Stuttering
08-23-2004, 04:08 AM
Device helps stutterers talk
By Associated Press
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A new device is providing hope for stutterers who struggle to speak in public or fear answering the phone.
The device, SpeechEasy, creates an auditory feedback with a “choral effect,” which occurs when stutterers speak or sing in unison with others and do not stutter, said Julie Gasway of Speech Therapy Associates in Cedar Rapids.
With the device, users hear their own voice echoed in a high “Alvin the Chipmunk” pitch, making it sound like someone is talking with them, Gasway said.
The firm recently became the first provider for the device in Iowa, she said.
For stutterers, such as Tracy Armstrong, it provides hope of being able to talk with confidence in public.
“I’d been kind of resolved that this was the way it was going to be my whole life,” said Armstrong, 41, of Forest City. “I’m happy this is finally here.”
Armstrong is among the one percent of adult stutterers nationwide.
An estimated 3 million Americans stutter. Most are children between the ages of 2 and 6, according to the Stuttering Foundation of America.
Most children outgrow stuttering, the foundation said.
So far, three of the devices have been sold in the state, Gasway said.
They range in price from $3,600 to $5,100.
Gasway said SpeechEasy doesn’t cure stuttering but reduces it.
“When you take it off, you stutter,” Gasway said.
Armstrong, who works at Winnebago Industries in Fort City, said he’s anxious for the device that he ordered to be delivered.
“It’s difficult to want to speak and can’t,” he said. “There are times when you’re physically unable to get out the words and it’s frustrating.”
Armstrong said he tried hypnosis to relieve his stuttering, but it was ineffective. He didn’t pursue speech therapy because he couldn’t afford it.
Experts are not sure why the choral effect works. They say the device, which doesn’t make users completely fluent, isn’t for everyone.
One drawback is that SpeechEasy isn’t typically covered by health insurance. Armstrong said he had to borrow from his 401k retirement account to buy the device.
He said he tested the device during a tour of the Cedar Rapids Masonic Library and Museums, asking questions he otherwise would have been hesitant to ask in front of strangers.
He said his stuttering also has limited his ability to apply for other jobs at his work.
“I didn’t feel comfortable in applying because of my limited fluency,” he said.
Armstrong said the device also will help him in social situations, where he said his wife has done much of the talking for him.
“I’ve been afraid of others’ first impressions of me, so I’m kind of looking forward to being social,” he said.
http://www.qctimes.com/internal.php?story_id=1032660&l=1&t=Business&c=31,1032660
By Associated Press
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A new device is providing hope for stutterers who struggle to speak in public or fear answering the phone.
The device, SpeechEasy, creates an auditory feedback with a “choral effect,” which occurs when stutterers speak or sing in unison with others and do not stutter, said Julie Gasway of Speech Therapy Associates in Cedar Rapids.
With the device, users hear their own voice echoed in a high “Alvin the Chipmunk” pitch, making it sound like someone is talking with them, Gasway said.
The firm recently became the first provider for the device in Iowa, she said.
For stutterers, such as Tracy Armstrong, it provides hope of being able to talk with confidence in public.
“I’d been kind of resolved that this was the way it was going to be my whole life,” said Armstrong, 41, of Forest City. “I’m happy this is finally here.”
Armstrong is among the one percent of adult stutterers nationwide.
An estimated 3 million Americans stutter. Most are children between the ages of 2 and 6, according to the Stuttering Foundation of America.
Most children outgrow stuttering, the foundation said.
So far, three of the devices have been sold in the state, Gasway said.
They range in price from $3,600 to $5,100.
Gasway said SpeechEasy doesn’t cure stuttering but reduces it.
“When you take it off, you stutter,” Gasway said.
Armstrong, who works at Winnebago Industries in Fort City, said he’s anxious for the device that he ordered to be delivered.
“It’s difficult to want to speak and can’t,” he said. “There are times when you’re physically unable to get out the words and it’s frustrating.”
Armstrong said he tried hypnosis to relieve his stuttering, but it was ineffective. He didn’t pursue speech therapy because he couldn’t afford it.
Experts are not sure why the choral effect works. They say the device, which doesn’t make users completely fluent, isn’t for everyone.
One drawback is that SpeechEasy isn’t typically covered by health insurance. Armstrong said he had to borrow from his 401k retirement account to buy the device.
He said he tested the device during a tour of the Cedar Rapids Masonic Library and Museums, asking questions he otherwise would have been hesitant to ask in front of strangers.
He said his stuttering also has limited his ability to apply for other jobs at his work.
“I didn’t feel comfortable in applying because of my limited fluency,” he said.
Armstrong said the device also will help him in social situations, where he said his wife has done much of the talking for him.
“I’ve been afraid of others’ first impressions of me, so I’m kind of looking forward to being social,” he said.
http://www.qctimes.com/internal.php?story_id=1032660&l=1&t=Business&c=31,1032660