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Mental Health Care for Stuttering and Speech Problems
Lack of fluency while communicating may result in low self-esteem, bullying, and anxiety. Treatments like speech and cognitive behaviour therapy tend to benefit people with increased fluency. Timely intervention can help in preventing it from becoming a lifelong issue.
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About Stuttering Therapy
About Stuttering Therapy
Therapists / Counselors for Stuttering Therapy
FAQs
A Quick Overview
Major Causes
Common Signs
Risk Factors
How to Deal With Your Symptoms
Get Treatment From a Licensed Therapist Who’s Right For You
Schedule a Virtual Psychotherapy Appointment with a Counsellor Today
Mental Health Care for Stuttering and Speech Problems
Lack of fluency while communicating may result in low self-esteem, bullying, and anxiety. Treatments like speech and cognitive behaviour therapy tend to benefit people with increased fluency. Timely intervention can help in preventing it from becoming a lifelong issue.
FAQs
Approximately 5-10% of children suffer from this communication disorder. But the majority of them outgrow it. Estimates suggest that 0.5 to 1% of total people stutter in their adulthood.
Most children aged between 2 and 6 stutter. This may last for a few weeks or some years. In general, you should seek help if stammering persists for more than six months. Timely treatment can avoid problems in the future.
Studies suggest that heredity and genes play an important role in someone developing this verbal disorder. Research shows that more than 50% of people who stutter have family members with the same issue. But Genetics is not the only factor. Other environmental and psychological factors may cause this condition.
No, this might have the opposite effect. This can create more tension in the speech muscles resulting in more stammering. You might also try to avoid any communicative situation, but that will only hamper your social-emotional development.
Being a good listener is essential to make them feel comfortable and confident. Let them finish their sentences by themselves. You trying to fill in words can affect their self-esteem. Maintaining eye contact while talking to them is also a way of letting them know you are patiently listening.
A Quick Overview
Stammering or stuttering is an interruption in the flow of speech. The individual affected by this verbal disorder tends to repeat certain syllables, words, phrases, or even drag out part of a word. They know what they want to say but have trouble generating fluency in their speech. It can make it difficult for them to communicate with people, affecting their quality of life and relationships. Public speaking or stressful situations may make it worse for someone.
It is common among children as they begin to learn any language. This is because a child's language abilities are not developed enough to express their thoughts. Hence, it is also called Childhood-onset fluency order. Most children do outgrow this, but in some cases, it may become a chronic condition requiring medical intervention.
Major Causes
This condition can broadly be classified into two forms: Developmental and Neurogenic. Developmental stuttering occurs in children as they are learning a language. The reason is that a child's language ability is not on par with verbal demands. Neurogenic stuttering is a result of brain injury or head trauma. The major causes for both these forms are as follows:-
- Genetics: In a 2010 research, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders suggested that four different genes may contribute to this speech disorder. Genetic factors may contribute to developmental stuttering.
- Lack of Coordination: Motor Coordination is necessary for speech fluency. A stroke or any brain injury may affect our brain's ability to coordinate different motor speech regions. Neurogenic stuttering is usually a result of this.
Common Signs
Some common characteristics include:
- Finding it hard to start a word or a phrase.
- Rapid eye blinks, tension in the face and upper body, tremors of the lips or jaws, and facial tics are some of the common physically visible signs of this condition.
- Adding extra words or sounds like 'um' into a sentence, especially if you find it difficult to move on to the next word.
- Repetition of certain words, phrases, or sounds.
- Constant anxiety and frustration about talking. One might even refuse to speak or keep their communication limited.
- Excess tension in the voice and tightness in the upper body while trying to produce certain words.
- Prolonging words or sounds.
Risk Factors
Some factors may increase your risk of having this fluency disorder. These are as follows:
- Stress: Most of us stutter at some point or the other in our life. Any type of pressure or being extremely aware of your surroundings might worsen your fluency.
- Genes: Many reports and studies suggest that this disorder runs in families. Having a relative who stutters may increase your chance of developing this condition.
- Delayed Childhood Development: Children who have cognitive developmental delays are more likely to stutter. They are slow at imitating gestures and words, resulting in delayed development of language ability.
How to Deal With Your Symptoms
The following might help you to cope with your symptoms better:
- Relaxed environment: A stressful situation can only worsen your condition. Avoid being in an environment that makes you conscious and anxious about your communicative skills. Surrounding yourself with people who listen patiently can also help you get comfortable. This also allows you to communicate without hesitation.
- Therapy: Therapies focus on helping you learn ways that can reduce stammering. The focus is on regulating breathing and speaking speed to ensure a more controlled speech. A gradual progression from single-syllable responses to longer and more complex responses is part of the therapy process. Therapy might also focus on addressing the anxiety in case it is making it hard for you to establish any fluency in speech.
- Electronic devices: Some people who suffer from fluency disorder use devices to help them improve their flow. These devices act as a hearing aid, replaying a slightly different version of the wearer's voice. It gives the wearer an impression that they are speaking in unison with the other person. Whether these devices have long-term benefits or not is still a debate. But these can help you with improved fluency in the short run.
Get Treatment From a Licensed Therapist Who’s Right For You
Being anxious about your speaking ability may develop long-term communication problems. This can also cause a lack of participation in school and office. All this can have serious consequences on your social life. A speech-language pathologist can provide a detailed analysis and evaluation of your verbal behaviour. In the case of children, the specialist will also try to determine if the child will outgrow his disorder or not.
There are no approved medicines for treatment. Hence, it becomes extremely important to consult a licensed health care professional. They will consider your communication goals, age, and other factors before providing you with a treatment plan. Treatment can help you overcome anxiety and tackle the low self-esteem that comes along with this disorder.
Schedule a Virtual Psychotherapy Appointment with a Counsellor Today
If you feel you or your child has the symptoms mentioned above, you can book an appointment with DocVita. Our counsellors will be able to help you get answers to your questions and provide you with a more detailed analysis of your condition.
They will determine the best treatment option for you and ease you in your process toward fluency. Reach out to us and embark on your journey toward a more communicative social life.