Many people deal with stuttering, but a local speech therapist said overcoming stuttering can happen with time and practice.
Mallory Brock is a Speech Pathologist at Cookeville Regional Medical Center. Brock said several millions of people nationwide struggle with stuttering. Brock said speech pathology is the exact cause of stuttering is unknown, but research shows gender, family history, and traumatic experiences could contribute to a stutter. Brock said speech therapy goes beyond speaking.
“That’s kind of one of the biggest things we focus on in therapy,” Brock said. “It’s not just the strategies to help [stutterers] be more fluent in their speech, but to really address the emotions that play a part in it. That’s incredibly important.”
Brock said stutterers may deal with bullying or confidence issues. Brock said stutters are most common in three to four year old boys, but there are few other trends among stutterers.
Brock said speech therapists try to smooth out a stutter rather than eliminate it altogether by practicing slower speech. Brock said another strategy, known as “light contact” helps speakers glide into saying a word rather than putting emphasis on a single letter or syllable.
“One thing that is really big with stuttering is tension,” Brock said. “So if we can help alleviate the tension in the throat and their articulaters, the teeth and the tongue, that can really help with their fluency.”
Brock said strategies are applied on a case-by-case basis, since people can have different kinds of stutters.
Brock said it is important to view a stutter as a lack of intelligence.
“They may not even be nervous when they’re speaking,” Brock said. “And just to give people time. That’s a big thing. If you have anybody in your family or know anybody that stutters is don’t finish their words for them. They’re intelligent. They know what they want to say, just give them the time and be patient with them.”
