Last Updated on December 16, 2021 by
Are you stutterer and feel frustration stop stuttering and shame every time you talk in public? Do you think your child has symptoms of stuttering and you want to help him overcome the problem?
Well, there’s good news for you. If your speaking fluency is greatly affected because you are stuttering, the symptoms can be mitigated by practicing some techniques to stop stuttering .
How to stop stuttering
And if you have a young child with this problem, you can help improve your stuttering or completely overcome the problem by following some simple tips.
My son is a stammerer, how can I help him?
Well, if you have a small child who stutters, starting a treatment early can prevent stuttering from becoming a problem for the rest of your life.
Keep in mind that some degree of stuttering in children 3 or 4 years in normal. However, you should take your child to the speech pathologist for an evaluation if:
- The stuttering lasts for six months or more and does not go away,
- The child shows other symptoms, such as tremors on the lips or rapid blinking when speaking.
- There are stutterers in the family.
After initiating treatment with the speech therapist, the child should be monitored every three months to see if the stuttering is decreasing or on the contrary, it is getting worse.
Tips for Parents
As a parent or as a parent, you can help your child in the following ways:
- Offer opportunities for your child to talk in a relaxed way. Listen to him in time, with attention and without pressure.
- Do not react negatively when stuttering. Correct it without anger and praise if you show fluency when speaking.
- Do not ask him to speak in a certain way or in front of other people.
- Speak slowly and leisurely.
- When stuttering, wait patiently to complete the word or phrase.
- Tell him that a person can communicate well even if he stutters, that the child understands that stuttering is not something bad or embarrassing, and that it does not have to be an impediment in his life.
These psychological factors are very important to overcome or at least minimize stuttering.
Remember that consultation with a specialist is essential to help the child overcome the problem or improve the symptoms.
10 techniques to stop stuttering
If you are already an adult and you have this uncomfortable problem of stuttering, you should not lose hope, because there are techniques and treatments that can help you a lot.
Most techniques are exercises to improve speaking fluency, but there are also medications and devices that can be helpful.
1-Uses electronic gadgets
There are devices that are placed in the ear, similar to a hearing aid, that digitally reproduce in the ear a somewhat retouched version of the voice of the user.
Such devices can help improve speech fluency. However, there are those who think that they are not very practical to use in everyday life.
Researchers continue to study the long-term efficacy of these devices.
2-Study the option of pharmacological treatment
While there is no drug specifically for stuttering, it has been shown that certain medications used to control anxiety or depression can improve symptoms.
When the person feels more relaxed and calm, he shows greater fluency when speaking.
However, the medication should be administered with caution. There may be side effects.
3-Acceptance
Being stutterer is something that anyone can happen to you, and is not really a serious problem.
If you manage to accept your problem and even laugh at it, you will feel more relaxed and relaxed when you have to speak in public and you may stutter less.
The self – help groups can be very helpful in this regard. Being part of the safe group will help you to accept yourself as you are and to feel better, knowing that there are many people with this problem who work day by day to overcome.
In addition, the group shares experiences and different tools to improve the symptoms of dysphoria.
4-Stand in front of the mirror
This is a technique that seems to be very simple, but it is very effective.
Ideally, you should stand in front of a mirror, and if it is a better one: being able to observe yourself in full body will help you even more.
In front of him, alone, he begins to speak. Ask yourself questions and you answer them yourself. At first you may feel a little strange, but seeing you talking, and without any problem, will be a very valuable image.
The mirror allows you to use your visual communication channel. With this, your brain is fixing an image, which on the other hand is very positive. Being alone, and without anyone observing you, you will be calm and relaxed, and it is very likely that you will not stutter.
Then, when you are in public, your brain will remember that image, that of speaking without stuttering.
5-Read aloud
While this is one of the great challenges for stutterers, as with all fears and barriers, you have to face them in order to overcome them. It’s the only way to beat them.
Also Read: Stuttering (Stuttering): Symptoms, Causes, Treatments
At first it is convenient to do this exercise alone, without spectators. This eliminates tension and fear of ridicule.
Over time you can repeat this dynamic but in the presence of someone, if it is a person of your best confidence. The next step will be the “normal” reading situation in front of the public, but when that time comes you will have already acquired the necessary experience.
6-Change attitude when you have to speak in public
This technique is used by many people, not just stutters.
Have you heard of “scenic panic “? Well, this technique aims to eliminate that fear. If you get caught up when you talk or you realize that the look of others just blocks you and stutters even more, then do not look at a particular person.
While the speaker must establish eye contact, you can do it in a general way. Look at all but not look at anyone in particular.
You can look into the back of a room, or simply the heads of people, but never directly into the eyes. They will not notice that detail but you will feel more relaxed.
Here you can find other councils to speak better in public.
7-Exercise and train your breathing
Breathing is more than 50% of the problem of stutterers.
When you stutter, speech coordination is lost through inhaling and exhaling air.
If you want, you can make an initial consultation with a speech therapist to explain better the functioning of all the organs that intervene when you speak.
In addition to the professional advice of the professional, there are two techniques that can always help you speak more fluently:
Take a deep breath before speaking. Just as if you were to submerge yourself in the water, take two or three deep breaths. Take as much air as possible and then exhale very slowly. Immediately you will feel calm and peaceful.
Breathe while you’re talking. Make yourself pause during the conversation. Whether you get stuck or not, it’s good that you get used to it, breathing during a speech should be a habit for you.
A resource that sounds very good is to retake the phrase that ended just before you breathe. It will sound natural, and you will have achieved your goal.
8-Give a certain rhythm to the way you speak
Without falling into exaggerations, you can give a certain accent or song to your speech. When a stutterer gives rhythm to his sentences, he locks up less. Of course you can express syllables a little longer, without that sounds bad to the interlocutor.
9-Never set speed targets
It is never a good idea to set time goals when speaking, but much less in the case of stuttering. Speed is the worst enemy of dysphoria.
Never make commitments to yourself or to others, to have to speak at a certain speed. Speaking slowly will always be the best thing for you.
10-Consultation with language therapists
Whether you are a speech therapist, speech therapist or a psychologist specializing in language issues, attending a therapy can help.
However, it is important to keep in mind that any treatment, whether professional or not, is no guarantee that your stuttering will disappear completely.
That will depend on what your case is, especially what your age is and how the environment around you is. It is never good to overreach a therapy. Not because I’m not going to serve you, but because it’s not advisable to press too hard to stop stuttering.
Finally, you should keep in mind that any treatment you continue to stop stuttering, it will take some time to show results.
You will have to apply certain techniques and perform exercises with patience and perseverance for months before noticing improvements.
In most cases you have to apply more than one technique and you should not be disappointed if one does not work.
The important thing is to keep in mind that you can improve with practice. If you learn to relax, if you put aside fear or embarrassment when speaking and practice these exercises, you will surely notice that over time you improve your speaking fluency and you stutter less.
