Myths About Stuttering

[Retired]

Myth: People who stutter are not smart.
Reality: There is no link whatsoever between stuttering and intelligence.

Myth: Nervousness causes stuttering.
Reality: Nervousness does not cause stuttering. Nor should we assume that people who stutter are prone to be nervous, fearful, anxious, or shy. They have the same full range of personality traits as those who do not stutter.

Myth: Stuttering can be ?caught? through imitation or by hearing another person stutter.
Reality: You can?t ?catch? stuttering. No one knows the exact causes of stuttering, but recent research indicates that family history (genetics), neuromuscular development, and the child?s environment, including family dynamics, all play a role in the onset of stuttering.

Myth: It helps to tell a person to ?take a deep breath before talking,? or ?think about what you want to say first.?
Reality: This advice only makes a person more self-conscious, making the stuttering worse. More helpful responses include listening patiently and modeling slow and clear speech yourself.

Myth: Stress causes stuttering.
Reality: As mentioned above, many complex factors are involved. Stress is not the cause, but it certainly can aggravate stuttering.

Source: The Stuttering Foundation

Ever wonder about famous people who are affected by stutter? You will be surprised by who is first on their list HERE

Does stutter interfere with your speech? If you have succeeded in overcoming your stutter, please share your strategy so others can benefit.

Is help easily available for people who stutter?

 

[Halo]

Re: Myths About Stutter

What a great post Steve I really liked how it sets out the Myth v. Reality. Some were very obvious yet others were not...such as nervousness for example. I would never have guessed that one.

Thanks again for the post...very informative.

 

[Retired]

Re: Myths About Stutter

Halo,

There are studies where a correlation between stutter and Tourette is being investigated which might suggest that stutter is involuntary, but like Tourette is exacerbated (made worse) by anxiety (nervousness).

Some studies suggest that children with Tourette Syndrome are also more likely to stutter.

Roger Kurlan, M.D., professor of neurology at University of Rochester Medical Center is an expert on Tourette syndrome.

He became interested in stuttering when he noticed similarities between the two disorders.

Dr. Kurlan was quoted saying "The Tourette's patients and the stuttering patients we were treating displayed the same symptoms, but from two different perspectives. The clinical picture for stutterers is almost identical to those with Tourette's."

 

[suewatters1]

I use to stutter at one time not all the time but some words I had a hard time to get out. I had it for many years but not bad enough that family would notice it just me learning ways around it. The one word I had a hard time with was MY. I am not sure when I stop stuttering but in might have been in my 30's.

Sue

 

[Retired]

Sue,

I don't know much about stutter, but if indeed there might be some correlation between the mechanism of stutter and Tourette as suggested by Roger Kurlan, then we know that Tourette seems to diminish in some people through adulthood. This might be the reason why your stutter diminished.

You may want to investigate the excellent resource site of the Stuttering Foundation for more insights.

 

[suewatters1]

Thanks Steve

Sue