According to statistics, about 5% of the population of our planet suffers from stuttering. Most often, difficulties with pronouncing words arise very early, between the ages of 2 and 7 years. This problem usually disappears with age, but there are adults in the world who cannot get rid of it. Scientists have long been trying to figure out the cause of stuttering, but still cannot give an exact answer. But there are assumptions - most likely, the reason lies in the incorrect functioning of some areas of the brain. There are ways to get rid of stuttering, and there are a lot of them. In this article, I propose to find out what interesting things scientists can tell about this unusual phenomenon and what is the likelihood that someday all people will begin to speak as clearly as possible and become happier?
Stuttering in adults can make life very difficult
What are the different forms of stuttering?
People have stuttered since time immemorial. Historical documents say that pharaohs, kings, poets, philosophers and many other famous people had difficulty pronouncing words. Isaac Newton, Winston Churchill, Lewis Carroll and even the king of rock and roll, Elvis Presley, were stutterers. But for many of them, this illness went away - stuttering was mainly observed in childhood. There is even mention of stuttering in Aztec hieroglyphs. They believed that children stuttered due to too much breastfeeding. Treatment consisted of weaning off milk and getting used to regular food.
Many famous people have stuttered. In the photo - Elvis Presley
Stuttering can be divided into two types:
- tonic, when during pronunciation a person simply stretches out some sounds;
- clonic, when a person repeats individual sounds and words.
Stuttering can also be neurosis-like and neurotic. In the first case, people stutter anyway and make involuntary movements. In the second case, there are no oddities in the movement and people stutter only when talking with strangers. However, all stutterers can sometimes experience unnatural grimaces when they try to overcome their stuttering.
The child began to stutter at 3 years old
The most common phrase we hear during consultations is: “ The child has started
stutter at 3 years old” And this is indeed true. At 3 years old, a child’s speech is actively developing, and any negative factors can disrupt its formation. Stuttering can begin at 2 years, 2.5 years, 3 years, 3.5 years, 4 years, 5 years, 6 years, 7 years and older. And if the child is emotional, worries about everything, often worries, is weak, capricious, nervous, then the slightest factor can cause stuttering, and the child begins to stutter. With increasing mental stress, for example, going to school (first grade), the child stutters more and more. And the ridicule of classmates aggravates stuttering and leads to the development of such a serious disease as childhood neurosis. The child withdraws, stops responding in class, although he knows the educational material perfectly, and gets bad marks.
Causes of stuttering in children and adults
It is believed that speech defects often occur with severe fear in childhood. Even adults, under the influence of severe fear, can begin to have difficulty pronouncing words. There is even a list of factors that can cause stuttering:
- the presence of conflict situations in the family that traumatize the child’s psyche;
- the presence of people around the child who already stutter;
- learning two or more languages too early;
- insufficient communication.
In 2021, researchers noticed that people who stutter have decreased blood flow to Broca's area. This is the name of the area of the cerebral cortex that is responsible for human speech abilities. And recently, American scientists found that astrocytes play an important role in the occurrence of stuttering in children. These are star-shaped brain cells that perform many tasks. For example, they support nerve cells, regulate the composition of intercellular fluid, and participate in the growth of nerve tissue and their protection from harmful substances.
Broca's area in the human brain
Improper functioning of the parts of the brain responsible for speech leads to spasms of the speech apparatus: tongue, lips, palate, and so on. Sometimes respiratory spasms occur, during which a person feels as if he does not have enough air.
Due to the spasms that arise, the person seems to hiccup . That is why this speech defect is called hiccups .
Unfavorable conditions conducive to the development of logoneurosis in children
Let's figure out why stuttering occurs in boys and girls, what causes the problem, and what causes its development.
Unfavorable conditions that increase the likelihood of stuttering include the following:
- Rapid development of speech functions at 3-4 years of age due to constant communication with older relatives.
A child may have a problem with speech iteration (repetition of words, sounds), dictated by physiological reasons. - Specific properties of the child’s psyche that naturally change with age.
The process of formation of the left and right hemispheres ends at the age of five, during the same period the distribution of mental functions between the hemispheres comes to an end.Speech, as the highest mental function, matures the slowest and is characterized by increased sensitivity. Moreover, in males the process is even slower, which leads to instability of their central nervous system.
- Physical weakness of the child.
- Poorly developed motor functions, articulatory movements, disturbances in the perception of rhythm,
- psychological constraint, which manifests itself in an extremely acute reaction to any irritant. The reason is conflictual relationships with the environment, the inability to understand and accept the requirements of the environment.
- Lack of positive, child-pleasing communication with adults. The consequence is emotional stress, leading to psychogenic stuttering.
The appearance of a strong irritant, if the child is in the high-risk category due to unfavorable conditions, will provoke a nervous disorder and speech defect.
Treatment for stuttering
There are a lot of methods for treating stuttering, but none of them can give 100% results. And all because scientists are still not entirely clear why this speech defect disappears with age. A separate mystery is why some adults still have this problem? The method of treatment depends on each specific situation. If stuttering occurs as a result of severe fright, the person is recommended to undergo a course of psychotherapy. Sometimes exercises recommended by a speech therapist help with stuttering.
Children will need a psychotherapist in any case, because stuttering often becomes a cause of bullying from peers
Interesting fact: Russian psychiatrist Ivan Sikorsky, in his work “On Stuttering,” recommended that people with speech impediments speak slowly, in a low voice and in a monotonous tone. In this way, in his opinion, stuttering can be reduced to a minimum.
Recently, scientists have found that hiccups can be helped by medications that speed up metabolism in certain areas of the brain. The effect was especially strong when affecting the so-called striatum of the brain, which is responsible for muscle function. But this is just the result of one of many studies, so this treatment method may have side effects.
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Treatment
Scientific research clearly demonstrates the possibility of overcoming speech disorders with an integrated approach to treatment. All aspects of the disease must be taken into account: social, biological, psychological. Courses of medications, classes with a speech therapist, and the participation of a neurologist and psychotherapist in working with the patient are included in correctional systems focused on healing.
Author's methods for stuttering correction
The authors of many methods that have good results are widely known.
- The method of sustainable speech normalization by L.Z. Harutyunyan includes methods for the formation of new speech motor skills, coordinated with the harmonious movements of the guiding hand. The method is successfully used in many clinics for adult patients with any severity of stuttering. There is evidence of the return of fluency of speech to patients with congenital organic abnormalities.
- The method of social rehabilitation by Yu. B. Nekrasova is successful in cases of logoneurosis and requires the participation of an experienced psychotherapist. Treatment is long-term, carried out in stages, designed for groups of patients. During classes and sessions, patients learn independent techniques to stabilize breathing and the nervous system. This knowledge and skills remain useful throughout life.
- The biofeedback (BFB) method is one of the most modern and involves the use of computer technology. Biofeedback is practiced for individual correction with the participation of a speech therapist. High-tech hardware systems are available in many foreign and Russian clinics. The equipment includes breathing simulators, brain activity and muscle contraction recorders. The doctor-instructor conducts the required number of sessions, allowing the patient to master effective techniques of self-regulation and self-control.
Sudden onset stuttering may be the first sign of a stroke. All symptoms and emergency care. In rare cases, brain injury can lead to stuttering. Detailed material about traumatic brain injuries here.
Why is a speech therapist so necessary for logoneurosis?
It is speech therapists who are able to assess the severity of stuttering, the condition of the speech apparatus and participate in the development of complex treatment for logoneurosis. Most often, children of school and preschool age attend classes with a speech therapist, but cases of observation by this specialist and the adult population are not excluded.
Speech development with a speech therapist is an effective but lengthy technique that includes:
- Formation of a “template” for speech motor skills. The speech therapist must teach the patient to correctly pronounce each letter, syllable, and word. This stage allows you to establish the timbre of the voice, its sonority, and correct the movements of the articulatory muscles;
- Consolidation of the material obtained in the first stage. Includes reading books aloud, making sentences and commenting on any events;
- Automation. Application of acquired skills in everyday life: communication with loved ones, relatives, friends. The more a person talks, the faster speech defects are corrected.
Little children learn to sing songs and read poetry with expression.
Types of stuttering
In medical practice, it is customary to divide all cases of stuttering in patients into 2 types. They differ in nature, which is very important for further treatment. If an adult or child has problems with normal pronunciation, it may be:
- Neurotic stuttering. It is manifested by disturbances in speech rhythm, repetitions of words, and hesitation when trying to express one’s opinion out loud. This disorder has a psychological cause of development, which is based on stressful situations, excitement and anxiety. Such people are completely healthy in other respects and in a more comfortable environment their speech defect is practically not detected or is expressed weakly. However, it intensifies when communicating with strangers, in public, or in a critical situation. Neurotic stuttering in adults and children can be episodic in nature, but can also take a persistent course. Severe fear, anger or panic can cause speech problems in anyone, but if they are present in life often, this leads to the appearance of constant stuttering. Treatment of logoneurosis, as this type of disorder is also called, is quite successful.
- Neurosis-like stuttering. It is based on neurological pathologies, and the development of the disease occurs in early childhood. The first symptoms of organic stuttering are diagnosed in children aged 3-4 years. Often these children either have congenital organ defects or suffer serious injuries. They lag behind their peers in development, refuse to talk for a long time, and get tired quickly. They remember words for a long time and pronounce them incorrectly, often cutting off speech at the very beginning. Treatment of stuttering associated with pathologies takes a long time.
When faced with a similar problem, you should understand that speech impairment due to nervousness completely disappears after the factor contributing to its development is eliminated. Speech disorders of a neurosis-like nature are more persistent and can bother a person for many years, remaining a serious problem for him already in adulthood. A correct diagnosis helps to successfully treat this disorder, regardless of its origin.
How speech is formed
The pathogenesis of stuttering has its own characteristics, since speech function is controlled by two brain centers - Wernicke and Broca. They are located in the temporal and frontal lobes, respectively.
The first is responsible for posing sentences and analyzing speech received from outside. In other words, it represents the auditory center of the brain. But Broca's area is responsible for voice production through a direct effect on the facial muscles that are responsible for speech production. With pathology, there is a partial loss of functions of one or another area of the brain, which leads to unequal speed of their work, and stuttering occurs. Normally, these brain centers act together, which has a positive effect on speech as a whole.
The severity of stuttering will depend on the nature and severity of damage to the above-mentioned Wernicke and Broca's areas.
Why does a person stutter? Causes of the disease
Experts call stuttering the movement of the laryngeal and articulatory muscular system of a convulsive nature. Most often, such convulsions bother the patient at the moments when a person just begins to speak, but sometimes this also happens in the middle of a spoken phrase. Convulsive movements of the laryngeal and articulatory muscles contribute to the fact that the person experiencing them cannot overcome the pronunciation of a certain sound or sounds.
Forms
Stuttering has two clinical forms:
1. Neurotic form of stuttering. Healthy children who have suffered from neurosis or stress due to circumstances most often suffer from this type of pathology. 2. A neurosis-like form of stuttering occurs and manifests itself in children suffering from hereditary or acquired neurological diseases.
Causes
The reasons contributing to the manifestation of the disease may be provoking or predisposing in nature:
- Factor of hereditary predisposition.
- Pathologies aggravated by encephalopathic complications.
- Injuries received during fetal development.
- Presence of birth injuries.
- Complications after infectious diseases.
- Exhausted, overworked state of the nervous system.
Mental trauma such as fright or a strong feeling of fear can cause provoking stuttering. Certain living conditions can also provoke the occurrence of this pathology. Children who live in families that use multiple languages when communicating often stutter.
Symptoms
One of the symptoms that indicates that a person has a stutter is breathing. • In the respiratory process of a patient suffering from stuttering, a large amount of air is clearly consumed at the time of inhalation and exhalation. This means that the patient uses the air he consumes to produce sounds. • Vocal characteristics can also serve as symptoms of stuttering. A person with a stutter cannot pronounce vowel sounds smoothly, so they come out sharp and short. To combat this symptom, many specialists use singing and whispering in their practice. This practice can restore the patient’s speech to normal. • The presence of somatic disorders in the articulatory apparatus (the presence of a curved nasal septum, a protruding tongue deflected to the side). • The patient's movements with which he accompanies speech at the moment of stuttering. The patient makes these movements consciously, although there is no particular need for them (clenching fists, stamping feet, lowering eyelids). • The presence of mental disorders is inevitable with a disease such as stuttering. Many patients experience a feeling of fear of sounds that they cannot pronounce. If the mental disorder has acquired an aggravated form, the patient may completely refuse to use speech and may develop muteness. It is known that stuttering can lead to certain complications. Most often, a patient who stutters avoids communication in which he needs to use speech. Such a patient tries to remain silent for the most part, avoids diverse communication, and at the same time experiences developmental deficits. The personality of such a patient acquires such characteristic features as suspiciousness and suspiciousness. Children most often suffer from stuttering. During the school period, this disease can contribute to the fact that the child is not able to fully assimilate educational material and is not ready for full communication with peers.
Diagnostics
In order to diagnose stuttering, a specialist only needs to hear the patient’s speech. Unsaid, interrupted words, attempts to re-pronounce words and sounds will help make a diagnosis that the patient has a stutter. If a neurological form of the disease is suspected, the doctor prescribes a hardware examination using magnetic resonance imaging, electroencephalography of the brain and rheoencephalography.
Treatment
Treatment methods for the disease depend on the form of its occurrence. The neurotic form is successfully treated when diagnosed early. The patient is recommended to have regular sessions with a speech therapist. If the patient has mental disorders, drug therapy is prescribed.
Prevention
To prevent this pathology, parents are recommended to strengthen and maintain the child’s health from birth and pay sufficient attention to the child’s speech development. Make sure that the child’s psyche is not subjected to unnecessary stress and stress, monitor the child’s sleep patterns, control the content and amount of information the child receives during each day.
Updated: 2019-07-10 01:02:47
Author: donata
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