Stammering
Abstract
About 6% of the world’s population is affected by, stammering, one of the many a speech disorders. Stammering is also known as stuttering in some cases, although the two have limited similarities as this examination uncovers later. The introduction of this paper briskly provides an outline of stammering speech disorder. A discussion examining different perspectives of stammering and stuttering such as causes, risks, symptoms of the disorder follows. The neuropsychological perspectives of the disorder, including outcomes and medication are also discussed. Finally, it ends with a conclusion of the main points raised in the discussion.
Introduction
Stammering is a disorder that affects speech. There are some classifications speech disorders depending on the causes. Some are brought about by underprivileged speech infrastructure development during childhood, others are caused by Neurophysiologic factors and those caused by natural variables. All speech problems have similar characteristics. These include problems expressing desires, wrong intonations, repetition of syllables and wrong articulations happening because of damaged speech organs (Bogue, 2009, p.27).
Stuttering displayed through unnecessary rehashing of a syllable before uttering the following syllable. The pace may be faster or slower depending on the person. Stuttering is displayed differently depending on the severity of a case including effortless, advanced, mental or compound structures. Effortless Stuttering involves trouble speaking particularly in infants. Stuttering resulting from mental problems is classified as advanced. The mental stage Stuttering comes about because of mental problems. The compound stage involves a combination of both stuttering and stammering (Bogue, 2009, p. 28).
Stammering is the ineffectualness to express oneself or to form a sentence regardless of putting much effort to articulate the words. A person suffering from this disorder may know precisely what to say but still fail to utter anything. This is the difference between stammering and stuttering. Stammering presents itself in different stages. It begins with basic, convulsive, thought and lastly a stage that combines various problems. At the basic level, it’s hard to detect because it involves less muscle movements, which are short, lived. At the convulsive level, uncontrolled muscle and limb movements and unusual facial expressions confirms stammering. The inability for an individual to picture what is to be vocalized also results in stammering. It is also similar to thought Stuttering.
Stammering: physiological disorder
Vocal ropes are responsible for the creation of voice. They amplify or contract to shift the pitch of the tone produced. Other organs including the tongue, larynx, lungs, stomach and lips are involved in speech production process. In the event that any of these organs is not working properly, it could lead to speech defects. The brain regulates the functioning of speech organs, which in itself is a complex activity. In order to for speech to be produced, the brain has to send diverse messages to speech organs. An intrusion in brain activity steered towards speech production results in speech defect.
A study on individuals with flawed speech uncovered that defective speech organs caused about 0.003% of the cases. This implies that it could be wrong to infer that speech defects are initiated by physical deformities of relevant organs. The alternative explanation embraced by a large number of specialists is that absence of systemized coordination of the brain activity and speech organs is the main cause. Interruptions of neurotransmission of notes from the brain to speech organs have two impacts. To start with, speech organs may be excessively detached because of over relaxation of muscles due repletion of transmission of speech messages, a frequent symptom of stuttering. Besides, it may be a result of over withdrawal of vocal strings making them unable to produce sound. This results in stammering (Bogue, 2005, p.81).
Absence of coordination can result from trauma, injury, diseases, ailments or even hereditary. Impersonation of an individual who stammers by children can advance defective speech development. Some wounds in particular at the infancy stage can result in speech disorders such as Stuttering. Physical injuries do not directly cause speech defect, but rather the shock associated with the injury can result in Stuttering. Investigate findings demonstrate that kids whose guardians stammer can also be affected by the speech problem. Then again, the explanation for stammering has no connection to genes but the interaction of the child and the stammering parent interacting (Bogue, 2009, p. 35).
Who are affected by stammering?
Research shows that most cases of Stuttering and stammering starts at the age of 6 years. It also indicates that practically all stuttering improves before the age of 12 years. In this way, children are more inclined to develop the disorder than adults do. About 75% of children who stutter recuperate completely without medicine. About 1% of adolescents suffer Stuttering connected to their development. Grown-ups are less likely to suffer from stuttering disorder. Those related to a person suffering from stammering are at a higher risk of suffering from the disorder. Precedence occurs twice likely in makes than in females.
Consequences of stammering
An individual who suffers from stuttering or stammering for an extended period also suffers from memory lapse often. The individual may feel as if thoughts are departing the brain and attempts to remember them become unfruitful. Then again, these thoughts return suddenly. In the event that this happens several times, the individual may feel tired. Memory lapse can decrease the individual’s capability to reason and in some cases, the individual may contemplate suicide. . Most suicidal cases involve stutters and stammers. Some stutters prefer to conceal the problem by speaking less difficult statements when they talk.
Being able to find the words swiftly also becomes a big challenge. As a result, they end up straining nerves and thus revealing the condition. Individuals who stutter or stammer have problems with attention. They cannot stay fixated on one thing for a long time. Along these lines, they cannot pursue activities that require extended periods of focus such as business and advancing studies. In addition, they hardly complete demanding tasks because they lack the determination (Bogue, 2009, p.44-45).
Stuttering and stammering affects the physical well being of the sufferer. The individual exhausted and absent minded most of the time. Problems sleeping body weakness are also common problems resulting from anxiety and fear. Most sufferers generally live a pitiable life due to social scorns and lack of knowledge on their conditions. Extended stammering can lead to problems such as touchiness and edginess. Lack of focus and failure to concentrate on work resulting from stammering can make the victim feel worthless with very low self-esteem. Even if educated, the suffered may appear stupid because he or she cannot convey knowledge (Bogue, 2009, p. 59).
Emotional concept of stuttering and impact on behavior
Stuttering is mainly associated with anxiety and fear. Fear is a stimulus reaction launched in the central nervous system involving movement of the adrenaline hormone. Fear increases the rate of metabolism, fast flow of blood, heart rate, built respiratory rate and sweating. Stutters and stammers ought to know that they can conquer fear. Emotions play a big role in improving remembrances. Most behaviors of stutters and stammers are connected to their emotions. Although emotions cannot be prevented, they can be managed to reduce the impact.
Impacts of emotional pressure on development of stuttering
In some cases, parents may force kids to talk thus causing the child to stutter. Parents should allow children to learn how to pronounce words naturally mandating the child to proclaim some expressions or syllables that are not within the kid’s capability can create strain on the speech muscles. This can result in tension and fidgeting. Pressure to perform well in class can also cause anxiety and tension. Parents expect a lot and this causes the child to feel pressured. At that state, the child can easily lose track on developing speech and instead begin to stammer (Tanner 261).
Neuropsychology of speech, theory and practice
Countless studies provide proof connecting neurological dysfunctions to speech disorders. Particularly, the sub-cortical structures involved in transmitting speech have been embroiled. Physical trauma affecting the CNS may additionally result in speech disorders. Latest CNS studies over argue that stutters have a frail left hemispherical control of speech. Consequently, the activities of the speech control organs are affected by actions of different stronger regions. To support this, it’s argued that stutters are weak in some areas for example engine control. Studies have tried to substantiate that stuttering is not so much a result of dysfunctional speech organs. They argue that the speech organs play a big role. Disruptions in the auditory systems have been found to influence speech formation. These studies have demonstrated that stuttering is associated to activities of the right side of the brain. Some advocates of these findings clarify that stuttering results in poor coordination between sound-related and physical actions (Ward, 2006, p.26).
In 1960s, an academic work done on stutters by infusing anesthesia into their carotid arteries disclosed that all of them encountered aphasia in spite of the part of the brain already affected by the anesthesia. Upon surgery and removal of tumors, the subjects quit stuttering. This largely served as a confirmation backing the theory that stuttering consequences from situations in the reciprocal framework that influence speech production.
Different methods of intervention
Different routines of speech disorder treatments address different symptoms. For example, different treatments have been made to treat anxiety in individuals who stammer with a hope that the stammering will vanish. The patient in this case was given numerous solutions targeting the nerve system. The method however bore no fruit. An additional technique was surgery performed on different speech organs such as the tongue. In other cases, notching was done on the tongue. These undertakings likewise did not bear any fruit. A different method dependent on breath control was employed in a bid to cure stammering. Although breath control is critical in speech production, it proved ineffective.
The proposed treatment methods failed because they were not dependent principles of speech. Stuttering and stammering are violating these principles. In this way, before treatment is administered, it is important to examine thoroughly the violated principles. A viable technique should deal with the causes of stammering concurrently in order to get the desired results. In short, the medications ought to target the mental and the physical perspectives of the disorder in order to equalize the two to find the best cure (Bogue, 2009, p. 74-76).
Bogue Unit method
In this strategy, the patient is diagnosed in order to determine the stage of the problem. Thorough tests on the physical and mental state of the patient are needed. It might take several tests to figure out exactly what caused the disorder. This qualified data encourages the therapist determine the best treatment. The first stage involves getting rid of ineffective speech production methods. The guidelines embraced in this system are all dependent upon principles of speech. The First treatment aims at restoring patients well being. This includes guaranteeing that the organs of speech are in good condition. The second treatment aims at adjusting the mental roles of the patient. The mental wellbeing is important because it determines how well the brain coordinates speech organs therefore influencing the result. The third stage is to build the best possible balance between physical and the mental circles of the patient since the two should work as one amicably in order to attain normalcy (Bogue, 2009, p. 78-79).
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
This method is employed in an attempt to cure emotional disorders by reducing the feelings that cause anxiety. Anxiety can worsen shuttering problem and hence the reason why CBT should be administered. Various studies have shown that the central nervous system not only controls speech production and transmission but also manages anxiety. Usually, a stutter worries about how people will react to his problem thus, aggravating the problem. In this technique therefore, therapist teaches the stutter how to manage anxiety. To do this the therapist guides the patient in realizing that such thoughts are imaginable and negligible. The therapist then assists the patient form sensible thoughts to replace the imaginary ones likely to cause anxiety. Since a significant number of people scorn stammers and stutters, it is feared that anxiety would cause the problem to reoccur. In order to address this, the therapist instructs the patient on how to handle rejection and dismiss ridiculous remarks speech. The motive behind this is to give them the power to control their perception of things around them. This method however can help the patient learn to live with the condition rather than concentrate on finding a cure (Yakar, 2010, p.25)
Medical treatment for stammering
Medicine is the least popular form of treatment for speech disorders. On the other hand, its association with overproduction of a component known as dopamine in the mind structures the support for utilizing antipsychotic pills for example olanzapine, ziprasidone, risperidone and haloperidol. The proposed drugs stop domain receptors and alleviate anxiety and other emotional symptoms. In any case, the proposed medications just target the symptoms instead of the causes and hence lack the capacity to cure the disorder. They are also known to cause adverse reactions (Ward, 2006, p.41).
Summary
Stammering is a speech problem described by physically apparent, disarranged signs of attempting to talk. Possibly stuttering is a speech problem in which the word spoken is rehashed or that some of the syllables are rehashed. Unlike stuttering, stammering produces no sound. Both disorders present themselves in stages ranging from acute to complex. There are many causes to speech disorders including mimicry, hereditary, injuries and illnesses such as cerebral palsy. The emotional state of a person for instance anger and anxiety can aggravate stammering and stuttering
Stammering and stuttering has a number of consequences. The most common are memory lapse and attention problems. An individual experiencing stuttering often finds it difficult to start and finish jobs that involve a lot of planning and thinking. Physical consequences on the other hand include loss of appetite, weariness, sleeping problems and nervousness. Some areas of the brain connected to stammering include the parietal, cortical and occipital ranges.
The treatment used in treating stuttering and stammering involves psychotherapy. Treatment of stammering and stuttering takes the form of psychotherapy. Different techniques have been used before revolved around alleviating symptoms rather than the causes. Breath control was inadequate before it centered on a single aspect of the disorder. The Bogue Unit strategy, which centers on balancing physical and mental perspectives, has proved to be more viable in treating stuttering and stammering. Cognitive behavioral therapy has also proven quite helpful. It works by assisting the patient change his or her thoughts in order to reduce the production of negative emotions. By so doing the patient will learn to live with the condition. Therapeutic medicine involves use of antipsychotic drugs to reduce the gravity of symptoms such as anxiety.
Conclusion
Speech disorder is a common problem affecting anyone regardless of age or race. Studies have been carried on different angles of stammering and stuttering. Therefore, generous amounts of substantial information concerning causes, treatment and impacts of speech disorders have been collected. Yet still, the accurate explanations for speech problems particularly neurophysiologic are not known. Possibly further research on this area could advancement in finding the ultimate treatment for these disorders.
References
Bogue, N. (2009). Stammering its cause and cure. Speech therapy information and resources
Ward, D. (2006). Stuttering and cluttering: frameworks for understanding and treatment. London, UK: Routledge