IT’S simple to take the act of showing oneself for granted but for those with disfluency (most commonly referred to as stuttering or stammering), talking can seem like an obstacle course. To understand what disfluency is, what causes it and the treatment that is available for those who stutter.
Stuttering is a fluency disorder which interferes with the natural flow of connective speech. Any one of us can be disfluent in our speech at any point in time but for a person with clinical disfluency, the frequent use and excessive
Stuttering is not a common condition; based on her own research Rodriguez estimates that about one to two per cent of the population live with disfluency. One of the causes of stuttering is genetics — stuttering is hereditary, says Rodriguez.
Family members may overlook this because a parent who may have stuttered as a child may have developed strategies to overcome his or her disfluency. Therefore, when Rodriguez meets with her clients she often asks about their family history.
For those who stutter, there may be weaker connections between areas in the brain that are responsible for speech. Rodriguez compares the brain to a complex filing cabinet where one has to access their systems to find words in order to have fluent speech. Those who stutter have difficulty retrieving and accessing the words which leads to interjections (ums and ahhs), excessive revisions, long laborious pauses or blocks and jerky speech.
Old wives’ tales
There is no association between parenting and stuttering, clarifies Rodriguez. Old wives’ tales which suggest that interrupting a child while speaking, or a child’s exposure to a shocking event can lead to stuttering are baseless, says the speech language therapist.
“One of the misconceptions about stuttering is that people stutter when they are nervous or insecure. Some might say “his brain is too fast and his mouth can’t keep up”. Yes, people who stutter might stumble on their words when they are feeling nervous like everyone else, but they also stutter when they are relaxed, when they are comfortable and when they know what they want to say.
“Stuttering has nothing to do with intelligence or lack thereof or with one’s emotional intelligence, it does not mean they are incompetent in any way. It has to do with the rhythmic progression of coordinating the movement that is required for speech, the connection with the brain (sending the signals for that movement) and accessing the words,”says Rodriguez
The majority of Rodriguez’ clients are young males which goes hand in hand with statistics which show that stuttering is mostly common among males.
Treatment options include speech therapy but in the most severe cases of stuttering, emotional support through counselling with a psychologist who is exposed to stuttering research is recommended.
Children who stutter may be subject to bullying and teasing, therefore understanding and empathy on the part of parents, teachers and children is very important. There needs to be greater sensitisation around stuttering, especially in schools, stresses Rodriguez.
“We ask people not to say to a person who stutters: ‘take your time, just breathe, slow down’. Saying that does not help. Or we might try to finish their sentences for them - that’s a big ‘don’t’, also don’t make fun of the person or complain that it’s taking too long for them to say what they want to say. Telling them ‘just spit it out!’ is also a big ‘Don’t’,”advised Rodriguez.
We live in a very rushed society — even when it comes to speech, the fast pace may not be conducive to helping a child with disfluency. Therefore parents need to be involved in therapeutic intervention and be educated as to how they perceive and react to their child’s stutter, said Rodriguez. Parents may even need to look at ways in which they can adjust their lifestyle to better help their child, she adds.
Children developing
their speech
When children are developing their speech and language, it’s quite common for two-year-olds to have some disfluencies.
In those cases, a therapist may assume a wait-and-see approach or look into the family history to see if the case requires further investigation.
But if the stuttering continues past six months and is accompanied by secondary behaviours such as facial grimacing, body tensing or a click when the child is speaking, it needs to be addressed as soon as possible, says Rodriguez.
While there is no cure for stuttering, there are various strategies one can use to manage their fluency. However after years of having it under control, it is possible that a stressful or traumatic event can trigger it and disrupt the strategies one has been using to cope, says Rodriguez.
Even without formal treatment some develop compensatory strategies that might work for them. But Rodriguez issues a cautionary note; what’s scary, she says, is that some believe that they have come up with their own strategies such as eye blinking and clenching of the fists which they believe helps, except that it doesn’t, in fact those strategies might actually be making their symptoms worse.
As a professional speech language pathologist, Rodriguez goes through her library of interventions while accessing her clients to determine what may work best in their case.
Interestingly, even the worst stutterer’s symptoms may disappear while they talk to their animals or sing (in the critically acclaimed movie The King’s Speech, part of King George IV’s therapy involved practising speeches while singing). That demonstrates that the brain itself could help the stutterer be fluent and even overcome their disfluency, says Rodriguez.
Her passion for helping people who stutter has a lot to do with witnessing her clients make significant progress. Rodriguez’s message to persons who stutter is: don’t give up.
“School age children with disfluency are at an advantage with their communication and ability to learn compared to other disorders I work with. There’s nothing stopping them except themselves, “said Rodriguez.
“Stuttering has nothing to do with their intelligence and cognitive ability. It’s just a matter of us working together to find the right techniques and when I see the look in a child’s eyes when they make a turnaround, it keeps the fire going within me.”
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