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        general >> psychology >> Stuttering 
        
(Message started by: Mugwump101 on Aug 8^th, 2006, 2:28pm)

Title: Stuttering
Post by Mugwump101 on Aug 8^th, 2006, 2:28pm

I have a friend who stutters, and I'm wondering how I can help her control her voice since she's really shy in class and she won't even participate (even though she knows the answer!). Does it have do with the Brain, is it psychological paralysis in the speech area of the brain or...? What are the origins and are there treatments?

Title: Re: Stuttering
Post by towr on Aug 8^th, 2006, 2:34pm

There are treatments for it, but I don't know any.. The only thing I can recall is that stutterers dont' stutter when singing, but I'd hardly recommend singing your answers in class :P

Title: Re: Stuttering
Post by Icarus on Aug 8^th, 2006, 3:06pm

Stuttering can result from more than one cause, but it is usually treatable by speech therapy. It most commonly occurs during adolescence, and usually in males, though your friend is an exception there. Most people stop stuttering naturally by their early adult years (though they have occasional slip-ups). However severe stutterers usually need training to overcome it.

I would hazard a guess that it is most commonly a by-product of brain development. Adolescents go though a period of significant changes in their brains, but one of the last to occur is the growth of neural sheathing that helps to prevent stray signals (I probably don't have that quite right, but it what I remember hearing). As a result of the lack of this sheathing, they are susceptible to a number of conditions that might considered "neural misfires", such as stuttering.

I would strongly encourage your friend to see a speech therapist. It may help her to know that many people known for their eloquent speech today were once severe stutterers, and in fact, their current eloquence is a direct result of the voice training they went through to conquer it. One well-known example is the actor James Earl Jones, whose extraordinary voice has won him numerous narration and voice acting roles (including Darth Vader) in addition to full parts. As a teenager, he was almost completely unable to speak a full sentence (if my recollection is correct).

(And I too used to stutter, though not severely.)