Maverick
06-02-2004, 09:48 AM
New aid to help teen overcome stuttering
By LIZ FREEMAN
May 22, 2004
Lazaro Arbos got to miss a day of school last week for a special trip to Tampa.
And when the 13-year-old returned, he got to show off something to his seventh-grade classmates at Oakridge Middle School in Golden Gate.
He's wearing a device in his ear, called a SpeechEasy, which could help him overcome his stuttering, a traumatic speech disorder for anyone afflicted.
The youngster, who moved to Florida from Cuba a few years ago with his family, learned early in life what it takes to be courageous.
"In the beginning, all the children were making fun of him. But that was two years ago and now they treat him much better," his mother, Gisella Arbos, said through an interpreter.
Now Lazaro and his family are anxious to see how the device will help him speak more clearly.
"We're very excited and happy," his mother said.
Lazaro said he is comfortable wearing the device but still has to get accustomed to it. He sings in the school choir and wants to see how that goes.
"I just like to sing," he said.
The family traveled May 12 to Tampa to visit a speech pathologist who fitted Lazaro with the device that once belonged to a 9-year-old boy from Orlando.
That boy, Sean Anderson, died unexpectedly in February. His parents didn't want the $6,000 device, which helped their son so much with his stuttering, to go unused. They decided to donate it to a needy family.
The Andersons learned of Lazaro through their late son's speech pathologist, Janet Skotko, in Tampa. She had screened Lazaro last fall to see if he would be a candidate for a SpeechEasy, but its price tag was out of reach for his family.
"This is a miracle. The best thing is meeting all of these people who have come to help us," Lazaro's father, Reinaldo Arbos, said through an interpreter from the speech pathologist's office.
Andy Anderson said it was exciting to help another family in memory of his son.
"My son was a great person and the device really helped him," Anderson said. "We knew that someone else could use it."
The SpeechEasy is worn similar to a hearing aid but instead of amplifying sound, it changes the pitch of the wearer's voice and delays it slightly. The result is the brain is tricked into thinking it is hearing a second voice.
This "choral" effect, for reasons not fully understood, helps a stutterer speak more clearly.
"It's similar to saying the Pledge of Allegiance with someone else in a different pitch and a few milliseconds slower," Skotko said. "So (it's like) someone behind you propels someone who stutters to speak clearer."
Skotko said what's tough for Lazaro is that English is a second language and the technique of saying "um" to activate the device doesn't come as naturally as it would someone whose native language is English, she said.
Skotko estimates 75 percent to 80 percent of children who stutter can be candidates for the device. Factors that come into play are the type of stuttering a child has, the brain's response and finding an appropriate setting for the voice pitch, she said.
The device fits in the ear canal and a new molding for the fitting can be made as a child's ear canal grows.
The SpeechEasy device, manufactured by Janus Development Group Inc. based in Greenville, N.C., is not considered a cure for stuttering but is designed to help people speak clearer with less effort.
"The potential is the stuttering could go away or (Lazaro) could learn to control it," Skotko said.
Stuttering affects 1 out of 30 children, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. About 75 percent of them will outgrow stuttering. Early therapeutic intervention is recommended, according to the National Stuttering Association.
http://www.naplesnews.com/npdn/news/article/0,2071,NPDN_14940_2905512,00.html
By LIZ FREEMAN
May 22, 2004
Lazaro Arbos got to miss a day of school last week for a special trip to Tampa.
And when the 13-year-old returned, he got to show off something to his seventh-grade classmates at Oakridge Middle School in Golden Gate.
He's wearing a device in his ear, called a SpeechEasy, which could help him overcome his stuttering, a traumatic speech disorder for anyone afflicted.
The youngster, who moved to Florida from Cuba a few years ago with his family, learned early in life what it takes to be courageous.
"In the beginning, all the children were making fun of him. But that was two years ago and now they treat him much better," his mother, Gisella Arbos, said through an interpreter.
Now Lazaro and his family are anxious to see how the device will help him speak more clearly.
"We're very excited and happy," his mother said.
Lazaro said he is comfortable wearing the device but still has to get accustomed to it. He sings in the school choir and wants to see how that goes.
"I just like to sing," he said.
The family traveled May 12 to Tampa to visit a speech pathologist who fitted Lazaro with the device that once belonged to a 9-year-old boy from Orlando.
That boy, Sean Anderson, died unexpectedly in February. His parents didn't want the $6,000 device, which helped their son so much with his stuttering, to go unused. They decided to donate it to a needy family.
The Andersons learned of Lazaro through their late son's speech pathologist, Janet Skotko, in Tampa. She had screened Lazaro last fall to see if he would be a candidate for a SpeechEasy, but its price tag was out of reach for his family.
"This is a miracle. The best thing is meeting all of these people who have come to help us," Lazaro's father, Reinaldo Arbos, said through an interpreter from the speech pathologist's office.
Andy Anderson said it was exciting to help another family in memory of his son.
"My son was a great person and the device really helped him," Anderson said. "We knew that someone else could use it."
The SpeechEasy is worn similar to a hearing aid but instead of amplifying sound, it changes the pitch of the wearer's voice and delays it slightly. The result is the brain is tricked into thinking it is hearing a second voice.
This "choral" effect, for reasons not fully understood, helps a stutterer speak more clearly.
"It's similar to saying the Pledge of Allegiance with someone else in a different pitch and a few milliseconds slower," Skotko said. "So (it's like) someone behind you propels someone who stutters to speak clearer."
Skotko said what's tough for Lazaro is that English is a second language and the technique of saying "um" to activate the device doesn't come as naturally as it would someone whose native language is English, she said.
Skotko estimates 75 percent to 80 percent of children who stutter can be candidates for the device. Factors that come into play are the type of stuttering a child has, the brain's response and finding an appropriate setting for the voice pitch, she said.
The device fits in the ear canal and a new molding for the fitting can be made as a child's ear canal grows.
The SpeechEasy device, manufactured by Janus Development Group Inc. based in Greenville, N.C., is not considered a cure for stuttering but is designed to help people speak clearer with less effort.
"The potential is the stuttering could go away or (Lazaro) could learn to control it," Skotko said.
Stuttering affects 1 out of 30 children, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. About 75 percent of them will outgrow stuttering. Early therapeutic intervention is recommended, according to the National Stuttering Association.
http://www.naplesnews.com/npdn/news/article/0,2071,NPDN_14940_2905512,00.html