How To Treat Stuttering

George Washington, Issac Newton, Marilyn Monroe, Joseph Priestly - ever wondered what they had in common? All of them suffered from a similar disorder, called stuttering. Alalia syllabaris, commonly called stuttering or stammering, is a speech disorder wherein there is a disruption in the continuity of speech. There are brief periods of ‘blocks’, characterized by hesitation or pausing before speech and also the prolongation of certain words (mostly vowels or semi vowels). The severity of this disorder may vary from a mild stammering to severe disruption of speech. The problem is also associated with decrease in the confidence level of the person, low self esteem, nervousness and even anxiety at times. In fact, many a times, the degree of stuttering depends on the level of anxiety suffered by the person.

 

Contrary to the general opinion, stuttering has no connection with a person’s level of intelligence or astuteness. The examples of known personalities who have suffered from the problem illustrate this fact. Although, the exact etiology of this condition is unknown till date, a number of hypotheses have been indicated by recent research in genetics and neurophysiology. It is estimated that 5 out of every 100 people in the world stutter (i.e. around 5% of the population). Thus, it can be seen that the condition is quite common among the masses and there is no serious threat or problem associated with it. The only side effect is that stutterers are very self conscious and tend to avoid social gatherings, public speeches and parties. However, the problem is not incurable. In the following lines, we have listed tips on how to treat stuttering, just for you.