How to get rid of stuttering in adults. Stuttering in adults - causes

Stuttering- a speech disorder characterized by frequent repetition of sounds, syllables and words or their prolongation. There is also frequent stopping and hesitation in speech, disrupting its rhythmic and smooth flow.

A synonym for stuttering is logoneurosis (obsessive fear of communication).

Statistics

Logonorosis affects children more often than adults. Moreover, the prevalence of stuttering among children varies from 0.75 to 7.5%. These numbers are greatly influenced by place and living conditions, as well as age.

It is noteworthy that boys are three to four times more likely to stutter than girls.

Also, pupils of orphanages are more susceptible to stuttering than children attending regular kindergartens and schools. In this case, early separation from parents plays a big role, so the child’s psyche is traumatized (the child gets stressed).

Whereas in rural areas, stuttering among children is much less common, which is associated with a calm environment.

Stuttering in most children goes away as they grow older, so only 1-3% of the adult population suffers from it.

It is noteworthy that the incidence of logoneurosis in siblings is 18%. That is, there is a hereditary predisposition to the disease. Mentions of stuttering have reached us since ancient times. It turns out that some Egyptian pharaohs, the Persian king Bath, the prophet Moses (judging by the description, he had a speech impediment similar to a stutter), the philosopher and orator Demosthenes, the Roman poet Virgil, Cicero and other prominent figures of ancient times, stuttered.

Stuttering is also mentioned in the writings of Hippocrates: he believed that the cause of stuttering is the accumulation of moisture in the brain. Whereas Aristotle (the founder of scientific philosophy) believed that logoneurosis occurs due to improper shaking of the articulatory apparatus.

However, the true causes of the development of logoneurosis remained unexplored until the beginning of the nineteenth century. Therefore, to treat stuttering, both folk methods were used (spells, ointments, wearing amulets and others), and truly barbaric methods: cutting the frenulum of the tongue or removing part of its muscles (the proposal of the German surgeon Johann Friedrich Dieffenbach). And such cruel methods of treatment still helped some patients.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, American and French scientists developed therapeutic exercises that helped get rid of stuttering. But it did not give immediate results, so it was not successful.

However, the greatest contribution to the study of stuttering was made by Russian scientists - psychiatrist I. A. Sikorsky (who was the first to systematize all knowledge about stuttering) and physiologist I. P. Pavlov. Thanks to their work, the reasons for the development of stuttering became clear. Also at the beginning of the twentieth century, special techniques were developed to help get rid of stuttering and other speech disorders. In addition, a new direction in medicine was founded - “Speech therapy” (the science of speech disorders). And all this is the merit of Russian scientists.

However, much still remains unknown. For example, there is no explanation for the fact that most patients with logoneurosis do not stutter when they speak by themselves, while singing or speaking in chorus.

Celebrities who have stuttered

An interesting case happened with Bruce Ulysses: he developed a stutter in high school after his parents divorced. However, while participating in theater group productions, he noticed that he stopped stuttering on stage. It was this fact that spurred him to intensive studies in the theater club and determined his further choice of profession.

Famous personalities also suffered from stuttering but overcame their illness: Winston Churchill (became a great orator and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature), King George VI, Sir Isaac Newton, Elvis Presley, Samuel L. Jackson, Marilyn Monroe, Gerard Depardieu, Anthony Hopkins and others.

Anatomy and physiology of speech

The speech apparatus includes central and peripheral sections.

Central department

Frontal gyri The cerebral cortex is responsible for the work of the muscles and ligaments involved in the formation of oral speech (sounds, syllables, words) - Broca's center (motor center). During the first year of a child's life, it gradually activates.
Temporal gyri responsible for the perception of their own speech and the speech of others - Wernicke's auditory center.
Parietal lobe The cerebral cortex provides understanding of speech.
Occipital lobe The cerebral cortex (visual area) is responsible for the acquisition of written speech.
Subcortical nodes(nuclei of gray matter located under the cerebral hemispheres) are responsible for the rhythm and expressiveness of speech.
Pathways(groups of nerve fibers) connect various parts of the brain and spinal cord.
Cranial nerves depart from the brain stem (located at the inner base of the skull) and innervate the muscles of the speech apparatus, neck, heart, and respiratory organs.

On a note!

Right-handers have a more developed left hemisphere, while left-handers have a more developed right hemisphere.

Peripheral department

Respiratory section(serves to supply air) includes the trachea, chest along with the bronchi and lungs. Speech is formed during exhalation, so it becomes longer than inhalation in a ratio of 1:20 or 1:30.
Voice department(serves to form the voice) consists of the larynx and vocal cords.
Articulation department(forms characteristic speech sounds) consists of the tongue, lips, upper and lower jaws, hard and soft palates, teeth and their alveoli (the dental socket in which the tooth is located).

* Language– the most mobile organ of articulation. Its muscles make it possible to change shape, degree of tension and position. It is involved in the formation of all vowels and almost all consonants.

To the bottom of the oral cavity, from the middle of the lower surface of the tongue, a fold of the mucous membrane extends - the frenulum, which limits the movements of the tongue.

* Hard and soft palate, making various movements, modify the shape of the oral cavity, form slits and closures. Thus, they contribute to the formation of sounds.

The coordinated work of the peripheral and central speech apparatus forms a speech circle.

Mechanism of speech formation

In the motor speech department of the brain (Broca's center), an impulse (signal) arises, which travels through the cranial nerves to the peripheral speech departments (respiratory, vocal, articulatory).

The respiratory section is the first to move: a stream of exhaled air breaks through the closed vocal cords, so they begin to vibrate. This is how the voice is formed. Its pitch, strength and timbre depend on the frequency of vibration of the vocal cords.

The resulting sounds are converted in speech resonators: the mouth, nose and pharynx. Due to their structure, resonators can change in shape and volume, giving timbre, volume and clarity to speech sounds.

Then, according to the principle of feedback, the resulting sounds and words, with the help of hearing, as well as sensations, go from the peripheral speech organs to the associative department (Wernicke’s auditory center, parietal lobe of the cerebral cortex), where they are analyzed.

Thus, a speech circle is formed: impulses go from the center to the periphery → from the periphery to the center → from the center to the periphery - and so on around the ring.

And if an error occurs somewhere, then the central speech departments are informed at what position in the peripheral speech organ the error occurred. A signal is then sent from the central region to the peripheral speech organs, which accurately produces the correct pronunciation. This mechanism operates until the work of the speech organs and auditory control are coordinated (speech synchronization occurs).

Mechanism of development of stuttering

A complex and not fully established process.

It is believed that under the influence of causes or provoking factors, Broca's center is overexcited, and its tone increases. Therefore, the speed of his work increases, and the speech circle opens.

Next, overexcitation is transferred to areas of the cerebral cortex that are located nearby and are responsible for motor activity. This leads to muscle spasms occurring in the peripheral part of speech (tongue, lips, soft palate and others). Then Broca's center relaxes again, closing the speech circle.

That is, a person begins to stutter due to a sudden disruption of the coordinated functioning of the speech organs when pronouncing sounds, which is caused by a spasm that occurs in one of the parts of the speech apparatus (tongue, palate, and others).

It is noteworthy that both muscle spasms involved in the formation of sounds and breathing muscles can occur. As a result, not only stuttering develops, but also breathing is impaired (a feeling of lack of air appears).

Stuttering mainly occurs on consonants, and less frequently on vowels. Moreover, hesitations most often occur at the beginning or middle of speech.

New theory in the development of stuttering

Professor Gerald Maguire from the University of California conducted research and found that people who stutter have increased levels of dopamine (a neurotransmitter that controls brain function). And if this theory is confirmed, then perhaps drugs that lower dopamine levels will soon appear. That is, you take a pill and you can go on stage to speak.

Causes of stuttering

Remains a subject of debate. But the opinions of scientists agree that a combination of several factors plays a role in the occurrence of stuttering: heredity, the state of the nervous system, features of speech development, and so on.

However, even the presence of reasons does not always lead to the development of stuttering; they are only triggers. Whether stuttering will develop depends on the initial state of the central nervous system and the tone of Broca's motor speech center.

Stuttering in children

Most common. In general, the peak onset of the disease occurs in preschool age. The fact is that a child is born with underdeveloped cerebral hemispheres and cerebral cortex. Only by the age of five are they fully formed.

Also, in young children, excitation processes predominate over inhibition processes. Therefore, excitation is easily transferred from sensory fibers to motor fibers. As a result, reactions in the form of a “short circuit” sometimes develop.

In addition, the movements of the organs of articulation (tongue, lips and others) in babies are weak and insufficiently elastic, and their work is poorly coordinated.

Hearing plays a leading role in the formation of speech, beginning to function from the first hours of a newborn’s life. However, children do not realize the difference between the sounds, syllables and words of those around them. Therefore, they understand speech poorly, mixing one sound with another.

In addition, between the ages of 2 and 4 years, the child develops intensively and actively develops sound pronunciation and speech in general. However, at this age the speech function is not yet sufficiently formed. Therefore, the load on the nervous system increases, and its functioning may fail.

It is these factors that explain the instability of the child’s speech and the high probability of developing speech disorders.

Risk factors for stuttering in children

They only create the preconditions for the formation of stuttering.

Emotionally labile nervous system

Babies are whiny, they have increased irritability, restless sleep and poor appetite, they are attached to their mother.

A sharp change in environment can provoke the development of stuttering in children: starting to attend kindergarten, moving, a long absence from their mother, and so on.

Earlier start of speech

At one year old, children have a large vocabulary (normally, a baby pronounces only 3-5 words correctly). Subsequently, such children quickly increase their vocabulary: at 1.5-1.8 they already speak in expanded phrases or whole sentences.

In this case, the baby loses his breath while pronouncing a long phrase. After all, he wants to tell everything at once. However, his tongue and lungs cannot yet cope with such a volume of speech.

Late onset of speech

These children appear to have their first correctly pronounced words only at two years of age, and detailed phrases - no earlier than three years. Stuttering is caused by motor disinhibition of the nervous system. Therefore, babies often speak slurredly and pronounce sounds poorly.

One of the family members stutters

The child imitates his parents, brothers or sisters.

Insufficient emotional contact of the child with others

Children do not receive enough affection and warmth. Adults do not listen to the baby, being busy with their own affairs. As a result, the baby feels unnecessary, so he may start to stutter so that his family will pay attention to him.

Overly strict attitude of adults towards children

Dads often “sin” with this. Life is strictly on schedule: getting up, going to sleep, the barracks system of punishment, and so on. As a result, the baby grows up fearful and repressed, and is also afraid to make an independent decision so as not to anger a strict parent.

Features of speech development

At the age of 2 to 6 years, children often repeat or stretch out words and syllables, and sometimes insert extra sounds that carry neither semantic nor emotional meaning (“well,” “a,” “here,” and so on) As a result, this habit is consolidated, creating the preconditions for the development of stuttering.

Physical condition of the child

Frequent colds, the development of allergic reactions, and the presence of congenital pathologies push the baby to the realization that he is “not like everyone else.” Because there are often restrictions. After all, my mother constantly tells me: “Don’t eat orange/chocolate, because the rash will appear again,” “You can’t play in the yard, you’ll catch a cold,” and so on. As a result, the child withdraws into himself.

In addition, frequent visits to medical institutions lead to the development of “fear of the white coat.”

Mastering two or more languages simultaneously

Especially if the parents speak different languages at home. In this case, the coordinated work of speech motor centers is disrupted. Because the baby is not yet fluent in his native language.

Excessive demands on the child

Sometimes parents want to demonstrate the extraordinary abilities of their child to all their acquaintances and friends. Therefore, they are forced to memorize complex poems and recite them at a birthday party or other family celebration. Whereas in the baby, the corresponding areas of the brain have not yet matured, and the muscles of the articulatory apparatus are not ready for such a load.

Gender

Boys are more likely to develop stuttering than girls. Since girls develop motor functions in a shorter time: they begin to walk and talk earlier, and their motor skills (movement) of their fingers are better developed. Apparently, this is why girls’ nervous systems are more resistant to various factors that provoke the development of stuttering.

Left-handedness

The harmonious interaction between the symmetrical structures of the brain of the right and left hemispheres is weakened. Therefore, the child’s nervous system becomes more vulnerable, which is reflected in the development of speech. Moreover, the risk of developing stuttering increases if they tried to retrain a left-handed child to use his right hand using crude methods.

Probably, the weakness of some brain structures that are involved in the formation of speech is inherited.

Causes of stuttering in children

There are several groups, but the reasons can often be combined.

Condition of the central nervous system

Children who have suffered diseases that affect the nervous system are prone to developing stuttering: intrauterine hypoxia, trauma during childbirth, traumatic brain injury, infectious processes (caused by viruses, protozoa, bacteria, fungi) and other pathologies.

After illnesses, there are residual effects that lead to structural changes in the brain (organic damage). As a result, insufficiency of the motor parts of the brain (for example, Broca's center) develops to varying degrees of severity. Therefore, the transmission of nerve impulses to the muscles from the central parts of speech is disrupted. While smooth speech requires coordinated work and maturity of the central nervous system.

Such children are emotionally labile, impressionable, they have an increased level of anxiety, they do not adapt well to new conditions (for example, starting to attend kindergarten), they are timid, worried, and so on.

Past mental trauma

Under the influence of stress, the coordinated redistribution of muscle tone involved in speech production is disrupted. That is, the muscles contract and relax inconsistently. Therefore, convulsive repetitions of sounds, syllables and words occur.

Moreover, stress can be chronic or acute (fright, constant fear, death of a loved one, family troubles, etc.), and the strength of its impact does not matter.

Stuttering in adults

It occurs infrequently - and, as a rule, begins in childhood. However, logoneurosis often appears in adults, causing the development of considerable problems: they withdraw into themselves, become timid and indecisive, avoid communicating with people, are afraid of public speaking, and so on.

Risk factors for stuttering in adults

Male

Men are more likely to develop stuttering than women. Professor I.P. Sikorsky explains this by the fact that in women the left hemisphere, in which Broca’s motor center is located, is much better developed than in men.

Hereditary predisposition

There is a congenital weakness of the central parts of speech, therefore, when exposed to unfavorable factors (for example, stress), their work is disrupted.

Causes of stuttering in adults

Stressful situations

The severe loss of a loved one, a traffic accident that happened before our eyes, military operations, an earthquake, disasters, and so on.

Under the influence of stress, the coordination of the muscles responsible for producing sound is disrupted: they contract and relax inconsistently. As a result, muscle cramps develop. That is, there is a relationship with the emotional state of a person.

Diseases of the central nervous system

Traumatic brain injuries, previous neuroinfections (viral, bacterial, fungal, affecting the nervous system), encephalitis, meningitis and others. Because the transmission of nerve impulses from the brain along the nerve pathways to the muscles responsible for speech formation is disrupted.

In adults, a major role in the occurrence of stuttering is played by previous strokes or the presence of brain tumors (benign, malignant), if the central parts of speech are affected. Because there is a mechanical obstacle to the transmission of nerve impulses.

Moreover, in these cases there is no relationship between stuttering and emotional stress. That is, a person stutters at rest, alone with himself, when singing and talking in chorus.

Types of stuttering

They are divided according to the form of seizures, clinical manifestations and course of the disease.

Types of stuttering according to the form of seizures

Clonic stuttering- when several short-term convulsions following each other lead to involuntary repetition of individual syllables and sounds.
Tonic stuttering- if the muscles contract for a long time and strongly. As a result, speech delay occurs.
Mixed form develops when both types of speech impairment are combined.

In addition, sometimes violent and involuntary movements (convulsions) of the muscles of the face and/or limbs join the spasms of the muscles of the tongue, lips and soft palate.

Types of stuttering along the way

Constant - stuttering, having arisen, is constantly present in all situations and forms of speech.
Wavy - stuttering does not disappear completely: it appears and then disappears.
Recurrent (recurrent) - a speech defect, having disappeared, appears again. Sometimes after quite long periods of speech without hesitation.

Types of stuttering according to clinical forms

There are two forms of logoneurosis: neurotic and neurosis-like. The separation is based on different causes and development mechanisms.

Neurotic form

The patients have no data on their history of intrauterine hypoxia or birth trauma.

The impetus for the development of stuttering is mental trauma (acute or chronic stress) or the early active introduction of a second language of communication (at 1.5-2.5 years). That is, the disease is functional in nature, and the brain structures are not affected. Therefore, this form of stuttering is more treatable.

Characteristics of children prone to developing a neurotic form of stuttering

Initially, such children are timid, impressionable, anxious, touchy, irritable, whiny, afraid of the dark, do not stay in the room without adults, have difficulty getting used to a new environment, and sleep poorly. Their mood also changes quickly, and more often in a downward direction.

Mental, physical and motor development in children corresponds to their age. However, the development of speech occurs somewhat earlier in them: the first words appear by 10 months of life, phrasal speech by 16-18 months. 2-3 months after the start of phrasal speech, children are already constructing complex sentences and speech structures.

The pace of speech is accelerated: children “choke”, do not finish words, miss prepositions and words. In addition, speech is sometimes slurred.

Symptoms

In children The disease occurs suddenly, usually between the ages of 2 and 6 years.

Immediately after mental trauma, which becomes the “last straw,” the child stops speaking for some time (mutism). At the same time, an expression of fear is “written” on his face. Then, when the child begins to speak again, he already stutters. The baby becomes irritable and whiny, sleeps poorly, and is afraid to talk.

When a second language is introduced, the child experiences mental stress as the load on the speech apparatus increases. While some children, due to age characteristics, have not sufficiently mastered their native language.

Stuttering in a baby intensifies when exposed to any stress, emotional tension or anxiety. That is, the course of the disease is wave-like: periods of stuttering alternate with light intervals when the child speaks without hesitation. Whereas if the baby is sick (his body temperature rises, he coughs, and so on), then his stuttering does not get worse.

The neurotic form of the disease occurs both favorably and unfavorably. In the first case, a cure occurs, and in the second, the disease becomes chronic.

In the chronic course of the disease, stuttering becomes more and more severe over time. By the age of 6-7 years, children are reluctant to talk to new people. And at the age of 11-12, children’s behavior changes dramatically: they withdraw into themselves. Because they are well aware of their defect and are afraid of making an unfavorable impression on their interlocutor.

Children develop logophobia - a fear of conversation with an obsessive expectation of speech failures. That is, a vicious circle is formed: convulsive stuttering in speech leads to the emergence of negative emotions, and they, in turn, lead to increased stuttering.

In adults Logophobia becomes obsessive. Therefore, stuttering occurs only from the thought that there is a need to communicate or from memories of unsuccessful speech contacts in the past. As a result, adults feel socially inferior, they are constantly in a low mood, they have a fear of speech, so they often consciously refuse to communicate at all.

Neurosis-like form

In patients from the anamnesis (data from the past), it turns out that the mother suffered severe toxicosis during pregnancy, there was a threat of miscarriage, asphyxia (suffocation) or trauma during childbirth, and so on. That is, there is organic damage to the brain (dystrophic changes in brain cells), so this form of stuttering is more difficult to treat.

For the neurosis-like form of stuttering, the manifestations of the speech defect do not depend on external factors (for example, emotional stress).

Characteristics of children prone to developing a neurosis-like form of stuttering

In the first years of life, such children are noisy, sleep poorly, restless, and fussy. Their physical development is somewhat behind that of their peers. They have awkward movements and poor coordination, they are disinhibited and easily excited, irritable and hot-tempered.

Children do not tolerate heat, travel and stuffiness well. They get tired quickly and are also exhausted during physical and/or intellectual stress.

They have delayed speech development, the pronunciation of some sounds is impaired, their vocabulary accumulates slowly, and phrasal speech is formed late.

Symptoms

In children stuttering begins around the age of 3-4 years for no apparent reason, increasing gradually. The beginning, as a rule, coincides with the formation of phrasal speech.

In the first half of the year of the disease, periods with stuttering gradually become longer and appear more often, and “light” intervals (when the child does not stutter) are not observed. That is, the disease proceeds on “one note.”

Next, children begin to add extra phrases and words that do not carry a semantic load (embolophrasia): “a”, “e”, “well” and others. At the same time, the pace of speech itself is either accelerated or slowed down. As a rule, there is a sharp disturbance in breathing during speech: words are pronounced at the moment of inhalation or at the end of a full exhalation.

In addition, there is insufficient mobility, as well as coordination of the organs of articulation (tongue, palate, etc.), arms and legs. Also, spasms can occur in the facial muscles of the face or hands. As a rule, such children develop a poor ear for music.

Upon examination, it turns out that most children have organic brain damage of a residual nature. Therefore, children often have decreased memory and performance, they quickly get tired and suffer from headaches, they have attention deficit and hyperactivity.

In adults in the chronic course of this form of the disease there are often severe convulsions in all parts of the speech apparatus. As a rule, their speech is accompanied by nodding movements of the head, monotonous movements of the fingers, swaying of the body, and others. That is, there is a forced contraction of other muscle groups that have nothing to do with the formation of speech.

In severe forms of the disease, adults become tired of communication, so soon after starting a conversation they complain of fatigue and begin to answer in monosyllables.

In addition, adults find it difficult to adapt to new conditions, they have decreased memory and attention, increased fatigue and exhaustion.

Classes with a speech therapist bring relief to most patients, but only if the work is carried out regularly and for a long time.

Which doctor should I contact?

There are many reasons for the development of stuttering. Therefore, several specialists are involved in its treatment.

Neurologist and psychiatrist They treat diseases of the nervous system with the help of medications.

Psychotherapist uses various types of psychotherapy: hypnosis, auto-training and others.

Psychologist studies the patient’s personality, identifying character weaknesses and helping to correct them. Teaches how to communicate with others in various life situations, helps patients express themselves emotionally and creatively.

Speech therapist - a specialist who specializes in speech correction. His job is to teach proper breathing while speaking, using the voice, and speaking smoothly and rhythmically. The speech therapist does not correct incorrect pronunciation of syllables or words, but conveys to the patient that they can be pronounced easily, like all other words. Then the patient's fear of stuttering gradually decreases.

Acupuncturist By influencing special points with needles, it relieves nervous tension and improves blood circulation in the brain.

Physical therapy instructor Using special exercises, it helps patients develop the necessary coordination and ability to move freely.

At what age is it best to start treatment in children?

As soon as you think your child has started to stutter, contact a specialist. The maximum and fastest effect of treatment is available if you consult a doctor within 3-6 months from the onset of the disease.

A favorable outcome from treatment is achieved if it is started at the age of 2 to 4 years, a less favorable outcome - from 10 to 16 years. Because slight vulnerability, the desire for freedom and unsociability, which occur in adolescence, negatively affect the results of treatment.

Treatment for stuttering

It is carried out both in the hospital and on an outpatient basis. Various types of psychotherapeutic effects, physical therapy, medications (for example, sedatives, antidepressants, vitamins) and so on are used in combination.

Treatment methods for stuttering

They exist in large numbers, but they all have the same task - to make the speech centers work synchronously at the same speed. It is based on inhibition of Broca's speech center and stimulation of other motor centers.

The article presents only some of the techniques used to treat stuttering in children and adults.

Eliminating stuttering in preschoolers

“Elimination of stuttering in preschoolers in play situations” - method of Vygodskaya I.G., Pellinger E.L. and Uspenskaya L.P.

The course lasts 2-3 months (36 lessons).

The basis of the methodology is the step-by-step creation of game situations that develop independent speech skills in children who stutter. And then they help to move from communicating in words to detailed phrases. In addition, the method includes speech therapy sessions at each stage: special exercises are performed to relax muscles and relieve emotional stress.

Methodology L.N.Smirnova “Speech therapy for stuttering”

A system of game exercises is used, designed for 30 weeks (one academic year). It is recommended to conduct classes daily for 15-20 minutes in the morning.

Goals

Providing speech and personality correction
Developing a sense of rhythm and tempo of speech
Improving attention and memory
Develops fine motor skills and relaxes muscle tone
Development of speech and motor coordination

Silivestrov's technique

Duration - from 3 to 4 months. Course - 32-36 lessons.

The technique includes three stages:

I. Preparatory. A calm environment is created and verbal communication is limited. Next, the child is stimulated to actively work on his speech.
II. Training. They move from quiet speech to loud speech, and from a calm type of activity to an emotional one. For this purpose, active, creative games are used. Moreover, at this stage, parents also take part in the treatment.
III. Fixative. Smooth speech is consolidated in more complex situations: conversation, story, and so on.

Eliminating stuttering in adolescents and adults

Methodology V.M. Shklovsky

It combines the work of a psychiatrist, neurologist and psychotherapist. The course of treatment is 2.5-3 months. During treatment, the patient remains in the hospital.

The technique includes four stages:

I. The patient is carefully examined and the cause of stuttering is identified.
II. The ingrained skills and disturbed attitudes of the individual are rebuilt.
III-IV. Speech training is carried out in the life environment in which a person who stutters usually finds himself. Thanks to this, the patient develops speech activity, and also strengthens his confidence that he can cope with stuttering in any situation.

Method L.3. Harutyunyan

Initially, treatment is carried out for 24 days in a hospital, then five courses of five to seven days throughout the year.

The technique consists of several stages:

Work is being done to eliminate speech cramps
The feeling of anxiety associated with the act of speech decreases
The patient’s awareness of their condition and confidence in recovery

A special feature of the technique is the synchronization of speech with the movements of the fingers of the leading hand. That is, a new psychological state is formed in which the patient’s speech is associated with calmness, correct intonation and facial expressions, confident posture, and so on. Initially, such speech is slow, but it makes it possible for the patient to speak without convulsive hesitation from the first lessons.

New techniques for treating stuttering

BreathMaker complex

When using the technique, the speech circle is “prosthetized” between Broca’s center (speech center) and Wernicke’s center (speech recognition center).

The essence of the technique

A person who stutters speaks into a microphone, his speech is recorded and then corrected by a computer program. Next, the corrected speech is fed into headphones and analyzed correctly by the Wernicke center. As a result, the tone is removed from Broca's center.

This mechanism is aimed at eliminating the patient’s psychological dependence and self-doubt. After all, with a slight hesitation, he thinks that those around him perceive him critically. Therefore, even greater overexcitation of speech centers occurs, which leads to worsening speech impairment.

Motivation is the basis of treatment

Patients with logoneurosis are talented, vulnerable and impressionable people. However, they are often inert or lazy. Over the long years of their illness, they adapt, deriving secondary benefit from their condition: they are called to the board less often, are not sent to reading competitions, are exempt from oral surveys, and so on.

However, you can and should fight your speech disorder. And the main thing is to remember that a “magic” pill for stuttering has not yet been invented.

What should parents do?

Little fidgets are a special category of patients. After all, it’s difficult to explain to a child that they need to be silent for just a few days, right now they can’t watch their favorite cartoon, and so on. Because due to the immaturity of their brain structures, children do not know how to wait. Therefore, parents will have to be patient and learn to use small tricks.

Organize your daily routine.
Ensure your child sleeps at least 8 hours a day (daytime naps if necessary), and exclude active and computer games in the evening. Limit your time watching cartoons and try not to watch new episodes while treatment is ongoing. Thus, the overstrain of the central parts of speech will be reduced.

Organize proper communication.
Children do not stutter when they are alone, so try not to be the first to address your child. Talk to your baby calmly, slowly and smoothly, pronouncing all the words. When communicating with your child, try to use questions whose answers are simple and monosyllabic. If your child finds it difficult to pronounce a phrase on his own, say it together.

Observe the protective speech regime.
Read books only that you know well; do not ask your child to retell a fairy tale, what he saw, or to learn a poem - the right time for this will come a little later. Choose quiet places for walks. It is better to play quiet games (for example, assembling a construction set, modeling, drawing) so that the child comments on his actions, since he does not stutter when alone.

Watch your diet.
The diet should be dominated by vegetable and dairy foods. You should limit chocolate, sweets, spicy, salty and fried foods.

What should adult patients do?

It should be taken into account that there will be long and painstaking work for both the doctor and the patient. Therefore, before starting treatment, they enter into some kind of agreement with each other. According to it, the doctor undertakes to treat, and the patient - to follow all the doctor’s recommendations: exercise regularly, if necessary, observe a quiet regime at the beginning of treatment, and so on.

Then, having overcome his fear, the patient must “enter” stuttering. That is, keep a diary of speeches, take initiative in communication (for example, tell jokes or stories), and so on. This tactic gives good results. A striking example is celebrities who have overcome their illness.

Stuttering in adults is a rather rare, but no less unattractive phenomenon that can have various roots. It is not for nothing that ancient healers and scientists, and even modern luminaries of medicine, pay such close attention to it in the search for possible causes and effective methods for solving the problem of this speech disorder in both children and adults.

ICD-10 code

F98.5 Stuttering [stammering]

Epidemiology

Methods of modern non-infectious epidemiology make it possible to determine as accurately as possible the level of prevalence of stuttering among various segments of the population. According to various authors, the percentage of stutterers among schoolchildren ranges from 1.5 to 2.2%. By adolescence, this speech disorder persists in approximately 1% of children.

Among the adult population, this figure ranges from 1-3%. Moreover, stuttering occurs 3.5-4 times more often among men than among women.

Stuttering that occurs in adulthood, if it is not associated with organic brain damage, manifests itself only in communication with others. Talking “to oneself” no longer has those speech defects; a person communicates mentally freely. This suggests that such stuttering should be easy to treat.

Causes of stuttering in adults

Stuttering in childhood is, one might say, common. Such a speech disorder, according to various sources, can be observed in 2-9% of children aged 2-4 years. The reason for this may be both physiological characteristics of the development of the body and stressful conditions. Sometimes parents' wrong actions in developing their child's speech can lead to stuttering in a child. But if problems with speech activity in early childhood do not entail any special problems in the child’s socialization, then at an older age stuttering can cause psychological disorders: the child becomes withdrawn, uncommunicative, and feels like an outcast in the group.

Stuttering in adults has slightly different consequences. This is not only psychological discomfort in communication. Smooth speech with correct pronunciation of words is one of the components of the image of a successful person. Stuttering in most cases is a serious obstacle to building a career, as well as creating a family and achieving personal happiness.

And yet, stuttering, even in adulthood, is completely treatable. This is not such a rare phenomenon, and many famous personalities, like ordinary people, have long said goodbye to the problem of stuttering, which has haunted them since childhood or made itself felt in adulthood.

Stuttering is a speech disorder associated with numerous short-term spasms of the muscles of the speech apparatus. The human speech apparatus consists of:

respiratory section (lungs, bronchi, trachea),
active organs of speech (tongue, lips, soft palate, vocal cords, uvula),
passive organs (teeth, pharynx, larynx and other fixed parts of organs involved in the formation of sounds and words).

The main causes of stuttering in adults can be the following:

Organic brain damage. Some diseases of the head and central nervous system (stroke, brain tumors, meningitis, etc.), as well as head injuries, can lead to stuttering due to insufficient conduction of nerve impulses. With this form of stuttering, the manifestations of convulsive syndrome of the facial muscles and respiratory muscles are especially pronounced. During a conversation, patients can perform active actions with various parts of the body: fingering their fingers, swaying or nodding their heads, etc.
Neurotic reasons. Stuttering in adults can occur under the influence of a stressful situation or severe emotional experiences. A person may be very frightened of something, witness a crime, worry about his relatives or experience their death, or find himself in a situation that causes a state of shock. Sometimes speech disorder occurs due to strong anxiety before a performance or competition. The neurotic form of stuttering, as a rule, has a short course.
Insufficient treatment of early stuttering in childhood. Sometimes parents, listening to the advice of experienced people, think that stuttering will go away on its own, but there is no improvement, and the disease becomes chronic with muscle spasms. The treatment of such conditions is already longer; you need to have the necessary patience to go through it to the bitter end.
Heredity. This can include both generic physiological characteristics and a hereditary predisposition to certain brain diseases that cause disturbances in the functioning of the speech apparatus, and even a tendency to stutter due to nervousness.

It is the cause of stuttering in adults that often influences the duration of its treatment. And, of course, the persistence and desire of the patient himself.

Pathogenesis

The pathogenesis of stuttering in adults, as well as in children, has not yet been sufficiently studied. There are various theories: psychogenic, genetic, semantic, which try to explain the origin and pattern of development of the pathological process. Recently, scientists have tended to believe that more than one factor is usually involved in the development of stuttering. This makes it difficult to determine the exact cause of stuttering.

However, recent studies confirm the influence of hereditary factors on the likelihood of stuttering. 17.5% of patients with neurotic stuttering have a genetic predisposition to its occurrence.

Symptoms of stuttering in adults

It is simply impossible not to pay attention to the onset of stuttering in an adult. After all, what is the norm for a young child may be a deviation from this very norm for an adult. The first signs of stuttering: frequent hesitation before saying something, uncertainty and the desire to avoid a long conversation, intermittent pronunciation of sounds and words. Often at this stage people try, if possible, to get away with a nod of the head and avoid public speaking.

The main symptoms of neurotic stuttering in adults appear as:

Multiple repetitions of certain words, individual syllables or even sounds.
Unusual lengthening of sounds in words.
An increase in the volume of speech not associated with semantic and emotional load, especially at the beginning of a word.
A noticeable tense expression on the face and too tense neck muscles when speaking.
Feelings of lack of air when talking, spasmodic breathing.
Frequent desire to avoid communication.

Very often, a person who stutters becomes noticeably nervous before starting a conversation or gets upset if he needs to communicate in public.

Forms

Stuttering in adults can be divided into several types based on the following characteristics:

Course of the disease.
Clinical manifestations of the disease (etiology).
Characteristics of speech muscle spasms.

Based on the nature of the disease, the following types of stuttering can be distinguished:

Permanent.

Once it occurs, speech impairment is present in any situation involving the need to communicate through speech.

Wavy.

This type of stuttering is characterized by the fact that speech problems periodically disappear and reappear. This is usually associated with emotional situations and strong excitement.

Recurrent or recurrent.

Stuttering can disappear for a long period without showing itself in any way, and then return again.

According to the characteristics of seizures, there are 3 types of stuttering:

Clonic stuttering in adults, when multiple spasms of the speech muscles, coming one after another, cause involuntary duplication of consonant sounds, individual syllables and even words.
Tonic stuttering is associated with prolonged strong contraction of the muscles of the mouth and throat, which leads to delayed speech, extended pauses between words, repetition of vowel sounds and some consonants (in Russian they are called sonorant).
Mixed type with manifestations of symptoms of the previous 2 types.

And finally, according to clinical manifestations, stuttering can be divided into 2 types:

Neurotic stuttering in adults or logoneurosis, which is caused by stressful situations.
Neuro-like (organic) stuttering due to the development of organic brain damage (oxygen starvation, birth injuries, strokes, tumor and inflammatory processes in the brain, etc.). The symptoms of such stuttering are stable and do not depend on the emotional state. Typically, speech impairment in such patients is accompanied by convulsions and twitching of the facial muscles, additional movements of the head, fingers and the entire body that do not have emotional confirmation.

Logoneurosis can be either permanent or temporary, depending on the psychological state of the patient. If a person is nervous or anxious, stuttering symptoms may worsen. And, conversely, a state of rest reduces the manifestations of speech pathology. Sometimes, in order for a person to stop stuttering, it is enough to give him warm tea or a small amount of alcohol, let him listen to relaxing music, or simply provide psychological support and calm.

Neurotic stuttering can be easily corrected and treated, however, it requires timely professional help to avoid undesirable consequences and complications. If treatment is not started in time, stuttering can take a chronic form when a person has established incorrect behavior patterns and speech skills. Over time, the patient may develop a fear of communication, causing severe anxiety and associated symptoms of stuttering. In addition, nervous reactions of the face and body can join speech disorders, self-doubt and rapid fatigue from talking appear, and mood deteriorates.

Perhaps it is for this reason that stuttering in adults, which has its roots in childhood, is much more difficult and longer to treat. Whatever the initial cause, neurotic or organic, the disease does not go away on its own with age, but becomes persistent, which makes treatment much more difficult. This means that treatment should begin at the first signs of stuttering in childhood.

Diagnosis of stuttering in adults

There is no need to rush to diagnose yourself or your family with stuttering. Small pauses between words during a conversation, rare repetitions of words and syllables are not at all an indicator of stuttering in adults. Such minor speech disturbances can be evidence of strong excitement, haste, or, conversely, thoughtfulness. Some aspects of speech (speaking in a sing-song manner, long pauses between words) may be distinctive features of a particular race or geographic region. Temperament can also contribute to changes in speech characteristics.

You can tentatively make or deny a diagnosis of stuttering by following a couple of tests:

Count the number of unnecessary pauses when speaking a text of 100 words. Up to 7 breaks are the norm. More than 10 pauses are a high probability of developing speech pathology.
Observe the facial expression. If your facial muscles look very tense when speaking, there is a possibility that you may have a speech disorder. This is also indicated by the presence of pauses between words lasting from 1 to 30 seconds.

These tests are not accurate research methods, and are only a reason to begin a more thorough professional diagnosis. Moreover, it is not enough to diagnose “stuttering”; you also need to determine what type (neurotic or neurosis-like) this speech disorder belongs to, since the correctness and effectiveness of the chosen treatment methods will depend on this.

To make a correct diagnosis, a medical specialist can prescribe various tests (blood and urine), as well as instrumental diagnostics that can identify organic brain lesions at various stages. Instrumental methods in this case include MRI (tomography) of the brain and electroencephalogram (EEG).

And yet it is not enough to distinguish between the two types of stuttering in adults. It is important to identify the cause of the speech disorder in order to understand which treatment methods will be most effective. It is the differential diagnosis with the participation of a speech therapist, psychologist, neurologist, psychiatrist, based on a complete history and the results of instrumental and laboratory studies, that can recreate the complete picture of the disease, establish or refute a hereditary predisposition to stuttering, and develop a plan for effectively combating this pathology.

Treatment of stuttering in adults

The problem of stuttering has several aspects in its solution that are related to the physiology, socialization and mental state of a person. And only complex treatment, covering all these aspects, can give good results. Home treatment with herbs and spells alone, which many parents of children who stutter are inclined to, leads to the fact that the problem is only aggravated by the transition to adulthood, when treatment is already complicated by incorrect habits and communication skills developed over the years.

The choice of treatment methods for stuttering in adults depends on whether the speech disorder is of a neurotic or organic type. The organic type of stuttering is generally a topic for a separate discussion. His treatment comes down to fighting the problem that gave birth to him. And since the cause of such stuttering is serious disorders in the functioning of the brain, often complicated by a genetic factor, treatment of stuttering and its root cause can take many months and years.

The neurotic type of stuttering in adults can be treated much easier and more successfully. But for him, an integrated approach is of great importance, including medication and folk treatment prescribed by a neurologist, as well as systematic work with a speech therapist, psychologist and psychotherapist who will help the patient restore the normal rhythm of speech, overcome fears, join the normal rhythm of life, and establish communication.

Method of treatment through medicines Its goal is to relieve convulsive syndrome and stabilize the work of the central nervous system, which is responsible for the onset of various nervous reactions. Tablets for stuttering in adults can be divided into 3 groups: nootropic (improve brain function), sedative (reduce nervous tension) and antispasmodics (have an anticonvulsant effect).

The first group of drugs includes a nootropic drug "Phenibut", which has a sedative and psychostimulating effect. In addition, Phenibut prevents the formation of blood clots in the blood vessels of the brain, the destruction of body cells and promotes their regeneration (renewal).

Doctors can prescribe this drug as therapy for both organic and neurotic stuttering to relieve an anxious-neurotic state, expressed in the form of fears, facial tics, fear of communication, etc.

Dosage and method of application. You can take Phenibut tablets at any time of the day, preferably after meals, swallowing the tablet whole. But the dosage of the drug (the usual single dose is 1-3 tablets), the number of doses per day (frequency of administration) and courses of treatment, as well as the duration of treatment can only be prescribed by the attending physician, based on the indications, age of the patient and tolerability of the components of the drug.

Contraindications to the use of the drug include pregnancy and lactation, liver failure, and hypersensitivity to the components of the drug. The drug has virtually no side effects. At the beginning of taking the tablets, you may experience drowsiness. The same symptom, especially in combination with nausea and vomiting, may indicate an overdose of the drug.

When taking Phenibut for a long time, you need to monitor morphological blood parameters and liver function. May affect reaction speed.

Sedatives include Glycine, Afobazol and Grandaxin. “Glycine” acts as a regulator of metabolic processes in the brain, and “Grandaxin” and “Afobazol” have a pronounced sedative effect (tranquilizers).

"Afobazol"- a tranquilizer that does not cause addiction. Its action is aimed at eliminating anxiety, fear, apprehension, and associated nervous, muscular and respiratory reactions. It is recommended to take the drug after meals in the amount of 1-2 tablets (10 mg) three times a day. Typically, the course of treatment lasts 14-28 days, but if necessary, the doctor can increase the dosage (up to 60 mg per day) and the duration of the course (up to 3 months).

Contraindications to the use of Afobazol include pregnancy and breastfeeding, individual intolerance to the drug or its individual components, as well as age under 18 years. Side effects include possible reactions of the immune system with increased sensitivity to the drug.

Taking herbal sedatives, such as Dormiplant and Novopassit, also has a positive effect on the nervous system.

"Novopassit"- a drug based on a rich herbal collection (valerian, lemon balm, St. John's wort, hawthorn, etc.) with a good sedative (sedative) and anti-anxiety (anxiolytic) effect. Available in the form of tablets or solution (syrup).

Dosage and method of application. The usual single dose is 1 tablet or teaspoon of syrup (5 ml), pure or diluted with water. You need to take the drug three times a day before meals. If taking the drug causes depression and depression, the morning and evening doses are halved, and the daytime dose is left the same. If such a need arises, the doctor may double the standard dose of the drug. If nausea occurs, it is better to take the drug with food.

Contraindications to the use of Novopassit: age under 12 years, myasthenia gravis (genetic neuromuscular disease), individual intolerance to the drug or its components. Side effects: disturbances in the gastrointestinal tract (heartburn, sometimes nausea and vomiting, changes in stool density), less often dizziness and drowsiness, as well as allergic manifestations and weakness.

Precautionary measures. During treatment with the drug you should not drink alcohol. Caution should be exercised in patients with liver, stomach and intestinal diseases. The drug has a negative effect on concentration.

If after a week there is no noticeable improvement or the symptoms worsen, you should immediately consult a doctor to prescribe another drug.

Among the antispasmodics for stuttering in adults, doctors most often prescribe "Mydocalm", "Magnerot" and "Finlepsin" in combination with vitamin B preparations.

The anticonvulsant drug Magnerot replenishes magnesium deficiency in the body, which is the cause of seizures and increased excitability. Taking the medicine can be divided into 2 stages:

Seven-day course: 2 tablets 3 times a day,
Starting from the second week: 1 tablet 2-3 times a day.

The full course of treatment lasts from 2 to 4 weeks, sometimes more. The tablets are taken with a small amount of water before meals.

Contraindications: kidney and liver diseases, bladder stones, lactose intolerance and lactase deficiency, age under 18 years, as well as individual intolerance to the drug. Side effects: among the most common are: changes in the frequency and quality of stool and the reaction of the immune system.

In addition to drug treatment, patients with logoneurosis are recommended to undergo psychotherapeutic sessions using sedative techniques, treatment with hypnosis, and acupuncture. At such sessions, patients are helped to cope with the fear of speech, increase self-esteem, correctly accept their problem and take a responsible approach to overcoming it.

Next they join the therapy classes with a speech therapist, which either corrects existing speech skills or instills new, correct ones. Approximately half an hour after these classes, massage treatments are prescribed. Massage for stuttering in adults is presented in the form of reflexology (acupressure) and osteopathy (soft massage effects on the muscles) procedures, which have a positive effect on the articulatory vocal apparatus and the respiratory system.

At the third stage of treatment of stuttering in adults, therapeutic exercises, a swimming pool, and a sauna are added to the above procedures.

There are many different methods of complex impact on the problem of stuttering with various speech training systems, ranging from one-on-one communication to public speaking within a team (a group of patients with the same problem).

Physiotherapeutic treatment of stuttering, in addition to reflexology and osteopathy, includes:

Procedures that normalize the tone of the facial muscles (darsonvalization of the muscles of the face and neck - exposure of the muscles to alternating current of high frequency and voltage, but of low strength, and short-term exposure to sinusoidal currents on the larynx area)
Procedures for restoring and optimizing the functions of the central nervous system (electrosleep therapy, therapeutic baths and massage, franklinization, alpha massage, various types of relaxation).

Treatment of stuttering in adults at home

Many patients, and most often their relatives, are inclined to treat stuttering at home. Such, frankly, irresponsible attitude towards the problem of speech impairment can lead to a worsening of the situation. After all, at home it is not possible to implement an integrated approach to the treatment of stuttering in adults. In addition, the lack of control on the part of the doctor can affect the patient’s attitude towards treatment, the systematicity of taking medications and carrying out procedures.

However, if you really insist on home treatment, you first need to learn some elements of self-help, such as auto-training (self-hypnosis), self-massage of the face and neck (therapeutic!), as well as breathing exercises, for example, according to the Strelnikova method, which is based on the use of yoga elements.

Breathing exercises are aimed at normalizing both nasal and oral breathing, because without the skills to optimize breathing during a conversation, it is very difficult for a patient to cope with stuttering. Various breathing exercises for stuttering in adults, according to Strelnikova’s system, should be based on proper breathing during movements: a sharp inhalation and a long, calm, silent exhalation, the active participation of the diaphragm in the respiratory process. All active movements (squats, head turns, torso bends) are performed only while inhaling.

Speech gymnastics at home. This exercise helps develop proper breathing during a conversation.

Try reading the Russian folk tale “The Turnip,” taking a breath in between words.
Taking a short breath with your mouth open, pronounce one of the vowel sounds as you exhale until there is enough air in your lungs.
Try the same with several vowel sounds, pronouncing them one after another.
Try counting to 10 as you exhale, gradually increasing the count.
Read various sayings, proverbs and tongue twisters in one exhalation, which helps train breathing and more quickly get rid of stuttering in adults and children.

Examples of tongue twisters for training speech and breathing:

There is grass in the yard, there is firewood on the grass: one firewood, two firewood - do not cut wood on the grass of the yard.
Advertising for grips has seams with coverage, but potholders without coverage have been snatched up.
Our head has out-headed your head, out-headed.

In addition to proverbs and tongue twisters, you can try singing songs known from childhood. Cheerful and kind, they will lift your spirits, help you relax as much as possible, and teach you how to breathe correctly when speaking.

Folk remedies for stuttering in adults

What does traditional medicine offer us to help quickly cure stuttering in adults? Aromatherapy, self-massage, recipes for mixtures, infusions and decoctions of herbs and fruits, honey recipes, as well as spells and prayers - these are the main methods of treating stuttering, known since ancient times.

It is worth noting that on their own they are unlikely to be able to effectively cope with the problem of stuttering, but in combination with traditional medicine methods they will undoubtedly have a positive effect. Some folk methods, such as conspiracies or prayers, may seem dubious to many, but they also have a right to exist. Since logoneurosis is based on mental trauma, an important factor in treatment is faith. The patient must believe that using these methods he can be healed. Conspiracies and prayers are a kind of instilling in a person of confidence in himself and his abilities. If a person does not believe in the effectiveness of these methods, then there is no point in using them.

Another thing aromatherapy. No faith is required here; essential oils, which have a sedative effect and can relieve nervous tension and calm fears, will do all the work. Oils of bergamot and pine, rose and sandalwood, rosemary and basil, thyme and wormwood, sage and geranium, and, of course, lavender have such actions. To do this, you need to drop the oil on a scarf and inhale its aroma for a while. This procedure must be carried out three times a day.

Aromatic oils mixed with kefir can also be used for bathing. To do this, take 100 g of fermented milk product and add 5-6 drops of any of the above essential oils to it. The oil-kefir mixture is added directly to a bath of warm water.

Stuttering in adults can be treated with decoctions of the fruit. A compote made from apple peels boiled in clean water for 5 minutes has a pronounced calming effect. You can add lemon balm infusion to it or simply drink it with sugar or honey.

By the way, honey also has a wonderful sedative effect, known in ancient times. For example, Avicenna recommended lubricating the tongue with a mixture of honey and mumiyo 3 times a day (the proportion for the mixture is 5:1).

A similar treatment option can be found in “grandmother’s” recipes. You need to prepare 2 mixtures of mumiyo and honey in different proportions (1:8 and 1:5). Mumiyo should be taken in an amount of 0.2 grams. The first mixture (concentrated) is taken in the morning, the second (weaker) in the evening for 4 months.

A mixture of viburnum, lemon, cabbage and rosehip juices, taken in equal proportions with the addition of double the amount of honey (1:1:1:1:1:2) also has a positive effect on stuttering. You need to take the mixture twice a day: 1 tbsp in the morning and evening. l., eating seeds or almonds.

Herbs in the form of decoctions and infusions are also effective remedies for stuttering in adults. And many herbal recipes only confirm this. Here are some of them:

Recipe 1. Fragrant rue. Pour 5 g of chopped herb into 2 cups of boiling water and let it boil for 5 minutes. Strain the broth and cool slightly. Keep the hot broth in your mouth until it cools completely (2-3 hours). We repeat the procedure very often (at least 6 times a day).
Recipe 2. White ash tree. Pour boiling water over the leaves of the plant and leave for 20 minutes, then strain. Use the infusion to rinse your mouth (3-5 minutes) 5-6 times a day.
Recipe 3. Calming collection. Prepare a herbal mixture of chamomile, mint, nettle and valerian, pour a teaspoon of the herbal mixture with a glass of boiling water and keep warm for 15 minutes. You should drink half a glass of the infusion twice a day.
Recipe 4. Herbal mixture to inhibit the reactions of the nervous system. Birch leaves, licorice, lemon balm, sweet clover and calendula flowers are taken in equal proportions. The crushed herbs are poured with boiling water and heated in a water bath without boiling. Infused for 2 hours and filtered through gauze, take before meals 5-6 times a day.
Recipe 5. “Intoxicating” decoction. To prepare a medicine that relieves brain spasms, you need to take a glass of any wine and bring to a boil along with a pinch of cinquefoil herb. Leave until completely cooled, then strain. The decoction should be drunk warm. Instead of wine, you can use milk in the decoction, but in no case water, which reduces the therapeutic effect of the product to zero.

This is only a small fraction of all the traditional medicine recipes that our ancestors used with varying degrees of effectiveness. And the fact that they have survived to our times speaks in their favor.

There are many folk remedies and traditional medicine methods that, as part of complex therapy, can cure stuttering in adults. However, a visible positive result can be obtained only if the patient has a strong desire to get rid of the rhythmic speech defect. Relatives and friends can provide significant psychological support and assistance in treating a patient with speech disorders. Treatment for an adult can be lengthy and you need to be prepared for this, be patient and activate your willpower. And then victory over the disease will definitely come.

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Let's try to figure out how to get rid of stuttering on your own.

To do this, it is necessary to determine how much a person suffers from this defect. Does he stutter constantly and how frequent are the interruptions in speech?

Or does the defect appear only when excited or during a quick conversation? This is very important, since it is much easier to cure stuttering with infrequent pauses in speech.

Causes of stuttering

In the vast majority of cases, stuttering occurs in children who have experienced sudden, severe fear or stress. Over time, this defect may resolve on its own without any intervention, but this rarely happens in practice. In addition, it is widely believed that in order to eliminate stuttering caused by stress, the patient must be frightened again. In some cases, this really helps, but this method is based on the individual psychological characteristics of a person, and therefore is not recommended for use among a wide range of sufferers.
Another reason for stuttering in children lies in the so-called “lexical explosion”. This is especially true for children who have been silent for a long time. Having learned to speak, they are at first in no hurry to use this gift of nature. But as their vocabulary expands, they seem to break through - they begin to talk incessantly, experiencing an incredible thirst for communication and knowledge of the world around them. At the same time, the child’s speech apparatus does not keep up with the needs of its little owner.
Very impressionable children with an extremely unstable type of nervous system are more likely to stutter. They constantly take everything that happens around them to heart. The most minor changes in the behavior of relatives, their mood, possible quarrels and scandals, and reproach from parents can lead to a disruption in speech. In cases where stuttering does not go away on its own for a long time, parents begin to figure out how to treat stuttering in children.

Stuttering in children is easier to treat than in adults

Folk remedies

Treatment of stuttering with folk remedies involves taking herbal infusions and various decoctions that have a calming and relaxing effect on the body. Let's look at how stuttering can be cured using these methods.

One of the effective plants used in the treatment of stuttering is white ash. This is a perennial tall grass up to 80 centimeters high with a powerful, developed rhizome, which grows in Europe.

It should not be used to treat stuttering in children because it contains strong plant poisons - alkaloids.

Recipe 1. White ash infusion against stuttering

20 grams of leaves and flowers of the plant are poured with 0.5 liters of boiling water and should be infused for about 20 minutes. Then the infusion is filtered, placed in a cool place and used to rinse the mouth several times a day. You should absolutely not swallow the infusion!

Recipe 2. A mixture of stinging nettle and white ash juices against stuttering

3 drops of juice of white ash leaves and flowers, taken in equal quantities, mixed with two drops of stinging nettle juice. The composition is kept on the tongue for 5 minutes and then spat out - it should not be swallowed! This procedure must be repeated several times daily at at least two-hour intervals. The course must be taken for a week.

Recipe 3. Herbal infusion for stuttering

Take the following plants: stinging nettle leaves and chamomile flowers – 100 g each; lemon balm leaves, heather and St. John's wort, hop fruits - 50 g each. One teaspoon of this herbal mixture is poured into one glass of boiling water and infused for 20 - 30 minutes. The tincture should be taken 2 glasses in the morning and at night.

Recipe 4. Fragrant rue decoction for stuttering

Pour 0.5 liters of boiling water over the dried herb of fragrant rue and let it simmer for about five minutes in a water bath. It is necessary to gargle the throat and mouth with the heated decoction three to five times a day without swallowing it. To enhance the effect, you can hold the liquid in your mouth for about a minute. Take treatment for up to three weeks.

Recipe 5. Cinquefoil decoction for stuttering

The decoction must be prepared with wine or milk. Otherwise, it will not have the expected effect. 1 pinch of cinquefoil herb is poured into a glass with cold liquid, which should be brought to a boil, and simmer in it for about 2-3 minutes. The broth is infused until it cools completely and filtered. Take it in the morning in the amount of 2 - 3 tbsp. l., warm.

Recipe 6. Using a mixture of juices and honey against stuttering

Take 100 grams of cabbage, lemon and viburnum juices and rosehip decoction, mix with 200 grams of light honey. The composition should be taken one tbsp. l. from morning to night. The action will be more effective if you eat it with almonds.

Recipe 7. Rudolf Breuss method against stuttering

You should collect the apple peel and make a decoction from it. It should be taken warm at night before bed in an amount of 200 - 300 ml. The boiling time for the peel is about 3-5 minutes; you can add sugar to the finished broth. It is also useful to drink an infusion of lemon balm leaves at the same time.

What kind of stuttering happens?

Only by correctly identifying the type and severity of the defect can one determine how to cure stuttering in a child. Only a specialist can do this. He prescribes individual lessons and articulation gymnastics to perform at home. Therefore, at the first symptoms of a speech disorder in a child, you need to see a speech therapist.

There are clonic stuttering and spastic stuttering.

The spastic appearance is more serious. The child seems to be delayed by something at the first sounds of words and for a long time he cannot begin to speak at all.

In addition to special classes, you may need sedatives to relieve spasms of the muscles of the speech apparatus.

Such speech hesitations can continue for some period, then pass for a while and return again. This can last until four or five years of age and rarely extends beyond school age.

Like any other neurosis, stuttering puts a lot of stress on the nervous system. Therefore, before going to the doctor with your child, you should reduce his emotional stress to a minimum.

Moreover, you need to act as quickly as possible so that your little man does not develop a stuttering habit for a long time. If you strictly follow the rules of communication with a child who has begun to stutter, then you may not need a doctor at all.

Home techniques

Try not to be the first to contact your child with any requests, do not start a conversation with him. Stuttering is a disorder of the communicative function of speech. When talking and playing with themselves, children rarely stutter. Speak to your child slowly, smoothly, almost in a sing-song voice. Try not to discuss anything too emotionally or in a raised voice in front of your child.

Limit your TV viewing time. If you can’t completely give up cartoons (for many children this can be additional stress), then at least try not to let them watch new ones. It is recommended to read books only that you are familiar with. And don’t rush to learn poetry - there will be a more suitable time for this.

It is better to play calm games; it is very good if they are played on the water, as it has a very beneficial effect on the child’s psyche. If you have the opportunity to visit the dolphinarium, this will be a big plus. Playing with sand and modeling with plasticine are good. If the child is very active, then you should not prohibit him from running and jumping, but do not rush to play “catch up” yourself.

The most important! Never focus your child’s attention on his illness. He doesn't stutter on purpose. There is no need to correct him or demand that he say the phrase correctly. And perhaps the question of how to get rid of stuttering will be resolved by itself.

Stuttering in adults

Let's look at how to treat stuttering in adults. The best way is to identify the cause of stress or fear and overcome it. If you managed to do this, then try to gently discuss this with the stutterer.

It is more difficult if the reason is unknown, then you need to try to clarify the situation. You can contact a specialist, a professional psychologist and psychoanalyst who will help you overcome any fear. If the sufferer himself cannot remember what happened, then using hypnosis and other techniques, you can try to restore it.

In cases where stuttering occurs only during severe anxiety, it is worth working to strengthen self-confidence. It may very well be that a person is simply afraid of a large audience and constantly thinks about how others will perceive him. Then you should give up public speaking for a while, start correcting your diction, your own self-esteem, or attend public speaking courses in order to learn how to speak correctly and beautifully.

Pay attention to this video: What does Vladimir Dovgan, the host of master classes on personal development, think about stuttering:

If all the above tips did not give you an answer to the question of how to cure stuttering in adults, you can try another correction system that takes place in three stages.

Refusal to visit public places for a while.
Training the ability to easily express your own thoughts.
Doing exercises for the vocal apparatus.

This technique allows you to get rid of constant stuttering in a very short time. It is necessary to take a vacation, to isolate yourself from the outside world for a while. Establish a measured, calm regime without rigid boundaries.

Initially, try to talk less and start taking notes. First in the form of a diary, and then, if you like the process, try to write some kind of artistic description, draw up a life plan or outline your dreams.

The secret of this method is that while writing we mentally pronounce the text, and it is impossible to stutter in our own minds. As a result, the person who stutters speaks mentally without disturbances, and very soon he will be able to do it out loud.

Singing is an effective method against stuttering.

It is physically impossible to stutter while singing. Therefore, you can sing in any way and tune and at the same time try to talk less and continue writing.

Perhaps things will not work out right away, so you should be patient and under no circumstances criticize the person who stutters, because your task is to make the patient believe in his own abilities.

If you are shy, sing at home, in the shower

Improvements will be noticeable within a month of implementation. However, don't stop there. When you return to work from this kind of vacation, try speaking in writing first. If in moments of excitement your stuttering appears again, then again refuse to speak in public and do not completely abandon your training.

Prepare for a possible relapse of stuttering in the future after another stress, but now you know how to treat stuttering.

Treatment by doctors

If you cannot cope with this speech disorder at home, then you need to go to clinics or specialized centers where stuttering is treated.

The solution to your problem will involve specialists who are proficient in modern techniques and know what procedures and medications can help you. You need to find out which doctor can treat stuttering and make an appointment with him.

A speech therapist is a specialist whose work is most directly and specifically related to speech. He teaches proper breathing during speech, use of voice, articulation, smooth and rhythmic flow of conversation.
A neuropsychiatrist will determine the state of the nervous system and prescribe the necessary medications.
A psychotherapist works with different types of psychotherapy, hypnosis, auto-training, and other methods of influence.
The acupuncturist relieves nervous tension by applying pressure to special points.
A psychologist conducts a study of the personality of a stutterer, finds out whether stuttering can be cured, identifying his weaknesses and helping to correct them, teaches communication in different life situations, helping the patient express himself emotionally and creatively.

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Elena
Eugene
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Julia
Vaserman
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Natasha
Chy
Hustle
A common person
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Poltergeist
Fail
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Why people suffer from stuttering and how they can help with this problem, speech therapist, candidate of medical sciences Elena SERGEEVA told MK.

Imitating adults

Mostly children face the problem of stuttering. Most often they are 2-5 year olds, very rarely - primary school students, and even less often - teenagers. Stuttering can last from several months to several years. The most common reasons that cause stuttering are:

severe fear;
constant unfair and rude attitude towards the child (threats, punishments, endless shouting);
a sudden change in the situation in the family for the worse (frequent quarrels between parents in the presence of the child);
consequences of past infectious diseases when the body is weakened.

Sometimes children who begin to speak early become stutterers: their parents read to them too much, and constantly ask them to repeat what they read, or, what is much worse, force them to speak in front of an unfamiliar large audience. Fear becomes an obstacle to normal speech.

Stuttering It can also occur in those children who have been in contact with stutterers for a long time; these kids simply imitate their friends.
In an adult, the causes of stuttering usually come down to sudden grief, tragedy, severe fear: a sudden plane crash that ended in an emergency landing, the death of a loved one right before our eyes, the death of a beloved animal, divorce, scandals in the family, etc.

BY THE WAY, some medical scientists believe that stuttering is explained by organic disorders: people who stutter have a different type of auditory perception, as a result of which they hear their own speech a little late (by a fraction of a second). And some psychoanalysts assure: stuttering is a symptom of a serious internal conflict or unmet needs, a consequence of attempts to prevent the expression of forbidden thoughts and feelings. The simplest example is a teenager looking at “those” magazines, and his mother walking in at the most inopportune moment.

Scary words

The hardest thing for people with speech impairments is speaking in public. This is double stress. When repeating sounds or syllables, many remain silent for a long time and stubbornly, draw out sounds unnaturally, grimace, and some develop tics. Stuttering intensifies with excitement, weakens in a calm environment.

In addition, people who stutter often have a fear of various words or sounds, and they tend to use synonyms or figurative expressions to avoid frightening words. They experience irritation towards listeners when they try to suggest a word, and avert their eyes during moments of particularly convulsive speech. This is a normal psychological reaction and should be treated with understanding.

How will we treat?

Children often “recover from stuttering” spontaneously, without any measures from doctors and specialists. It’s just that as the body matures and strengthens, the nervous system stabilizes, and everything “by itself” returns to normal.

Recovery for adults who stutter is a process that takes place over time and requires daily practice for about an hour a day. Instant healing is a myth.

Normal speech can only be achieved as a result of long-term efforts by the person himself.

Typically, a psychotherapist, a neurologist and a speech therapist are involved in the treatment of stuttering. It all comes down to developing the skills of correct speech and overcoming fears.

The speech therapist (usually a speech pathologist) directly works on speech. Its task is to ensure the correct speech regime: almost all people who stutter are able to speak fluently, but under a number of conditions. For example, if they read in unison with someone, sing, whisper, or speak in a dialect, or significantly change their voice, breathing, or manner of speaking.

As for the psyche and emotional sphere of a person, this is taken on by the psychotherapist. His task is to eliminate the inferiority complex, help the patient feel psychologically comfortable and do everything possible so that everything is harmonious in a person’s relationships with others. When being next to a person who stutters, it is important to calm him down, help him relax, say kind words, without babying him and creating a normal atmosphere of friendly communication.
Often, when treating stuttering, they resort to medications, physical therapy, and acupuncture. Naturally, all this should be used only as directed by a doctor.

As for hypnosis, we must take into account why a person stutters. If it is a result of mental trauma, it will help. If there is some kind of organic disorder - no.

USEFUL EXERCISE

Everyone knows Krylov’s famous fable “The Crow and the Fox,” and so, in addition to the fact that this fable is instructive, it was discovered that it directly affects a stutterer. If you read this fable into a chant, not pronouncing it, but drawing out the words, as if you were trying to sing it, 4-7 times a day, then after a week you will feel that you speak easier, and a month after daily training you can get rid of stuttering . If stuttering remains, it will be barely noticeable.

Stuttering can be prevented by:

it is very important that the child always hears correct speech;
You should not read scary fairy tales to children at night, as this can cause a feeling of constant fear in the child: he is afraid to see Baba Yaga, the Gray Wolf, etc.;
You cannot over-indulge children and fulfill any of their whims. The requirements for a child must correspond to his age, always be the same, constant from everyone around him, both in the family and in kindergarten and school.

FACTS ABOUT STUTTERING

One percent of the world's population, or 60 million out of six billion people, stutter.

It is curious that usually when alone with himself, a stutterer speaks without defects.
People who stutter sing well.

A person’s speech movements are closely related to the movements of the whole body, therefore, for a person who stutters, music and dance classes are very important, which contribute to the development of correct speech breathing, a sense of tempo, and rhythm.

Stuttering leads to character changes. A person becomes highly dependent on his illness, and he develops a fear of speech. A vicious circle arises: stuttering causes anxiety, anxiety causes even more stuttering, etc. The person suffers greatly. Some people who stutter say that they would prefer to be completely mute, if only they could calmly express their thoughts without hesitation.

The ancient Greek orator Demosthenes, who suffered from a stutter, got rid of the defect by working on himself every day: he put pebbles in his mouth and tried to speak with them.

Hello!

If you find yourself on this page, it means that you (or your loved one) are suffering from, in my opinion, one of the most terrible illnesses - stuttering. A person who has never encountered this illness cannot understand why I consider it “the most terrible,” but anyone who stutters will understand this. Stuttering is very offensive, shameful, inconvenient, unfair... and the worst thing is powerlessness and complete lack of understanding why you stutter, because nothing hurts, all parts of the body, organs are out of place.. WHY do I stutter?

Today I, as a person who has dealt with stuttering myself, will answer the main questions of any stutterer: is it possible to cure stuttering, what methods of treating stuttering exist.

The fight against stuttering, background

How to treat stuttering, how to get rid of it... I fell asleep and woke up with this question for many years.. I think so do you. Stuttering is a terrible cross! Most people who do not stutter do not understand what a blessing it is for them to speak normally.

I always thought that if I didn’t stutter, how well I would express myself, how eloquent I would be. With what pleasure I would speak, how I would savor every word! I read books where the characters spoke amazingly eloquently and wittily, and I sadly thought that if the stuttering went away, I would definitely learn to speak like them.

Treatment of stuttering in adults with folk remedies

I don’t know how it is in other countries, but non-traditional medicine is very popular in Russia. Numerous grandmothers-healers promise to cure any disease, remove damage and the evil eye. From the experience of my family, I can say that sometimes these promises are not without foundation, but they did not help me with my stuttering.

Read more about
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Believe it or not, it's up to you. When I came to one healer near Novosibirsk with the hope that she would help cure my stuttering, about 20 people stood at her door wanting healing. Many said that she really helps and that the most interesting thing is that she doesn’t take money for her help, only food, whoever brings what. Of course, many people write it off as a coincidence if, after visiting a healer, some problem or illness disappears, but when such situations accumulate in quite a number, you begin to think... But nevertheless, she was not able to remove my stuttering.

Medical treatments for stuttering in adults

Medicine has made great strides recently and new methods of treating many diseases have emerged. The technical component has developed significantly; expensive devices for early diagnosis and treatment have become available to ordinary people.

But if you go to the doctor with a stutter, he shrugs... From a physiological point of view, you are healthy, if you come for a full examination and do not open your mouth, no doctor will determine that you stutter (this does not apply to neurosis-like stuttering). They can find anything, but not stuttering.

Doctors prescribed me tranquilizers, or rather Phenibut, more details. Classes with a speech therapist and psychologist were also recommended. Phenibut helped only while taking it and the stuttering did not go away completely. Speech therapists intensively taught me to pronounce the letter “R”. And psychologists taught me to live with a stutter, which I really didn’t want. In general, I did not learn from the doctors how to cure stuttering in an adult.

Nevertheless, in the early stages of stuttering, medications can be used very effectively, you can read about this in my book.

You can speak without stuttering!

Just like many other people have conquered, you can conquer stuttering!

For many years I was doing nonsense, waiting for a magic pill, a miraculous remedy that would get rid of my stuttering, hoping for a doctor who would find a way to eliminate stuttering, believing in the supernatural abilities of “grandmothers.” In general, I was waiting for someone to do something for me. As you might guess, my expectations were not met.

This is how I lived until I realized the futility of being a stutterer. Career - you will never be promoted to a normal position, because a good position implies leadership, and who would hire a stutterer as a leader?

Have you met a stuttering lawyer? Manager? Bank employee? Marketer? Psychologist? Policy? I'm sure NOT! Any good and highly paid job involves communication with clients, subordinates, superiors, etc.

Watch the movie "The King's Speech", where the main character is Prince George 6, a real historical figure. Since childhood, he suffered from a severe stutter and with horror refused the throne when he needed to take his father’s place (his older brother refused the throne). The doctors could not help, but the prince could afford the best of the best. Then actor Lionel Logue came to the rescue (Wikipedia). If we study his biography, we will see that at the age of 6 he began to study rhetoric, at night he organized concerts and gave solo performances, staged plays and recitations. He also founded a speakers club!

I invite you to appreciate the work of Lionel Logue, this is an original recording from 1939.

I learned a lot in my course from Logue's work.

Life of a Stutterer

People who stutter are destined only for lower positions where communication is not needed. After all, they won’t even take it to the cash register at McDonald’s! They may not even hire you as a salesperson in a store... Programmer, accountant, auto mechanic - these are the best positions where a stutterer can get a job... (of course there are exceptions)

I chose the profession of a programmer, which would protect me as much as possible from communication, I thought here I could achieve success without the need to speak. But this is a bummer. To grow professionally, you need to participate in cool projects, or better yet, lead them. And I have the necessary skills and experience. And I could, but again, speech is needed.

In general, stuttering “finished” me, without normal speech in our time there is no way!

The time has come not to wait for a miracle, but to do something. I tried to collect as much information as possible on stuttering and discovered that there are people who got rid of it.

The ice broke, I collected more success stories and found 90% similarity in them. All those who got rid of stuttering did it in approximately the same way. I collected all the techniques and applied them to myself and everything worked out! And it’s not surprising, because I just repeated people’s experiences. Real people whose lives are recorded in such authoritative sources as Wikipedia!

This is how my course came about

This is my more than 20 years of experience and all my hatred for stuttering, an illness that has poisoned my existence for many, many years.

I don’t want you to see me as just another “guru” who will save you from stuttering in 3 seconds immediately after you transfer him a decent amount of money.

There is no secret in my course!

My methods for treating stuttering in adults include training your speech apparatus. Look - the famous actor Bruce Willis suffered from a severe stutter as a child, but was cured and was able to remove the disease himself, thanks to an acting school!

What do they teach actors in schools? What is the main skill? How do they earn their bread? This is a speech! Up to 80% of the training time in theater classes is devoted to the production and multifaceted development of the speech apparatus. Training is the best doctor!

Standard situation. You come to the bakery and you need to ask for: apricot puff and sausage in pastry (for me a couple of years ago this was just a hell of a task). You are standing in line, and when there are two or three people left in front of you, your heartbeat quickens and your excitement increases. I think if I dig inside myself, you will agree that one of the strongest fears is the fear that you will be “caught” stuttering, especially if there are a lot of people nearby.

When your turn comes, all the muscles of the speech apparatus contract; you really want to speak normally, but your mouth does not listen to you. You try to squeeze out the words, but the spasm is too strong.

And now it’s like this.

It’s your turn, the muscles of the speech apparatus are compressed, BUT! Now your muscles are so strong and elastic that no spasm can stop the command you gave. Your speech is much stronger, your muscles are obedient!

It's just muscles!!!

Stuttering is a spasm, a loss of muscle control!

You need to “pump up” precisely these muscles that are blocked by stuttering, to infuse them with strength and energy. Then control will completely return to you.

How to cure stuttering in an adult?

An adult's stuttering can be cured in just 40 days!

You can learn more about the course

This course will help you get rid of stuttering on your own, without leaving your home, it consists of more than 50 exercises that have helped me and more than 70 other people!