Stuttering Module

Stuttering By: Shelby Wessell, Ariana DelPonte, Megan Fennelly, Alyssa Small

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A Language Sample of Stuttering

Introduction to Stuttering

What is stuttering?

People who stutter may also experience:

• tension in their speech musculature
• embarrassment or anxiety about speaking
• facial movements when stuttering/ trying to speak fluently

Stuttering is a communication disorder that interrupts the flow of speech.People who stutter may:

• repeat sounds or syllables while speaking
• pause during a sound or syllable

1%

of the world's population has a stutter

of all children will develop a stutter (lasting for at least 6 months)

5%

of children who develop a stutter will recover, leaving about 1% of the population with a long-term stutter

75%

What causes stuttering?

The causes of stuttering are still being researched, but researchers are beginning to determine some possible causes. Click on each of the + symbols below to learn more about the possible causes of stuttering

Family Dynamics

Child Development

Inheriting from Family

Neurology

Differences in brain activity may interfere with the production of speech. Traumatic brain injuries are also included in this cause.

Fast paced lifestyles and family dynamics may have an effect on stuttering.

About 60% of those who stutter also have a family member who stutters.

Children with other speech/developmental delays may be more prone to stuttering.

Common Misconceptions

Stuttering is widely misunderstood, with many existing myths and stereotypes, such as...

• Nervousness is not a cause for stuttering, though stuttering may may the speaker more nervous

• People stutter because they are nervous

• People who stutter are less intelligent

• Stuttering is just a bad habit

• Children learn stuttering by immitating a parent

who stutters

• Stuttering does not impact cognitive abilities. People who stutter are equally as successful as those who do not.

• Most people who stutter undergo some type of treatment to work on their fluency, but it is not a "habit" that can be broken.

• Stuttering runs in families due to genetics, but it is not learned through immitation.

Interactive Question

Assess your understanding so far with a quick checkpoint! Select the correct answer(s) on the interactive question below

Neurology of Stuttering

• Stuttering is genetic, and it can also occur after a traumatic brain injury
• Stuttering is caused by genetic mutations of damaged genes in the brain cells that are located in speech center of the brain (CNN)

Stuttering and the Brain

• According to Scientific American “In most people, language is predominantly supported in the left hemisphere. Adults who stutter show less activity in the left-hemisphere areas that support speech production and more activity in the right hemisphere than adults who do not stutter. (scientific american)”

• According to Max Planck Institute, The brain has two important areas for speech: the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), which processes the planning of speech movements, and the left motor cortex, which controls the actual speech movements. When these areas of the brain do not function properly, the affected person is unable to speak fluently, thus causing the stutter

• According to Christian Büchel, Martin Sommer, “functional neuroimaging studies have revealed two important facts: (i) in stutterers, the right hemisphere seems to be hyperactive, and (ii) a timing problem seems to exist between the left frontal and the left central cortex…stutterers have slight abnormalities in complex coordination tasks, suggesting that the underlying problem is located around motor and associated premotor brain areas”

Stuttering and the Brain

References for Follow up Information

Articles https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/stuttering-stems-from-problems-in-brain-wiring-not-personalities/#:~:text=In%20most%20people%2C%20language%20is,adults%20who%20do%20not%20stutter. https://www.cbs.mpg.de/stuttering-in-the-brain#:~:text=In%20people%20who%20stutter%2C%20the,speech%20movements%20are%20particularly%20affected.%E2%80%9D&text=Two%20of%20these%20areas%20are,controls%20the%20actual%20speech%20movements. https://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/health/s/stuttering https://westutter.org/what-is-stuttering/ https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.0020046 https://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/stuttering/ .

Video

Treatments

Treatment Options for Stuttering

• Speech Therapy. This treatment option can help you to slow down your speech and recognize your stuttering patterns. Overtime your speech will sound more natural.
• Electronic Devices. Electronic devices are used to help enhance fluency. delayed auditory feedback assists you in slowing down your speech otherwise, your speech will be inaudible through the electronic device. Also, some electronic devices will mimic your speech so it sounds like you're talking in unison with another person.
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. This is a form of psychotherapy that can help people with stuttering to learn, identify, and change their ways of thinking that may increase their stuttering. This treatment option also helps to reduce anxiety and depression that are connected with stuttering.
• Parent-child Interaction. For child who struggle with stuttering this is a useful treatment. It allows parents to practice tequinques at home such as mindful breathing to help their children cope with stuttering.

College Student Speaks About Personal Struggles with Stuttering

Interactive question

How Teachers Can Provide Support for Students that Stutter

Methods of Support

• Creating an accepting classroom
• Model patient listening for other students
• Listen to WHAT the student is saying, not HOW they are saying it
• Create individualized support in tandem with SLPs and the family

• Don't say just to relax or to slow down.
• Let them finish speaking, do not interupt or try to finish their word or sentence.
• Teach all the students in the class about proper turn-taking when speaking to minimize interuptions when they are speaking.
• Do not assume that the quality of work produced by these students will be less than the other students' work.
• Have unrushed conversations with frequent pauses.
• Emphasize that you are listen to the content of what they are saying, not how they are saying it.
• Have a conversation with the student to determine their needed accomodations.
• Do not treat stuttering as if it is something to be ashamed of.

Tips for Speaking to a Child With a Stutter

Resources for Teachers

Click each link and review the source provided.

A student made book that can be given to students that stutter to support them and to help them feel more welcome in the classroom.

Info

Info

Frequently Asked Questions regarding stuttering to be used as a quick review.

A resource to give to families of students that stutter that provides 15 ways to help their child and stay updated.

Info

Another resource to give to families of those that stutter or of other children in the classroom that is information that people that stutter want others to know.

Info

Interactive Question

Assess your understanding and choose the best fitting answer.

Assessment