International Stuttering Day | Listen to me slowly, and redefine the name of "stuttering"

Author: Zhou Yi, Associate Professor of Xi'an Medical College

Illustration: Hu Bingjie Xi'an Medical College

Reviewer: Xiao Xinli, Associate Professor, Xi'an Jiaotong University

Stuttering, commonly known as "stammering", is a disorder of speech fluency. The World Health Organization defines stuttering as a disorder of speech rhythm, that is, the stutterer cannot express what he wants to express clearly due to involuntary sound repetition, extension or interruption. In other words, when a stutterer speaks, he knows exactly what he wants to express, but cannot express the complete meaning fluently.

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Stuttering is considered by the medical community to be one of the strangest and most complex diseases in the world. Stuttering does not directly harm health, but the communication barriers and inferiority complex caused by stuttering will have a great negative impact on people's work and life. In 1997, in order to strengthen the world's attention to stuttering, the International Stuttering Association (ISA) designated October 22 of each year as "International Stuttering Day" and decided to hold a world conference for stutterers every three years. Let us walk into the world of "stutterers" and listen to me slowly...

1. Symptoms of stuttering

There are many categories of stuttering symptoms, which can be summarized into three main aspects: language, psychology and physiology.

1. Language expression

Speech rhythm disorders, repetition, interruption, blockage and lack of fluency of speech or words, and abnormal language expression.

2. Psychological condition

People who stutter are very sensitive to stuttering and have a fear of it. They are afraid of stuttering when speaking and try hard to prevent it. They are nervous, worried, and apprehensive. The harder they try to avoid stuttering, the more sensitive and intense they become to stuttering. Normal people sometimes stutter due to nervousness, but stutterers are nervous due to stuttering for a long time and have psychological manifestations that normal people can hardly experience. Severe cases may have emotions such as anxiety and fear. People who stutter continuously may have problems such as inferiority, withdrawn personality, anxiety, depression, etc., which cause great trouble to their life, study, work, and social life.

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3. Physiological response

The words are in the heart, but it is difficult to express them. The way of speaking is "urgent, heavy, and fast", and it is difficult to speak clearly even with great effort. There will be accompanied by tension in the limbs and/or facial muscles and abnormal movements, such as shortness of breath, chest tightness, blushing, stiff throat and tongue, high blood pressure, brain hypoxia and other abnormal behaviors. There may be movements accompanying speech, such as trembling mouth, blinking, stomping, slapping legs, waving, clearing throat, facial and head twitching, biting fingers, etc. The root cause of these symptoms is caused by psychological disorders.

Children are the main group of people who stutter. About 5% of children worldwide stutter, and 1% continue to stutter into adulthood. Stuttering can affect children's physical and mental health development. Therefore, prevention and correction training for children's stuttering is very important.

2. What should parents do if their children stutter?

1. Don’t be too anxious

Face up to stuttering and provide your child with a relaxed language environment and space for free development. Stuttering is not a terminal disease. Do not pass on negative emotions to your child, as this will easily lead to your child developing an inferiority complex and introverted personality.

2. Listen patiently and speak slowly

When talking to children, parents should slow down their speech, not be impatient, pause more often, and let the children speak slowly. Children often repeat themselves, talk incoherently, and parents should listen patiently and attentively without interrupting or correcting them.

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3. Reduce children’s psychological pressure

Don't over-correct your child's speech, and don't be too harsh when speaking. Don't scold, criticize, make fun of, or ask your child to say it again! Avoid asking your child too many questions at once, and don't say things like, "How come you can't even say such simple words?" or "You speak too slowly!", especially to sensitive children, because this will cause psychological pressure on the child and may increase the degree and duration of stuttering.

4. Increase children's confidence in speaking

Stuttering is closely related to psychological factors. We should encourage, praise and compliment children more to build their confidence when speaking and let them know that they can speak well. We should treat all stuttering children equally. A positive attitude of parents is more conducive to the improvement of children's stuttering.

There is no antidote for stuttering, but treatment can help. With scientific treatment and support, I believe that children’s stuttering will be significantly improved or overcome.

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3. Misconceptions about stuttering

1. Is stuttering imitated or learned?

No. Stuttering is not contagious and is not acquired through simple imitation. Stuttering is caused by a combination of factors, including genetics, speech development, environment, and abnormalities in brain structure and function.

2. Is stuttering caused by nervousness?

No. When a stutterer is nervous or under pressure, his stuttering will become more severe. Therefore, it is easy to misunderstand that stuttering is caused by nervousness. In fact, stuttering may cause the speaker to be nervous, and nervousness will aggravate stuttering, but it is not the main cause of stuttering. For ordinary people, stuttering when they are nervous is a manifestation of normal emotions.

3.Is stuttering a psychological disorder?

No. When stuttering, stutterers often have negative emotions and psychology such as shame, fear, anxiety, and depression. These are accompanied by stuttering, rather than stuttering being a psychological disorder. Clinical treatment for stuttering patients often includes psychological counseling to improve the negative emotions and negative attitudes caused by stuttering.

4.Are people who stutter not smart enough?

Wrong. Studies have shown that the intelligence of people who stutter is no different from that of ordinary people. People who stutter know exactly what they want to say, but they just can't say it fluently. Their intelligence and thinking speed are no different from those of ordinary people. There are many people who stutter who are outstanding in various fields.

5. Is stuttering caused by wrong parenting methods?

It is not the parents' fault that their children stutter, but the way parents deal with their children's stuttering plays an important role. Parents' positive attitude and approach can reduce children's stress and increase their self-confidence. Improper or wrong parenting methods will aggravate children's speech disorders and psychological burden, but they are not the cause of stuttering.

6.Can stuttering be cured?

There is currently no universal cure for stuttering. Clinical treatment is mainly speech therapy plus psychological counseling. For children who stutter for more than half a year, professional speech therapy and early intervention are recommended, with the focus of treatment being to improve speech fluency. In addition to focusing on speech fluency, older children, adolescents, and adults who stutter should also pay attention to their overall speech experience to minimize the impact of stuttering on their lives, studies, and work.

To give "stuttering" a proper name, let us eliminate some misunderstandings about people who stutter, show more understanding, more care and patience, listen to me, listen to him speak slowly... Let people who stutter integrate into mainstream society and help them recover better!