Stuttering
07-02-2004, 09:11 AM
Stutterers overcome obstacles, gain confidence
Experts constantly working to develop therapies to conquer the impediment.
By Eric Eckert
News-Leader
In 1963, the U.S. Army recruiter looked across the desk at Robert Barns and told the recent college graduate the Army had no use for someone who stuttered.
"I tried to read a sentence and got stuck on the second word," Barns recalled. "(The recruiter) said, 'You probably won't make it through. You'll get a dishonorable discharge.'"
With his dreams dashed, Barns went home. Rejected again, he thought. All because he couldn't get his words to come out right.
"Many people have the gift of gab and that's important to compete in the world," Barns said. "Those who stutter don't have that and they feel like they're only half a person."
But it doesn't have to be that way.
After months of speech therapy, Barns gained confidence. He eventually married Lisa (his wife of 39 years) and started his own business. In 1975, he took another stab at the Army. This time they took him — and didn't let go for 21 years.
Now the 62-year-old grandfather is teaching JROTC at Nixa High School.
Experts are constantly working to develop various therapies to help stutterers conquer their impediment, said Klaas Bakker, associate professor of communication sciences and disorders at Southwest Missouri State University.
"We have not determined exactly what causes stuttering," said Bakker, who helps develop speech-therapy technology. "Specialists are looking at the way the brain functions. We're looking at genetics and how it runs in families."
According to information provided by the Stuttering Foundation, these are signs of stuttering in a child:
• They repeat sounds more than twice.
• They have tension in the facial muscles, especially around the mouth.
• The pitch of the voice may rise with repetitions, and occasionally the child will experience a "block" — no airflow or voice for several seconds.
• Stuttering is present more often than absent.
"About 1 percent of the people around you have a stuttering problem," Bakker said. "About four times that amount of people around you have stuttered before. Many people tend to get over it and it goes away."
Experts agree that if you catch stuttering early, it can be managed. If it's allowed to linger, stuttering can lead to more problems such as severe eye blinks, jerky head movement and negative self-perception.
Barns said his parents noticed he stuttered when he was about 3 years old. But it wasn't until he graduated from college that he found a speech therapist that helped him learn to control the stuttering.
"I'm a little bit concerned when I hear the word 'overcome,'" Barns said. "Once you're an alcoholic, you're always an alcoholic. It's the same with stuttering. I'm always conscious that it can slip back at any time."
Barns said his biggest fear as a young man was talking on the telephone. He said his therapist made him face his fear and make 10 phone calls a week.
"By the time I got done making those phone calls, I looked like I came out of the shower because I was wringing with sweat," Barns said. "He'd increase the number by five a week. By the time I got done (with the therapy), I was making about 50 phone calls a week. Now I don't have a fear of talking on the phone."
Barns says he has particular trouble with the "long-A" sound. For example, he stumbles on words like "eight" or "hay."
"I've learned to switch words or to slide into words," he said. "Stutterers' minds race at about 300 miles an hour trying to come up with a second, third or fourth choice for a word they think they'll have trouble with. The only problem is there's no guarantee they'll be able to get that word out either."
Treatment varies, Bakker said. Some therapists have their patients work on speaking slowly or changing the way they speak altogether. Others require their patients to change the rate at which they use their voice (fluency enhancement) or keep their voice boxes running as fast as they can (continued phonation).
"I would encourage anyone who feels their child is stuttering to see a speech therapist," Bakker said. "It can be helped in many ways, but it needs to be treated head-on."
Barns said therapy changed his life and gave him the strength and confidence he lacked.
"I think young people today need to see somebody who's not perfect, but who's done several things and done them successfully," Barns said. "You don't have to be perfect to have a good life."
Robert Barns was rejected by the military once for stuttering. But after speech therapy he was accepted and retired as a first sergeant.
Be a good listener
For many, stuttering can be a chronic lifelong disorder. Here are some ways that you, the listener, can help.
• Refrain from making remarks like: "Slow down," "Take a breath," or "Relax." Such advice can be felt as demeaning.
• Let the person know by your manner and actions that you are listening to what he or she says — not how it is said.
• Maintain natural eye contact and wait patiently and naturally until the person is finished.
• You may be tempted to finish sentences or fill in words. Try not to do this.
• Use a relatively relaxed rate in your own conversational speech — but not so slow as to sound unnatural. This promotes good communication no matter with whom you are speaking.
• Be aware that those who stutter usually have more trouble controlling their speech on the telephone. If you pick up the phone and hear nothing, be sure it is not a person who stutters trying to initiate the conversation before you hang up.
Source: The Stuttering Foundation
http://springfield.news-leader.com/health/thisweek/0629-Stutterers-121890.html
Experts constantly working to develop therapies to conquer the impediment.
By Eric Eckert
News-Leader
In 1963, the U.S. Army recruiter looked across the desk at Robert Barns and told the recent college graduate the Army had no use for someone who stuttered.
"I tried to read a sentence and got stuck on the second word," Barns recalled. "(The recruiter) said, 'You probably won't make it through. You'll get a dishonorable discharge.'"
With his dreams dashed, Barns went home. Rejected again, he thought. All because he couldn't get his words to come out right.
"Many people have the gift of gab and that's important to compete in the world," Barns said. "Those who stutter don't have that and they feel like they're only half a person."
But it doesn't have to be that way.
After months of speech therapy, Barns gained confidence. He eventually married Lisa (his wife of 39 years) and started his own business. In 1975, he took another stab at the Army. This time they took him — and didn't let go for 21 years.
Now the 62-year-old grandfather is teaching JROTC at Nixa High School.
Experts are constantly working to develop various therapies to help stutterers conquer their impediment, said Klaas Bakker, associate professor of communication sciences and disorders at Southwest Missouri State University.
"We have not determined exactly what causes stuttering," said Bakker, who helps develop speech-therapy technology. "Specialists are looking at the way the brain functions. We're looking at genetics and how it runs in families."
According to information provided by the Stuttering Foundation, these are signs of stuttering in a child:
• They repeat sounds more than twice.
• They have tension in the facial muscles, especially around the mouth.
• The pitch of the voice may rise with repetitions, and occasionally the child will experience a "block" — no airflow or voice for several seconds.
• Stuttering is present more often than absent.
"About 1 percent of the people around you have a stuttering problem," Bakker said. "About four times that amount of people around you have stuttered before. Many people tend to get over it and it goes away."
Experts agree that if you catch stuttering early, it can be managed. If it's allowed to linger, stuttering can lead to more problems such as severe eye blinks, jerky head movement and negative self-perception.
Barns said his parents noticed he stuttered when he was about 3 years old. But it wasn't until he graduated from college that he found a speech therapist that helped him learn to control the stuttering.
"I'm a little bit concerned when I hear the word 'overcome,'" Barns said. "Once you're an alcoholic, you're always an alcoholic. It's the same with stuttering. I'm always conscious that it can slip back at any time."
Barns said his biggest fear as a young man was talking on the telephone. He said his therapist made him face his fear and make 10 phone calls a week.
"By the time I got done making those phone calls, I looked like I came out of the shower because I was wringing with sweat," Barns said. "He'd increase the number by five a week. By the time I got done (with the therapy), I was making about 50 phone calls a week. Now I don't have a fear of talking on the phone."
Barns says he has particular trouble with the "long-A" sound. For example, he stumbles on words like "eight" or "hay."
"I've learned to switch words or to slide into words," he said. "Stutterers' minds race at about 300 miles an hour trying to come up with a second, third or fourth choice for a word they think they'll have trouble with. The only problem is there's no guarantee they'll be able to get that word out either."
Treatment varies, Bakker said. Some therapists have their patients work on speaking slowly or changing the way they speak altogether. Others require their patients to change the rate at which they use their voice (fluency enhancement) or keep their voice boxes running as fast as they can (continued phonation).
"I would encourage anyone who feels their child is stuttering to see a speech therapist," Bakker said. "It can be helped in many ways, but it needs to be treated head-on."
Barns said therapy changed his life and gave him the strength and confidence he lacked.
"I think young people today need to see somebody who's not perfect, but who's done several things and done them successfully," Barns said. "You don't have to be perfect to have a good life."
Robert Barns was rejected by the military once for stuttering. But after speech therapy he was accepted and retired as a first sergeant.
Be a good listener
For many, stuttering can be a chronic lifelong disorder. Here are some ways that you, the listener, can help.
• Refrain from making remarks like: "Slow down," "Take a breath," or "Relax." Such advice can be felt as demeaning.
• Let the person know by your manner and actions that you are listening to what he or she says — not how it is said.
• Maintain natural eye contact and wait patiently and naturally until the person is finished.
• You may be tempted to finish sentences or fill in words. Try not to do this.
• Use a relatively relaxed rate in your own conversational speech — but not so slow as to sound unnatural. This promotes good communication no matter with whom you are speaking.
• Be aware that those who stutter usually have more trouble controlling their speech on the telephone. If you pick up the phone and hear nothing, be sure it is not a person who stutters trying to initiate the conversation before you hang up.
Source: The Stuttering Foundation
http://springfield.news-leader.com/health/thisweek/0629-Stutterers-121890.html