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The Control Illusion

May 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Have you thought to yourself, “If only I could control my speech, I would be able to speak fluently”? Maybe a well-meaning SLP told you to work hard to develop speech controls. Whether the idea came from you or was given to you, the idea that you can overcome stuttering by control is leading you to greater frustration and in some cases increased stuttered speech.

I know that I stand in disagreement with my colleagues who argue that stuttering happens because of lack of control. They say that head jerks, facial grimaces, repetitions and laryngeal blocks are signs of a lack of control, but this is an illusion. The fact is that speaking is an automatic system in the brain. Neurologist say this, psycholinguistic experts say this. The time has come for us to tell this to people who stutter.

“We do not let go of control; we let go of the belief that we have control. The rest is grace.” – David Richo

In Dynamic Stuttering Therapy, clients prove that giving up control results in fluent speech. Whenever they are speaking fluently with ease and comfort, they report that they hardly feel that they are doing something. They certainly are not thinking about how to talk. On the other hand, when they go with that urge to control how they are talking, they are once again struggling to speak.

Letting go of control is not easy, because our mind and ego want to control our environment and us. The mind fears results and wants to control what will happen. The idea of letting go of control is scary. In fact, it is so scary that the more we desire positive results, the more we tend to resist letting go. It is far easier to let go when we don’t care about the outcome. That is why it is easier for people who stutter to speak fluently when they are alone or speaking to animals or babies who do not judge them.

We cannot force ourselves to give up control, because that is also a form of control. However, we don’t have to force ourselves to give up control when we believe that control is unnecessary. We breath automatically because we know that’s how breathing works. We blink our eyes automatically, because we don’t think that it can be done any other way even though we could theoretically open and close our eyes on purpose. We also drive automatically and dance automatically (most of the time) because we know too much is required to carry out these activities by conscious thought. For 99% of the population speaking falls into the category of something we do without any thought or effort.

I know that giving up control over words and how to say them is not part of the psychological or belief system of people who stutter. However, it is possible to to change thoughts, beliefs and feelings. Giving up control is an essential part of the therapy process, because without giving up control, fluent speech will always be elusive.

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‘Your patience and knowledge was just a miracle for our son!’

May 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

We’ve added some recent testimonials to the site – we hope you’ll enjoy reading the successes patients and participants in Dynamic Stuttering Therapy have achieved. We’re very proud of each of them and what they have accomplished.

Hi Barbara,

Since we the last session, I must say that there has been a definite change in the way Josh speaks.  I can’t tell you the change that has occurred.  It seems like he really has just GOT IT.  He has control of his speech and it has lasted well over a week.  This is the longest that a notable change has been observed. Last night, he had 30 minute telephone conversation with his friend – absoultely beautiful speech.

I suppose I was waiting for the fall before emailing you again for another session.  Maybe we won’t need any more – a very unusual concept in this household as Josh has needed speech therapy since he was 6 and he has just turned 14 years old.

We have really not needed to remind him to use any technique, he self corrects – this approach to his speech works.  At times, I can see Josh working at using the strategies he has learnt from you – it works  …. IT WORKS.  He practices the strategies all the time – using it at all times – he has control – he feels in control.

Last December, I searched for an approach to Josh’s speech that would work for him – he had all the ingredients for success – interest, focus and dedication – but he needed a brilliant therapist and approach.  You are unique – the long search for an approach to fluent speech that worked was worth it.

Barbara, apart from the approach to speech, it was the discussions you had with Josh about the way he feels, linking this with his speech and ability to take a different perspective on board that was also integral to the improvement.

And can I also say that Josh not only enjoyed the skype sessions, but felt respected and liked by you – so thank you for the whole package.

Forever grateful,

Ellen

 

Dear Barbara,

This letter is past due.  I’m sorry it took so long but my husband and I, wanted to personally thank-you for the unbelievable work you put into our son, Avromie.  Before we started treatments with you, we thought it would be just another try, and another large sum of money, going to waste.  At our first visit, we were able to see how your idea and way of treatment just made so much sense!!  Your patience and KNOWLEDGE was just a miracle for our son!!  When our son does practice your techniques, it’s like, (as my husband put it), as if he swallowed some sort of pill!!  Thanks again of everything.

 

Hi Barbara,

Here’s as promised, a review of the therapy:

I have been trough the online stutter therapy,

I had my first sessions for some months ago.

I chose the online therapy because, first of all it was avialable for me - it is available for everyone who has internet.

And the online stutter therapy is very diiferent from other therapies.

What I learned was that my “stutter” (we are thought in the therapy to not use the word stutter) was affected from the major areas: 1) positive thinking and feelings towards my language

2) Fosucing on my vocal chords

3) Speeking in syllables

And also, I learned that my stutter is an old habit, from producing controlled language, in the wrong way.

The goal with the online stutter therapy is a fluent, enjoyable way of speaking.

And after 5 months of therapy I feel that being very much more the case than before, and I recommend this therapy to everyone. Just make sure you have the time for it first. If it is your goal to become fluent, and you have time for it, then I suggest this approach.

Friendly regards,

Oliver

 

Dear Barbara,

I need to tell you how valuable the Dynamic Stuttering Therapy program is to my students. Your approach gives students a “new” way of speaking which they can embrace and share with their families. Being in the public schools it’s often difficult scheduling students but I find my students seek out additional time to work on their speech, because of the program’s “user friendly” units/ goals. Thank you for clearly stating the goals and objectives and providing so many appropriate techniques.  Your program has been extremely helpful to not only the stutterer but to families. Thank you.

Susan Abrahamson CCC/SLP

 

(translated from the original Hebrew testimonial)

Hi Barbara,

First of all, thank you for the online session we had. I really enjoyed talking to you and of course reviewing the natural and normal way of speaking that disappeared from me for some time. The session was very successful and I got a lot out of it. I learned a lot about myself and about the way to speak.

I understand the (treatment) approach at CTI. I know that this approach is the right one and most important the natural method of speaking.

I’m happy to share with you and help you understand the person who stutters. Even though I have always stuttered mildly, I suffered from a lack of confidence in some situations when I had to talk or express my opinions. That was certainly very frustrating and caused me discomfort and not a few times bitter disappointment.

It is absurd to say that the normal way of speaking is the natural and easy way that little children speak, without any control or “filter”. It is just speaking without thinking about how to speak; speaking the way nature meant for us to speak. As a person who stutters mildly, I absolutely know that most people who stutter monitor their speech and plan what they are going to say. This is what disrupts the speech and makes it sound unnatural, causes prolongations, ends in blocks and causes certain words and sounds to get stuck. And it’s terribly, terribly frustrating for some one who has stuttered that unfortunately people who stutter still carry have a negative stigma. The secret is to speak without any monitoring, without filters, without preparing. Simply… talk automatically so that there is a natural coordination between the brain and the whole speech system!

I still think that it is not so easy to get rid of the habit of focusing on words and doing all sorts of preparations to speak, such as changing words, prolonging words. It is really difficult for someone who has used the wrong process for speaking for many years to give up old habits and get used to speaking naturally. Making this change is not easy or simple for everyone, but it is possible and it is the only way to speak naturally without stuttering!! Practicing internal speech (speaking silently in the head) is really worthwhile. (That was what was missing for me all these years!!)

So thank you very much for helping me get back my confidence in speaking. Already, during the past few days since our session, I have felt an improvement. This is the right approach!! A great approach!!! It is the approach that gets to the source of the problem instead of the syndrome and shaping the speech.

If you would like, I would be happy to send you heartfelt recommendations so that everyone will see and will learn the importance of realizing that this is the approach that can save everyone from the problem of stuttering.

 

Hi Mrs. Dahm,

That hope that you have been well. I’m afraid that I have the bad habit that when I don’t respond to an e-mail right away I get busy with other things and manage to forget about it completely… Anyways, here’s my update. I have overall been relatively pleased with the progress that I have made toward consistently speaking correctly. I would say that one particularly positive point has been my attitude toward speaking situations in general.

I have gotten to the point where I really don’t worry about any speaking situations any more. I gave an approximately 10 minute speech at my brother’s wedding, in front of a few hundred people, and I was not nervous about stuttering beforehand. No doubt related to that fact, I spoke correctly pretty much the whole time and therefore was able to speak fluently. There was a long time when I would have probably declined that opportunity to speak for fear of stuttering, and if I had done it I would have worried so much and tried so hard to speak fluently that I would have spoken incorrectly and therefore stuttered a lot.

In general, I have been making progress toward speaking correctly more of the time. I still sometimes slip back into my old way of speaking, trying to use my mouth too much to shape and force out my words. I think that I’m usually pretty good about noticing when I’m doing that and then going back to speaking correctly. I’m still working on making the correct way of speaking more habitual. I hope that you have been well. I’ll keep you posted about how things go in the future.

All the best,

Daniel

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“The King’s Speech” – Beyond the Red Carpet

February 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

colin firth, stuttering, kings speech, oscar award“The King’s Speech” is officially the Oscar winner for this year’s best film, but what I love most about the movie is its effect on people who stutter.

“The King’s Speech” is a catalyst for bringing stuttering out in the open. A few weeks ago, I was sitting in a crowd of people who, with the exception of a few, were strangers to me and to each other. After I mentioned that I specialize in treating people who stutter, the topic of  “The King’s Speech” came up. A man in his seventy’s mentioned that he had just seen the movie. From the one sentence he said, I realized that he stutters, so I asked him for his reaction to the film. In his reply he answered, “Actually I once stuttered….”. Later, a woman who knows him well told me that she had never before heard him discuss stuttering. In fact, she said that this man hardly ever speaks in a social group setting.  Due to the film, on that evening, this person who still has the remnants of stuttered speech did both. I think that story sums up why I vote for “The King’s Speech” as the best media happening of the decade for people who stutter.

There are some negative aspects of “The King’s Speech”. The movie does mention many of the false beliefs people have that relate to stuttering. It does seem to reinforce the fallacy that stuttering is a symptom of emotional issues. Would that the world knew that fear of speaking is a natural reaction to the difficulty in speaking, and not the other way around! Bertie’s feelings were so normal and appropriate. At the same time, Bertie is a great example of a person attempting to deal with these feelings and overcome his fears in order to function well in his life and role as a King and as a person.

Hopefully most viewers will understand that the therapy techniques shown in the movie are not necessarily accepted today. However, while watching the film, I cried inside, because as a science, stuttering has not progressed nearly enough since those pre-WWII days. People who stutter are still being asked to do things that are sometimes ineffective, sometimes a ridiculous waste of time, and sometimes even detrimental. The shaking, dancing, rhyming, putting marbles in the mouth, and smoking for relaxation that we saw Bertie being asked to do are not techniques used today. However, other techniques that are equally far removed from learning to produce natural automatic speech are still being used. To me, this is a sad and painful state of affairs. The time has come for us to use more than intuition when treating people who stutter. Researchers are doing great work in learning more and more about stuttering. Therapy must incorporate these findings.

The New York Times recently published an article about research in stuttering. In the article they quoted Dr. Ann Smith explaining, “Speaking involves brain areas responsible not only for language, but for hearing, planning, emotion, breathing and movement of the jaw, lips, tongue and neck. While some researchers are considering all these aspects of speaking, most therapies do not consider stuttering as symptom of dysfunctional system. So often, instead of working to change how the brain functions, therapy comes down to learning motor controls or trying not to stutter by doing what Bertie did: bouncing or gliding through words, using light contacts, slightly prolonging sounds, emphasizing speech sounds and pausing after saying a word or two.

There is a science of speaking. It is time that this science guides therapy approaches. Bertie’s speech therapist gave him wonderful emotional support. That, of course, is important to the therapeutic process. However, I believe clients want more than emotional support. They also want to change themselves into people who can speak with ease. This is the best catalyst for becoming a self-confident speaker.

 

Filed Under: controversy, Emmotions, general information, history, nature of stuttering Tagged With: , , ,

Whose Fault, part II

September 19, 2010 By 1 Comment

In part 1 of Whose Fault, I said that a major cause for the failure of stuttering treatment is a lack of knowledge of how to treat it. That is pretty amazing in the 21st century when so many advances have been made in the treatment of very complicated diseases, and innovative behavioral programs are abundant and often very successful. Our knowledge of biology, physiology, neurology, genetics, physics, and even human behavior has taken giant steps. However, mainstream stuttering therapy has remained pretty much the same, albeit with some refinements, for the past 80 years. We have learned a lot about the nature of stuttering from clinical observations and research, but this knowledge has not been incorporated in how stuttering is treated.

This leads me to what I believe is another major cause for the failure of treatment. There is a tendency on the part of professionals to become so rooted in a treatment approach or a theoretical belief about stuttering that they do not apply research findings and knowledge to treatment. Their prejudices and emotional investment in their work block them from being open to new ideas.

I recently searched for a title for a seminar that I will be presenting to clinicians. I chose Treating Stuttering With Confidence: A New and Logical Approach. “New” that word should no longer be appropriate. It has been almost 20 years since I gave my 1st presentation in Oxford, England in which I said that stuttering can be explained and treated through an understanding of the process of speaking. The presentation was well accepted, even though we still had so much to learn about the differences in brain function and motor processing of people who speak fluently and those who stutter. In spite of the initial enthusiasm of my colleagues, as the research backed my theories and as the clear-cut cause and effect relationship between internal processes used to produce speech and the fluency of the speech became apparent, I saw a growing resistance from my colleagues.

Interestingly, I found a correlation between clients, including young children, telling me this approach to therapy “rocks” and that Dynamic Stuttering Therapy is the most logical therapy they have ever had, and professionals telling me they don’t understand what I’m getting at or just being too busy to review my materials. I do not take this resistance personally, because I don’t think that it is related specifically to the approach or to me. I do think that the inability to change perspective stems from a very human condition – resistance to change.

While understandable, professionals are at fault for not overcoming this resistance. We ask our clients to put their feelings and beliefs into perspective and overcome their fear of the unknown. It is also our responsibility to do this. The time has come to let go of the arguments of whether clients should work on fluency or accept stuttering. Calling fluency the “f-word” as I have heard fluency experts do is not helpful. It is demagogic. The affiliation by professionals with a theoretical camp should to be abandoned. All voices should be heard and minds should be open. Professionals need to work together. We need to brainstorm. We need to put our heads together to make sense of stuttering and to insure that clients do not suffer disappointment from our efforts to treat them.

Some people who stutter that have had disappointing and frustrating therapy experiences are angry with clinicians in general. They think that clinicians are taking advantage of them and don’t care about them. In all my contacts with my colleagues, I have not seen that this is the case. I see that clinicians are concerned with their clients’ wellbeing and believe they are helping people by sticking to their belief. Nevertheless, the lack of progress and being closed to new ideas is hurting these clients who we care about. We, as professionals, owe it to our clients to make therapy the most rewarding experience possible. If not, it is our fault.

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A new concept of stuttering

June 9, 2010 By Leave a Comment

For the past 60-70 years treatments for stuttering have been based on the concept that stuttering is an uncontrollable thing that happens to people. This “thing” is often described as repetitions, prolongations and blocks that stop the forward flow of speech. Not knowing why and how this happens, the focus has been on the stuttered speech and the consensus for treatment is to accept, control, tame or get rid of it by trying to identify and change the external conditions that are assumed to disrupt speech.

Some conditions that tend to disrupt speech:

  • Rate or rhythm of speech
  • Fear of stuttering, speaking, or words
  • Shame
  • Pressure to speak
  • Anxiety
  • Physical and mental tension
  • Lack of control
  • Faulty breathing

Over the years this concept of stuttering has become deeply ingrained in the psyche of most people who do and do not stutter. Today it is the basis for most treatments, coping strategies, and advice for people who stutter. In fact it has become so ingrained that ideas that do not fit into this concept are often rejected or not considered serious enough to be investigated.

Over the past 20 years, while treating people who stutter, a different concept became apparent to me. I realized that there was more to stuttering than meets the eye or ear. The “how” stuttering is created started to emerge. I’d like to share this concept with you.

Within each speaker there is a speech production system and, as in all systems, the way it functions determines the outcome. I came to see stuttering as a breakdown in the way the speech system functions. The result of this breakdown is the variety of symptoms that people who stutter may exhibit.

Symptoms of a breakdown in the speech production system:

  • Repetitions, prolongations and blocks in speech
  • Facial tension
  • Eye blinks
  • Loss of eye contact
  • Body tension
  • Emotional tension
  • Low self-esteem
  • Uncontrollable movements of body and speech muscles
  • Poor vocal quality
  • Unclear speech
  • Unusual pausing
  • And many others

Fortunately, many people have helped me understand stuttering. First and foremost, I have learned so much from listening to and closely observing my clients, and other people who stutter, stuttered and never stuttered. I have also learned a lot from studies on the brain functions of people who stutter, neuroplasticity, and from researchers such as Levelt (1989) who describes how normally fluent speech is developed, as well as Smith & Kelly (1996); Watson, et. al. (1997) who through their research have also come to look at stuttering from the perspective of system function.

It is difficult to change ingrained concepts, because it is human nature to stick with the way we see things. I believe this is the reason that therapy for stuttering has not changed much in 60 years. The focus of therapy then and now is on stuttering as speech, rather than on the process of producing speech. Over and over again we hear that there are two basic treatment approaches – stuttering modification and fluency shaping. You either learn to live with stuttering or learn how to control or modify stuttering/fluency/speech.

There is an alternative stuttering therapy that doesn’t try to solve the problem by treating the symptoms. It focuses on how all of the processes of speech production interact, as well as on all the factors that influence the way the brain functions. I call this a speech processing approach. In this approach the focus is on changing brain functions so that speaking is virtually effortless and automatic. The treatment guides people who stutter to use their system according to Levelt’s model of a normal speech production. Stuttering disappears when the processes function naturally.

The process of normal speaking:

  • Attending to the nonverbal idea that the person is expressing
  • The brain automatically transforming ideas into language
  • The brain simultaneously sending a signal to the speech motor system so that a natural voice that contains intonation is produced
  • The mouth simultaneously moving subconsciously and automatically

In normal speech production there is no conscious word awareness, no control over motor activity, and no such thing as trying to “get words out”.  People who stutter may produce speech in this way some of the time, but it is not their exclusive way of speaking. If it were their speech would not be stuttered.

Changing how the brain creates speech is the goal of the treatment program Dynamic Stuttering Therapy. The treatment process involves exploration and self-discovery, identifying what changes need to be made and learning how to make them.  It involves making a commitment to effect neurological, cognitive, and behavioral change, and reinforcing these changes until they become habitual.

The specific goals of therapy that relate to neurological functions are not techniques for controlling speech. They are simply processes normally used by speakers to produce speech.

Specific goals of Dynamic Stuttering Therapy:

  1. Learning to develop internal (sub vocal speech) naturally without any attempt to get it out
  2. Allowing the speech muscles to work on an automatic mode
  3. Generating your voice naturally in a way that allows for the expression of mood and meaning

Many people who have learned to use techniques for controlling their stuttering balk at the idea of not using these controls. They say, “Sure I would like to produce speech more automatically, but I need a way to get out of blocks and to control my stutter”. It is hard to grasp that the point of learning to produce speech naturally is that when you do it, stuttering doesn’t happen. Most people are so locked into their way of thinking that they cannot fathom speaking without effort and thought. They do not realize that there can be a scenario where there is no need for speech controls. Training yourself to function in a new way requires awareness and repetitive use of the brain function. It is moving away from thought about how to say words and control speech, toward the automatic expression of thought.

Speaking naturally is different; it is possible; it is not physically hard to do and requires no special skills, but changing long held concepts and being open to a new approach is a great human challenge.

Sources:

  • Levelt, W.J.M. (1989). Speaking: From intention to articulation. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
  • Smith, A. and Kelly, E. 1996). Stuttering: A dynamic multifactorial model. In Curlee, R. and Siegel, G. (Ed.)Nature and treatment of stuttering: new directions, (2nd ed.) (p.204-217) Needham Heigts, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
  • Watson, B.C. & Freeman, F.J., (1997) Neurophysiologic behavioral evidence for a fluency-generating system.  In W. Hulstijn, Pascal H.H.M. van Lieshout, & H.F.M. Peters, (Eds.), Speech production: motor control, brain research and fluency disorders. (pp. 341-349) Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier.
Filed Under: controversy, dynamic stuttering therapy, fluent speech, general information, nature of stuttering, therapy approach Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Upcoming events for the summer

May 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

For those of you in the greater New York/New Jersey area, Barbara Dahm will be available for therapy sessions and initial consultations this summer at The Ridgewood Speech and Language Center in Midland Park, and Tender Touch Therapy in Lakewood, New Jersey. Clients beginning face-to-face therapy will also have the option of continuing treatment via the web.

In addition, Barbara will be available to work with clinicians looking to expand their expertise in stuttering treatment.

For an appointment, please contact us at barbdahm@gmail.com or by phone, please call us at 201-378-0089.

Barbara will also be giving a workshop at the National Stuttering Association Convention in Cleveland between July 7-11, 2010.  She will be talking about the disparity between research and treatment for stuttering and explaining how this can be overcome. It looks like it will be a great convention. It’s an opportunity for people who stutter and their families to meet and discuss all aspects of stuttering and to have lots of fun with a great group of people.

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Relapse After Stuttering Therapy

May 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

A common complaint of people who have undergone stuttering treatment is that the results don’t last. This complaint relates to many other conditions, such as weight loss, anger management, addictions and so forth, and is discussed in a wonderful book, Changing For Good, by Prochaska, Norcross, & Diclemente. The authors discuss the reasons that people who come to treatment wanting to achieve certain goals do not maintain their accomplishments, and they outline a program to overcome this problem. I believe it is a must read for people who want to help themselves to make long-term changes in their behaviors and attitudes. In fact, I have incorporated the principles of this program in the Dynamic Stuttering Therapy Workbook.

Over and above the general difficulties of maintaining change, stuttering is a condition that presents special difficulties for the maintenance of change. One of these is that there is most likely an innate tendency for the brain to use an ineffective way for processing speech. Another is that most people who stutter are usually trying to change the wrong thing. I would like to address these two issues.

Research has shown that there are functional and possibly structural difference in the brains of fluent speakers and people who stutter when speaking. These findings are overlooked in most treatment programs. When working on speech tools, the goal is usually to change speech without any consideration of how the speech is being produced. Tools include smooth, slow speech, gentle onsets, pullouts, cancellations and voluntary stuttering. Working on using these techniques is like trying to change how the cake looks when it is finished instead of changing the ingredients and how they are put together. They deal with the result of speaking, the speech, instead of working on how to make it.

In Dynamic Stuttering Therapy we relate to the neuro-physiological process of speaking. During therapy one of the biggest challenges is to get clients to report on how they process speech both in practice and conversations between therapy sessions, instead of on whether or not they stuttered. I find that the clients who succeed in making this switch in perspective are the ones who maintain the new process and enhance their ability to speak fluently. This makes sense. If you are trying to be fluent, who knows what you are doing. It’s all a matter of chance. If you have a way of making speech that results in natural fluency, as happens when you use the processes you have used during therapy, you can make certain you use it.

Once we accept that there is a correct and incorrect process for making speech, there is still a need to cope with the innate tendency of the brain to function the way it is used to functioning. We have a clearly defined process for producing fluent speech, but that does not mean that just because you know the process and have used it, the brain will always function this way. People who stutter have to decide to use the process. The process doesn’t happen to them. They make it happen. Brain processes become stable only when they are repeated over and over again with awareness for at least 6 months to a year. This requires carrying out the process with awareness for a long time after knowing what and how to do it.

When the goal of therapy is to process speech normally, the issue of regression changes. Stuttering doesn’t come and go. You do not have to hope that you will maintain results.  There is a direct connection between what you do and the fluency of speech. Regression does not happen, although the speaker might not use the effective process all the time. In this case stuttering may occur. Nevertheless, if you know the processes for producing fluent speech, you know how to return to it. Being able to do this is not a matter of chance. It is an empowering experience.

Filed Under: fluent speech, nature of stuttering, therapy approach, treatment results Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

A sample activity to supplement treatment – sub vocal speech

April 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

I often get emails from people who want me to give them a quick tip on how they can become fluent speakers. I certainly understand their desire. However, I’m also certain that no one really believes that there is a simple trick or one piece of advice that will instantly transform a person who stutters into a fluent speaker.

Nevertheless, people who stutter can go through a process of helping themselves to become fluent speakers. This process starts with discovering how fluent speech is produced and comparing this to what you do to produce speech. So for those of you who want to take an active role in this process, I thought that it would be a good idea to give you an activity to do.

The activity I am describing here is meant to show you that speaking does not involve thinking about what you want to say and then trying to get it out. So let’s explore….

Activity: Discovering how language develops in the brain i.e. developing internal (sub vocal) speech

Step 1: Write an email to some one. While you are doing this, become aware of how language automatically develops in your head. This is your internal or sub vocal speech.

Internal speech automatically develops in your head when you are writing, figuring out a math problem or simply talking silently to yourself. Language is meant to develop in the exact same way when you are talking to all people in all situations. Developing internal speech is speaking and there is really nothing else that you need to do. Doing anything less, or anything more, will very likely lead to speech blocks. I suggest you look at these fascinating link related to sub vocal speech. It will help you understand the power of this inner speech.

Step 2: Speak silently as you become aware of how language develops automatically when you are not thinking about the words that you are saying or planning to say.

For most of you, this will be natural under the condition of silent speech, but for others, you might find that even in silent speech you have a tendency to preplan your thoughts or choose your words. If this is the case, you can try giving up all control by experiencing automatic internal speech while counting or saying the ABCs. Later you can move on move on to spontaneous speech.

Step 3: Once you are speaking naturally in your head, continue to do this as your mouth simultaneously moves as you develop internal speech.

Some of you might have been doing this already in steps 1 & 2. If not, do it now. If you are using automatic articulation, you will hardly feel that your mouth is moving, even though it is. Also you will be able to speak without any effort.

Step 4: Talk silently and then talk aloud. See if there is any difference at all in the way your internal speech develops and the way your mouth moves.

Being aware of whether the process of speaking silently and aloud is the same, or even slightly different, is the prerequisite for changing how the system works.

Filed Under: clients, dynamic stuttering therapy, fluent speech, nature of stuttering, sample activity, therapy approach Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Leading to Recovery From Stuttering

March 31, 2010 By 1 Comment

My experience in treating a few thousand people who stutter has shown me that while it may not always be easy, it is possible for most people who stutter to develop the ability to produce normally fluent speech. We do not yet understand why some people do use different neurophysiologic processes for producing speech, but we see so many examples of people who have apparently changed these processes. These are the people who once stuttered and no longer feel the same difficulty when speaking.

There are a few examples of famous people who for the most part have become fluent speakers. Carly Simon, who once struggled with stuttering, set her speech to a rhythm. In an interview she gave with Tavis Smiley, she showed an example of how she made herself speak with what she describes as syncopation. To me it looked like her speech progressed in syllables, as she was no longer trying to get words out. In the same interview, Smiley, who also once stuttered, says he began speaking fluently by imitating the cadence of Dr. Martin Luther King’s speech. This is an example of achieving a normal pattern of intonation.

Vice President Joe Biden tells of his efforts to overcome stuttering by practicing reading aloud in front of a mirror and trying to eliminate the contortions of his face.

My clients changed their neurophysiologic processes by learning to develop speech internally without any effort to get it out and by letting their voice reflect normal patterns of intonation while giving up all control over forming words or speech sounds.

Whether the change was made by self-help or within a treatment program, we can learn a few things from people who as older children and adults do change how they speak I am listing a few of them here:

  1. They investigate how people who do not stutter speak.
  2. They learn from watching and listening to themselves when they speak.
  3. They become aware of the act of speaking, instead of trying not to stutter.
  4. They are persistent in looking for solutions, instead of focusing on problems.
  5. Whether or not it is their conscious goal, they change the intonation pattern of their speech.
  6. They take responsibility for the recovery process.
  7. They are willing to do repetitive practice on a daily basis.
  8. They believe they are capable of making changes.
  9. They focus more on what they do rather than blaming external situations for their stuttering.
  10. They realize making change requires patience and time.

If you want to help yourself to speak with greater fluency, the first step is to develop as many of these qualities and behaviors as you can. It will make the process of change easier and so much more rewarding.

Filed Under: clients, dynamic stuttering therapy, fluent speech, general information, therapy approach, treatment results Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Stuttering and brain plasticity – how learning changes your brain

March 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment

As we learn more about stuttering, we are seeing increasing evidence that stuttering is related to the workings of the brain. If stuttering proves to be a genetic disorder or a neurological problem related to how the brain processes speech production, many people question what the point is of having therapy?

Once it was believed that the brain was hard wired. People thought that once the brain developed, there was no possibility of making changes. Today neuroscientists believe that this is not true. There have been many studies on brain plasticity, the capacity of the brain to change by developing new connections between neurons resulting in changes of the internal structure of the existing synapses.

We are all born with a specific genetic makeup that determines our tendencies. Musical tendencies, language abilities, handedness, and mathematical ability, among countless others are influenced by our genetic make up. However, when we engage in a specific activity to the point of becoming expert, the areas in your brain that deal with this type of skill have been shown to change.

Other evidence that the processes that produce stuttered speech are not so hard wired that they cannot be changed comes from a lot anecdotal evidence in which people who have once stuttered appear to be naturally fluent speakers and from our clients who report that stuttering is no longer an issue in their life. This is proof that the same person can produce speech differently at different times in his life.

During Dynamic Stuttering Therapy people who stutter learn to use the normal processes of producing speech. They begin therapy thinking that what they do is the only thing they can do, but soon see that it is indeed possible to produce speech in a way that is so very different. If it weren’t possible to change their way of producing speech, we would not see this happen. No matter what the cause of stuttering proves to be, change is possible and treatment can help people who stutter to make the necessary changes.

Filed Under: controversy, dynamic stuttering therapy, therapy approach Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,
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