech problem in advance and prevent stuttering before it starts), practice natural breathing (take a relaxed breath through the mouth), and synchronize airflow.

As much as possible, stutters must avoid cola and coffee and sweets. Caffeine and other stimulants reportedly encourage muscle and vocal tensions. Sugar reduction has reportedly eliminated stuttering in some children, the book says.

If you're a parent, don't speak to fast to your children. "When kids try to speak as fast or faster than adults, they often stutter," says Dr. Edward Conture, chairman of the Program of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Syracuse University in New York. "If you speak slowly and evenly to your child, he'll soon get the picture and slow down naturally."

In other words, set the pace.

Stuttering Steve - How this website became a reality.

weacceptstutter — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 05:07:43 GMT

First and formost I would like to thank you for visting the site. If you are like me a person who stutterers you are not alone. 60 million people stutter worldwide. Even to this date people find stuttering a mystery.

When I was a boy age around 16 I told myself that "I didn't care what others said or did about my stuttering and that If I stutter so be it. In essence I was not afraid of my stutter any more. i ACCEPTED MY STUTTER. An thus this website was born.

Abeit 23 years later, I have made some good friends on the net. People who stutter like myself. Oliver So is helping with the website. He does the interviews with people about the subject of stuttering.

There are alot of features on this site. There is a forum where you can post questions and discuss a wide area of topics. If you stop by please sign the guestbook.

I just added a Stuttering Chat where if you have Java you can enter the site and we have a real-time chat about stuttering. Time and Day is yet to be determined. Check back for future updates.

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me at stutteringsteve@gmail.com

Come again!

Music about Stuttering

weacceptstutter — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 22:30:09 GMT

There are many songs that deal with stuttering.

On the world wide web there are many songs about stuttering.

Here are a few...

http://searchbeta.playlist.com/tracks#Stuttering

Accept Your Stutter

Does your Child Stutters?

Stuttering Steve - How this website became a reality.

Music about Stuttering

There are many songs that deal with stuttering.