What causes stuttering in adults. How to treat stuttering in an adult

When we see a person suffering from a stutter, we hear his forced pauses in speech, we do not understand that it is so difficult to speak without hesitation? Indeed, this is difficult for them, because the reason for the hitches lies in spasms and minor convulsions of the speech apparatus, which are not so easy to overcome. Stuttering is a neurological disease, but treatment must be carried out simultaneously by a whole team of doctors. But why do people stutter? Is this a congenital pathology or an acquired defect? Let's try to figure it out.

Causes of stuttering in children and adults

Stuttering is a disease that has a hereditary gene. That is, if there are people who stutter in the family, then your children are also predisposed to this defect. The disease manifests itself even with a slight shock or stress. Children aged three to five years most often suffer from stuttering. With proper treatment, by school age this disease goes away almost without a trace. This is why it is important to start treatment on time. Let's look at the main reasons why stuttering occurs in children and adults.

1. As has already been indicated, the main cause of stuttering is stress, fear, and a sudden change in emotional state. Sometimes children acquire stuttering in dysfunctional families, when their mental state is “on the brink”. But in most cases, stuttering strikes a child during some kind of surge. For example, if a dog scared you. There is an opinion among people that in order to get rid of stuttering, the child needs to be scared again. However, we do not advise you to do this, because no one can guarantee what result you will get; you may worsen the situation. To treat such children, you need to create a calm environment at home, do not scold the child, and do not quarrel with each other.
2. Sometimes stuttering appears at the time when the child begins to burst into speech. This usually occurs in children who have been blocked in speech development. Once they begin to connect their speech, they want to say a lot at once. But the mouth, unfortunately, does not have time. Such haste also often leads to stuttering. To eliminate this reason, you need to patiently listen to the child’s words, do not rush or push him. Try to understand everything he tells you.
3. People who take everything to heart often suffer from stuttering. If this is a child, then he is most likely very impressionable and vulnerable. Usually he reacts very sensitively to changes in the behavior of adults, to the tone of their voice. If this is the cause of stuttering, you need to monitor your condition and convince your child that everything is fine.

In fact, the causes of stuttering are just a trigger. It all depends on the person’s neurological health, as well as on the development of his speech apparatus. More than half of people who stutter are cured of this disease by adulthood. However, stuttering can return during stressful public speaking situations, so when stuttering is diagnosed, it is best to begin treatment immediately.

Types of stuttering

There are 2 types of stuttering:

1. Neurotic stuttering or logoneurosis. With logoneurosis, stuttering is almost not noticeable, but it intensifies with excitement and stress. Otherwise, the child is healthy, he has no serious deviations in speech and motor development. In a calm, homely environment, the child speaks almost without hesitation, but with strangers the stuttering intensifies. In spring and autumn, the disease progresses (as with many neurological disorders).
2. Neurosis-like, or in other words, organic stuttering. Usually, this is a consequence of a serious neurological abnormality. With such stuttering, speech stops at the very beginning, the person cannot say a word. This kind of stuttering can be diagnosed based on tests and ultrasound of the brain. Typically, this type of stuttering appears in children at 3-4 years old; such children begin to speak late, their motor skills are undeveloped, and, as a result, articulation. Typically, such children are restless, restless, and have no ear for music.

Stuttering is a neurosis, so all traditional medicine recipes are aimed at calming, relieving tension and anxiety. Here are some useful recipes that can help you get rid of stuttering and restore fluent speech.

1. Chamomile and valerian. To prepare this decoction you need to take a tablespoon of chamomile and a teaspoon of valerian. You need to prepare a rich decoction from the herbs, cool and strain it. You need to drink two tablespoons twice a day - morning and evening.
2. Infusion of white ash for rinsing. Pour a tablespoon of leaves into a glass of boiling water and leave for about 20 minutes. Then strain the broth and rinse your mouth with it in the morning. The infusion cannot be taken orally.
3. Goose cinquefoil. Take a teaspoon of this plant, pour a glass of milk and simmer over low heat for about half an hour. Cool the broth and drink 20 ml in the morning and evening. Wine can be used instead of milk.

There are several other ways to get rid of stuttering at home.

1. Singing. This is the most effective and easiest way to improve your speech. After all, it’s simply impossible to stutter while singing; it’s physically unacceptable. Try to sing as often as possible, and if you are worried, you can even communicate in a sing-song voice.
2. Breathing exercises. This is also a real way to eliminate speech defects. You need to regularly take long breaths and exhales. Strelnikova’s gymnastics are very effective.
3. Pause in communication. Try not to talk to anyone for several days, communicate through notes. When you write words and sentences on paper, you pronounce them mentally, and it is impossible to stumble in your thoughts. In addition, low writing speed teaches you to express yourself slowly, without haste.
4. Don't force things. You cannot put pressure on a child, demanding that he pronounce fluent speech. Take a break from developmental lessons - no new words, learning poems or tongue twisters. Also limit your time watching TV and playing computer games.
5. Complete rest. To restore harmony and balance, you need to engage in relaxing activities. Swimming and water games are very useful, and even better - dolphin therapy. Yoga, modeling from dough or plasticine, creating crafts and applications are also useful.
6. Exercises for the tongue. These are a lot of fun activities that your kids will love. You need to hang your tongue between the roof of your mouth and the upper row of teeth. Let your child lick the plate after dinner - it’s not exactly aesthetically pleasing, but it’s very useful. After all, this warms up the muscles of the tongue and also improves the pronunciation of many letters.

Drug treatment for stuttering

An integrated medical approach consists of consultations with several specialists:

1. A neurologist checks the condition of the nervous system. If deviations are detected, he prescribes special medications. Usually these are medications that improve nerve patency, as well as simple sedatives.
2. The psychotherapist clarifies the emotional side of the issue. It reveals under what circumstances stuttering began and at what moments the disease relapses. This doctor conducts psychological sessions to give the patient self-confidence and teaches him to cope with anxiety.
3. Close work with a speech therapist is also important. He will re-pronounce letters and teach you to speak smoothly, without hesitation.
4. In special cases, adults are prescribed acupuncture sessions. The impact of needles on certain points perfectly calms a person.

Modern method of stuttering treatment

Among modern methods of treating this disease, one can note software products that change speech. These are simple programs that are publicly available. This application can be downloaded and installed on your phone. The voice simulator repeats your phrases with a bit of slowdown. That is, you learn to speak like the voice on the phone - a little smoothly and drawlingly. This helps get rid of hesitation and stuttering.

The psychological aspect also plays an important role here. In front of the phone, a person does not worry or worry as much as during live communication. Therefore, he pronounces words more easily without stuttering.

Prevention of stuttering

As we know, prevention is better than any cure. Therefore, it is important to know about some rules that will protect you and your children from stuttering.

1. Let there be a healthy and comfortable environment in your home. Do not allow yourself to swear in front of your children, be as friendly as possible to them. We are not telling you that you cannot punish a child for pranks and raise him “in a greenhouse.” However, you can scold in a calm, even tone, harshly, but without shouting or assault.
2. If the child begins to stammer, do not focus attention on it. You cannot force him to pronounce unsuccessful sounds and syllables - after all, he does not do this on purpose.
3. Listen to more music and pleasant songs.
4. And even if you completely got rid of your stuttering, don’t worry if it comes back to you again due to extreme anxiety or stress. Now you know how to deal with it!

Stuttering is just a small speech defect that can be successfully treated at any age. Before public speaking, try to calm down and distract yourself, because many famous people suffered from stuttering, but this did not stop anyone from becoming great and world famous.

Video: how to get rid of stuttering

The normal functioning of the speech apparatus is as important for the development of a child as the ability to fully move and move around. If stuttering occurs, there is a huge danger that your baby will not only be slower than other children in learning about the world around him, but will also become more detached and withdrawn. If you notice the first signs of stuttering in your child, do not let the situation take its course.

The first signs of stuttering

When stuttering, almost all children behave the same way. The main task of parents is to recognize the first alarm bells in time and prevent further development of the problem. The main signs of stuttering include the following behavioral features:

• Stuttering is almost always accompanied by tension, anxiety and fear of speaking;
• When stuttering, unnatural movements, facial grimaces or tics are possible, with the help of which a stuttering person tries to overcome stuttering;
• The child may take a long time to pronounce the first syllables or repeat the same word several times;
• The child cannot concentrate for a long time, suddenly breaks off his speech, becomes silent;
• At the beginning or in the middle of a sentence, between words, extra sounds “A”, “O”, “I” are often repeated;
• The child often stops and thinks about every word;
• Shallow, irregular, clavicular or chest breathing, incoordination of breathing. The baby begins to speak after taking a full breath or while inhaling;
• Involuntary movements during speech - blinking, flaring of the wings of the nose, twitching of facial muscles;
• Using speech tricks to hide a defect - smiling, yawning, coughing;
• The baby begins to use gestures instead of words.

Stuttering occurs regardless of age, but most often occurs in children between the ages of 2 and 6 years, when speaking skills are being developed. Boys are three times more likely to stutter than girls. Sometimes relapse of stuttering occurs in adolescents aged 15-17 years, most often this is associated with the occurrence of neuroses.

Psychological characteristics of people who stutter

• timidity and embarrassment in the presence of people;
• excessive impressionability;
• vividness of fantasies, which intensifies stuttering;
• relative weakness of will;
• various psychological tricks to eliminate or reduce stuttering;
• fear of speaking in front of certain people or in society.

Consequences of stuttering

• Violation of social adaptation;
• Decreased self-esteem;
• Logophobia – fear of speech;
• Sound phobia – fear of uttering a single sound;
• Worsening speech defect.

Causes of stuttering

Stuttering can appear completely unexpectedly. But any type of stuttering in absolutely every case has its own reason for its occurrence. It is this reason that must be found as soon as possible, since the further success of treatment will depend on this.

• Fright;
• Previous meningitis or encephalitis;
• Diabetes mellitus;
• Frequent insomnia and enuresis;
• Physical inactivity and fatigue;
• Prolonged stay in a tense neurotic state;
• A sudden change in the environment (moving, long travel);
• Excessively strict attitude of parents towards the child;
• Disturbances in the functioning of the central nervous system;
• Heredity;
• Head injury, concussion;
• Poor adaptability to society;
• Excessively late or excessively early development of speech;
• Violation of the normal functioning of the central nervous system;
• High susceptibility to colds.

In total, in medicine it is customary to distinguish 2 main types of stuttering:

1. Neurotic - occurs as a result of psychological trauma, shock (for example, fear or stress; this form of the disease is usually easy to correct) or due to an excessively increased speech load. This type of disorder mostly affects impressionable and vulnerable children.
2. Neurosis-like - often develops with damage to the nervous system, which can be inherited or become a consequence of a violation of intrauterine development.

According to the nature of the seizures, stuttering occurs:

• Tonic, associated with a sharp hypertonicity of the muscles of the lips, tongue, cheeks, leading to a pause in speech.
• Clonic - characterized by repeated contractions of the articulatory muscles, and leads to the repetition of a separate syllable or sound.
• Tonic-clonic.
• Clono-tonic.
• Articulatory.
• Voice.
• Respiratory.
• Mixed.

You should seek help from a specialist immediately after you notice signs of stuttering in your child. In the early stages, the problem can still be eliminated quickly. Therefore, do not put off going to the doctor until later; the doctor will help determine the type and type of disorder, and also prescribe effective treatment.

Why does a child stutter:

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Help a child

If you have stuttering, you need to visit several doctors at once, namely speech therapist, psychologist, neurologist . After conducting a full examination and excluding symptoms not related to the disorder, you can begin full treatment.

For the neurotic type of stuttering, the doctor prescribes special therapy, which should reduce exposure to stress and violent emotions. This will help find an appropriate approach to the child and teach parents how to communicate with him correctly.

For neurosis-like stuttering, drug treatment combined with a visit to a psychologist is necessary. In order for the result to be noticeable and sustainable, long-term treatment is necessary, which will be accompanied by maintaining comfortable conditions in the place where the child lives.

When treating stuttering, you must adhere to the following doctor's recommendations:

• Create a comfortable environment for your child at home. Make sure that nothing unbalances your baby or provokes negative emotions, exclude cartoons and games of an aggressive nature;
• Pay special attention to a calm environment in the family - the child should not hear screaming, quarrels, experience punishment, see sudden movements and gestures;
• Communicate with your baby in calm tones, speak clearly and legibly;
• Never tell your child that he says or pronounces something incorrectly;
• Read more children's fairy tales to your child (). Do not read scary fairy tales at night, as this provokes a feeling of constant fear: fear of seeing Baba Yaga, the devil, the devil;
• Get it in the house. Thus, the baby will stop feeling lonely and depressed, and will make a real friend;
• Speak to a stutterer clearly, smoothly (without separating one word from another), take your time, but do not pronounce words in syllables or into a chant;
• Try to bring your baby closer to balanced, well-spoken peers so that he learns to speak clearly and expressively;
• It is impossible to involve a stutterer in a game that excites and requires speech performances from the participants;
• If at some point your child does not want to communicate with people or with his peers on the playground, do not force him to do so.

Older children need more in-depth treatment, which includes preventing personality distortion. This therapy is carried out by a psychologist so that the child does not feel restless and does not experience complexes due to his problem. If you do not resort to this therapy, the child may develop a fear of talking and being surrounded by people.

Preventive measures

To prevent the development of possible stuttering or to consolidate the effect obtained after treatment, it is necessary to follow the following preventive measures:

1. Create an ideal daily routine for your baby, in which he will have enough time to play, walk and sleep. From 3 to 7 years of age, a child needs at least 10 hours of sleep at night and 2 hours of sleep during the day. Daytime sleep is simply necessary, since it has a positive effect on the psycho-emotional state of the baby.
2. Do not allow watching programs and cartoons that do not correspond to your child’s age category and can cause unpredictable emotional outbursts.
3. Do not overload your baby with new experiences (reading, movies, watching TV) during the period of remission after treatment.
4. Don't overload your child by forcing him to memorize entire poems to show off to friends or parents in kindergarten.
5. When punishing a child, do not leave him alone in a dark room, as there is a high risk of developing obsessive fear. It is better to leave your baby without sweets or without his favorite toy if he has done something wrong.
6. Involve your child in music or dancing, this will help establish proper speech breathing, rhythm, tempo, and so the baby will relax and become more self-confident. Singing lessons are useful.

Stuttering in children is a fairly serious problem, but it can be completely eliminated if you pay attention to it in time and seek help from the right specialist.

What should you do if your child starts to stutter?

SDK: Classes with a speech therapist: stuttering

Dr. Komarovsky, together with speech therapist Victoria Goncharenko, will find out how parents should act if their child has a speech disorder: which doctor to see, which daily routine to choose, what to do with the baby. Also, Evgeny Olegovich and his guest will answer questions from the audience, describing algorithms for the behavior of parents with children who stutter.

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The joy of parents when the child pronounces the first words and phrases can soon be overshadowed by the appearance of a stutter in the baby. What to do? Can it be cured? Such questions confront parents and force them to rush from speech therapist to neurologist, and from doctors to traditional healers. We will try to figure out what the problem of stuttering in children is, what are the causes of the phenomenon and what treatment can be used if the disease appears.

What is stuttering?

Stuttering is understood as a disturbance in the smoothness and rhythm of speech. This is a complex speech pathology caused by the muscles of the speech apparatus. Most often, stuttering appears in children aged 2 to 5 years, when phrasal speech is formed and actively developing. Its occurrence can be sudden, and intensify as the baby develops.

Little children often repeat normally pronounced words: “Give me, give me, give me water.” But the child can only repeat the sounds: “G-g-give me some water.” Experts believe that repeating a sound more than 2 times is the initial manifestation of stuttering.

Among children, stuttering is observed, according to world statistics, in 2-3% of children. In girls, this speech pathology occurs 4 times less often than in boys. It is believed that this is due to the greater emotional stability of girls. Stuttering worsens during the first year of school and during adolescence. It affects the child’s behavior and his adaptation in the team.

In some children, stuttering appears only during periods of excitement or stressful situations. In a calm environment, the child seems to forget about his speech problems. And when talking on the phone, communicating with a stranger, or when speaking in public, he stutters severely.

Causes of stuttering

Stuttering is the most common childhood neurosis. It is usually called logoneurosis. The delay in the pronunciation of sounds and syllables is associated with convulsions of the speech muscles: the muscles of the tongue, lips, and larynx. They can be tonic and clonic.

With tonic convulsions (tension of these muscles), it is difficult to overcome a disruption in speech, and therefore there are difficulties in pronouncing consonant sounds. With clonic convulsions, there is a repetition of the initial sounds or syllables of a word, and the pronunciation of extra vowels (i, a) before a word or phrase. Although quite often stuttering is tonic-clonic.

The immediate cause of a child's stuttering can be:

1. Physiological disorders:

• damage to the nervous system after birth trauma;
• smoking and alcohol consumption by the mother during pregnancy;
• hereditary predisposition;
• trauma;
• diseases of the speech organs (larynx, nose, pharynx);
• changes in the nervous system due to illness (infectious diseases);
• retraining a left-hander to be right-handed.

1. Psychological reasons:

• stressful situations, psycho-emotional shocks;
• loss of loved ones;
• neurotic reactions: childhood fears (fear of the dark, punishment, etc.);
• expressed feelings of resentment, jealousy;
• desire to attract the attention of parents;
• severe fright (thunderstorms, dogs, horror scenes in a film).

1. Social reasons:

• excessive parental strictness;
• imitating a family member or another child who stutters;
• overloading the child with speech material (early learning of a foreign language or even several languages);
• insufficient parental attention during the formation of speech, which leads to fast, hasty speech and skipping syllables;
• transfer of the child to another kindergarten or school;
• moving to another place of residence.

TO provoking factors can be attributed:

• overfatigue of the child (school loads, uncontrolled TV viewing, long-term computer games, etc.);
• family troubles and scandals;
• problems at school;
• unbalanced diet with excess protein in the diet;
• period of teething and adolescence;
• endocrine system disorders;
• infectious diseases.

Parental behavior tactics

When stuttering is detected in a child, there is no need to focus the child’s attention on this speech disorder, so as not to conditionally reinforce its occurrence. The child must be made to understand that what is interesting is what exactly he wants to say, and not how he says it. Parental anxiety about the speech defect further depresses the child.

An important task for parents is to protect the baby from ridicule, in order to prevent the development of an inferiority complex and decreased self-esteem. Children can often be cruel, and in the team there may be someone who likes to bully a child who stutters.

If the teacher cannot correct the situation, and the ridicule and forced isolation of the child in the group continue, then the child should stop attending kindergarten for the period of treatment. Otherwise, the child’s developed shyness and closedness will further intensify the stuttering.

To help a child cope with the illness that has arisen, parents and other family members must follow simple rules:

• monitor your speech: speak slowly and smoothly, take a short pause after each phrase; the child will try to imitate and speak the same way;
• do not interrupt the baby, always give him the opportunity to finish the speech himself;
• you can learn songs with your child;
• use short phrases and sentences when talking with a child;
• avoid fuss and chaos in the family lifestyle; avoid quarrels and tension in the family;
• strictly monitor the child’s compliance with the daily routine, eliminate the possibility of overwork and overexcitement of the baby;
• The child should not be forced to repeat difficult words many times;
• The child should make comments less often and praise more often;
• do not allow constant “background” operation of the TV in the apartment; exclude your child from watching television before bedtime;
• do not give the child any privileges in behavior and discipline in the family due to his stuttering.

In some cases, stuttering goes away on its own without treatment. Stuttering, which can go away on its own, has the following symptoms:

• the child does not have any psychological difficulties during communication, he is not ashamed of his defect;
• stuttering periodically disappears for a long period of time;
• the child does not withdraw and does not avoid conversational communication;
• short words and phrases are pronounced easily.

If the child tenses during a conversation, grimaces, pauses in speech with interruptions in breathing, stretches out vowel sounds, avoids using certain words and sounds, and answers questions (even obvious ones) with “I don’t know!” - You need to consult a speech therapist. Moreover, you should find a specialist who already has experience working with such children.

Treatment for stuttering

Stuttering can be treated and completely cured. You should contact a speech therapist and a neurologist or psychoneurologist for qualified help. True, there is no pill that will make stuttering disappear once and for all. The joint efforts of both specialists and patient parents are important.

Treatment is most successful in the early stages, even in preschool age. The rules of behavior for parents are outlined above. It is important to create a favorable, calm environment in the family. All conversations with the child should be conducted at a slow pace. Relationships with all children should be built in such a way that they do not develop feelings of jealousy and competition for parental attention.

The child must be sure that he will be listened to carefully, despite the speech impediment. We must find time for mandatory communication with him and joint activities that are interesting to the child. Even a 10-minute conversation before bed has a relaxing effect. Of course, during this conversation you should not make any claims to the child or set any conditions. You just need to avoid watching TV (even cartoons) before going to bed.

The topic of stuttering should not be avoided in conversations with your child. It is important to praise him if he manages to achieve some success in treatment. Even minor ones. He should feel emotional support from his parents. You should encourage the child and instill in him confidence in the success of treatment for this temporary disease.

There are quite a lot stuttering treatment methods:

• speech therapy lessons;
• breathing exercises;
• computer programs;
• acupressure;
• hypnosis treatment;
• drug treatment;
• restorative treatment.

On speech therapy lessons Exercises are selected to relieve tension and make speech smooth and rhythmic. The child repeats the exercises at home, achieving expressive speech. Exercises are selected taking into account the patient's age.

Breathing exercises are one of the traditional methods of treatment. They allow you to train the muscles of the speech apparatus and vocal cords, teach you to breathe deeply, freely and rhythmically. Exercise has a beneficial effect on the respiratory system as a whole. In addition, exercise is an additional method of relaxation.

Computer programs – one of the effective methods of treating stuttering. They use the synchronization of the speech and auditory centers of the brain. A child at home, sitting in front of a computer, pronounces words into a microphone. Delaying them slightly with the help of the program allows the child to hear his own voice, and he tries to adapt to it.

At the same time, speech becomes smoother. The program allows you to conduct a conversation in situations with emotional overtones (joy, anger, etc.) and suggests how to cope with the circumstances and improve your speech.

There are clinics and centers for stuttering treatment in many cities. by hypnosis for children over 11 years old. Using the method of suggestion, the doctor relieves spasms of the speech muscles and the feeling of fear of public speaking. After 3-4 sessions, speech becomes smooth and confident. This is an emotionally impactful method of psychotherapy.

Alternative medicine offers treatment for stuttering point method massage. The specialist influences certain points on the face, back, legs, and chest. Using this method, the regulation of speech by the nervous system is improved. Acupressure is recommended to be done constantly.

Drug treatment – an auxiliary method in the treatment of stuttering. It is carried out as prescribed by a neurologist. Anticonvulsants may be used. Treatment helps normalize the function of nerve centers. Decoctions and infusions of herbs (motherwort, valerian root, lemon balm) are used as sedatives. It is impossible to cure stuttering with medication alone.

General strengthening methods contribute to the treatment of stuttering. They include adherence to a daily routine, balanced nutrition, hardening and a general protective regime that excludes stressful situations. Of particular importance for a child is sufficient sleep (at least 9 hours). To ensure deep sleep, you can take a warm shower or a relaxing bath (for example, pine) in the evening. Computer games and watching TV programs in the evening should be excluded.

The problem of stuttering in adulthood. The main causes of this condition and the main provoking factors. Tips for self-elimination of pathology and methods of modern therapy.

Contents of the article:

Stuttering in adults is a disease that manifests itself as speech reproduction disorders and is provoked mainly by neurogenic and psychological disorders. At older ages, it occurs mainly in people who never got rid of it in childhood. A person lags behind the required rhythm, the melody and correctness of reproduction of some words is lost. Due to the long course of the disease, it acquires greater resistance and develops certain adaptation mechanisms in people.

The main causes of stuttering in adults

The presence of any type of speech pathology brings an enormous number of problems to an adult. His quality of life immediately decreases, the individual is deprived of almost all types of adequate communication. Until the middle of the nineteenth century, no one was going to treat this condition at all, and it was considered a common misfortune of certain people. Today, a huge step has been taken in identifying the true causes of stuttering in adults, which helps to successfully combat it. But, unfortunately, a single etiological factor has not yet been found. All the most frequently provoking moments are divided into two types.

Organic lesions

Today, the following types of damage are identified that cause stuttering in adults:

• Injuries. Very often, bruises, concussions and contusions of the brain can be reflected among speech disorders. And a previously completely healthy person will subsequently suffer from stuttering. Moreover, it can appear in his life both in early childhood and in more mature years. Such a cause is completely uncontrollable and is characterized by completely different types of subsequent manifestations. They can act as an independent problem or be combined with any other human health problems.
• Cerebrovascular disorders. At an older age and with a tendency to obesity, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, stroke may develop. With this pathology, brain cells temporarily or permanently lose their previous functions and cease to be responsible for them. Often, it is after such conditions that people cannot restore correct speech and motor skills of the muscles responsible for it. This situation is further complicated by the fact that almost all patients are already advanced in age and do not themselves respond very well to any type of therapy. Moreover, stuttering in this case is only part of a whole complex of symptoms that occurs after a stroke.
• Tumor processes. This reason is observed much less frequently than all the others, but requires special attention. The presence of any volumetric formation among the structures of the brain can, without any other specific symptoms, lead to the development of stuttering. Most often, the cause is precisely the spatial growth of the neoplasm, which compresses the pathways and disrupts the innervation of the human articulatory muscles. In more rare cases, damage to the speech center itself may occur, which promises more serious consequences.

Neurological disorders

There are several of the most common harmful factors in this group that can provoke stuttering in an adult:

1. Stress exposure. Almost every day people are exposed to negative influences of various types. Most of them take such moments quite easily, but there are also very vulnerable individuals. A person who takes the presence of negative emotions to heart cannot always cope with them correctly. Often such an impact leads to an exacerbation of a previously existing problem with speech reproduction or may even provoke it.
2. Severe mental trauma. Everyday small problems are not the only troubles of people in the modern world. After all, life sometimes presents harder blows and forces you to confront a whole storm of your emotions. Most often this is the loss of loved ones, a terrifying picture of an accident seen or an injury from the outside. At such moments, not every person is able to withstand powerful one-time stress, and this is often reflected in problems of the speech apparatus.
3. Excessive excitement. Of course, this problem rarely begins to manifest itself in adulthood; more often, it simply comes from childhood. People are simply very emotional about anything. They are haunted by such a surge at almost every step. They cannot calmly survive new acquaintances with people, business meetings and public appearances. Even a conversation with their superiors scares them beyond belief. This excitement triggers a cascade of reactions that cause a spasm of the articulatory muscles. As a result, normal speech reproduction ceases to be possible.

Signs of stuttering in adults

The first symptoms most often occur immediately after the action of any harmful factor. The only exception is the moment when stuttering simply passed on from childhood. In this case, the main manifestations always appear in a single form without concomitant pathology. But if such a problem occurs in adults, then most often it will constantly be combined with some other somatic disorder.

You need to pay special attention to the following signs of stuttering in adults:

• Preservation of inner speech. Very often, when communicating with patients, you can establish that they do not stumble in their thoughts and do not notice problems with speech. That is, trouble arises only when they begin to say far-fetched things. So this pathology can be distinguished from childhood stuttering, when a child cannot not only speak out, but also think in correct speech.
• Extra Effort. A very noticeable sign is the particular nervousness that a person experiences during a conversation. His interlocutor feels and notices some desire to speak out. But it is constantly interrupted. What is also striking is the peculiar “pushing out” of phrases and words through force. All this creates a certain discomfort for a person and pushes others away from him.
• Interruption of speech flow. This trait is not only characteristic of sick people, but is also often found among the features of someone's conversation. But it still requires special treatment and attention. There are certain techniques that can count the number of words spoken without delay or difficulty. The whole process is designed to pronounce one hundred words. People who stutter pause more than 7% of the time they speak. This will also be noticeable during normal conversation.
• Long pauses in conversations. Such stops are also quite acceptable. If a person needs to stop for more than thirty seconds during speech reproduction, this indicates that he has some kind of disorder. Such pauses may be the same or increase with the worsening of the disease. Sometimes they are systematic, in other cases they are absolutely not controlled by time.
• Muscle tension. Ordinary people behave very freely and relaxed during a conversation. They are not characterized by any restrained movements or constant need to drink water. If a person suffers from stuttering, then his whole body will literally be stretched like a string. The limbs will begin to shake and not obey, the tongue and tonsils will begin to tremble, and the voice will become even more distorted or disappear altogether.

How to get rid of stuttering in an adult

This pathology greatly traumatizes the human psyche and affects his health. Many problems arise both in personal life and in the process of employment and work performance. Failures in personal life, which almost always accompany all sick people, also deserve special attention. That is why the question of how to cure stuttering in an adult is of great interest to many.

The actions of the person himself should include the following points:

• Awareness of the problem. For some reason, many people find it very difficult to admit their imperfections, so they are in no hurry to turn to anyone for help. But this point must be fulfilled first. Do not think that stuttering is a problem that cannot be treated. You must persistently believe in your strength and confidently move towards recovery.
• Independent studies. Such procedures today are called auto-training. Their essence is that the person himself spends some time correcting his speech. Special programs are being created to control the conversation. People just need to choose the right time, tune in to learning and do it. The technique has a very good positive effect, but is used independently only in the initial stages of the disease.
• Breathing exercises. This set of exercises was developed by the famous doctor - Alexandra Nikolaevna Strelnikova. Classes are aimed at eliminating the initial disorder - spasm of the speech apparatus. By performing some simple breathing exercises, you can completely neutralize this pathological effect. The procedure itself does not take a lot of time and does not require anything other than the diligence and diligence of the person himself.

Psychological assistance for stuttering in adults

The most well-known types of influence today are:

1. Rational. It is used at the very beginning, after a person directly asks for help. It is designed to help him adapt to the existing problem and learn to respond correctly and calmly to medical help. To do this, the doctor uses regular mental therapy sessions with discussions about the current situation and advice on how to solve it.
2. Suggestive. This technique involves the use of hypnosis as the main tool for helping the patient. In order to determine the root cause, the doctor puts the patient into a light trance and talks with him at this time. While talking, he calculates many points that cannot be corrected in an adequate consciousness. Also during this period, various exercises and speech therapy speech turns are used. The effectiveness of the method is very high, but it requires choosing a good specialist.

Speech therapy exercises against stuttering in adults

This process is lengthy and requires sequential passage of the following stages:

• Formation of a new speech motor skill. The correct pronunciation of each word and letter must be reinforced individually with each patient. A person must learn to pronounce them all slowly and clearly on his own. At this stage, it is necessary to correctly establish the sonority and timbre of the voice, pay attention to the movements of the articulatory muscles and mastery of them. Only after reaching this level can you proceed to the next one.
• Consolidation of mastered material. It depends entirely on the diligence and efforts of the person himself. If he trains carefully and follows all the recommendations, his recovery will be significantly accelerated. At the second stage, they try to use established speech during reading and conversation. The person is asked to independently express any thoughts so as not to stumble. The duration of the stage is different for each and can change depending on the situation.
• Automation of correct speech. This stage is the final stage in solving this problem. But you shouldn’t neglect it either. To achieve a full recovery, doctors suggest people use their acquired skills in everyday life. Initially, they form various situations that force a person to speak correctly, quickly and clearly. Applying the skills in practice takes patients to a whole new level of speaking.

The main mechanism of communication between people is speech. It gives you the opportunity to interact with the world around you and express yourself. If something prevents a person from speaking normally, this often becomes an obstacle to a happy life. That is why it is so important to identify and begin to treat stuttering in a timely manner. The reasons for this deficiency are very diverse and have not yet been fully studied, although there are many theories of its occurrence.

Stuttering - what is it?

Hippocrates himself described this disease in the 5th century BC. The legendary Demosthenes, the historian Herodotus and even the prophet Moses suffered from it. For a long time, healers and alchemists tried to find a way to combat stuttering, but until the 20th century they could not find either the reasons or adequate therapy for this speech defect. Only with the advent of the science of speech therapy did doctors and scientists begin to closely study this disease and finally formulate what it is.

Stuttering is characterized by a disturbance in the fluency of speech and its pace, words become slurred and intermittent, syllables or sounds are repeated, forced pauses are heard, and it seems that the person speaks with great difficulty. This often causes pity, sympathy or even hostility among others, which reduces self-confidence and leads to various psychological problems for the patient.

Types of speech disorders

From a medical point of view, the mechanism of development of logoneurosis is associated with disorders that occur during a spasm of one of the organs of the speech apparatus - the tongue, palate, lips, and respiratory muscles. Most often this happens in children, but in 1-3% of cases stuttering occurs in adults. The reasons for this complex process lie in overexcitation in the brain. This center is responsible for controlling the muscles of the face, pharynx, tongue and other organs that provide coherent speech. Further spread of the impulse to neighboring parts of the brain leads to the occurrence of convulsions of the articulatory and respiratory muscles. Outwardly this can manifest itself in the form of grimaces and tics. All this happens against the background of worries, stress or emotional upheaval.

Stuttering has different symptoms for different types of seizures:

• Tonic. Repetition of vowel sounds and sonorant consonants, forced pauses between words.
• Clonic. Repeating consonant sounds, syllables, or even words.
• Mixed. Both speech disorders appear.

There are three types of stuttering depending on the course of the disease:

• Permanent.
• Wavy. The speech defect never completely disappears, but appears sometimes weaker and sometimes stronger.
• Recurrent. It may disappear completely and reappear.

Depending on the etiology, there may be neurotic and neurosis-like stuttering. The causes of the first form lie in stressful situations and are not associated with lesions in the brain. easy to treat, but can become chronic. Children with this form of the disease begin to stutter during emotional stress.

In the second case, the disease is associated with organic brain damage (hypoxia, trauma during childbirth, etc.). The neurosis-like form is difficult to treat and manifests itself regardless of the emotional state.

Diagnosis of stuttering

Sometimes delays in pronouncing words and sentences are normal and depend on temperament and the nature of the conversation. There are two tests to determine this:

• If the number of breaks in 100 words is less than 7%, then this is the norm. More than 10% are pathological.
• Delays in a person who stutters last 1-30 seconds and are accompanied by noticeable tension in the facial muscles.

Sometimes to make a correct diagnosis it is necessary to do an electroencephalogram. This will help distinguish neurosis-like logoneurosis from neurotic one.

Only a specialist can make an accurate diagnosis and decide how to cure stuttering during an in-person examination, so you should not look for symptoms of the disease in yourself or your loved ones. It is better to consult a doctor and find out the real causes of logoneurosis.

Causes of stuttering in children

Parents often ask the question: “Why did the child stutter?” The reasons for this are very diverse, and it is extremely difficult to give an unambiguous answer. Children's speech begins to form when the child hears the first sound, and ends around the age of five. All this time, the baby’s nervous system is in an excited state, so it receives a lot of information from all senses. The child’s articulation organs are still weak, speech, sounds and syllables are not separated, and sometimes he simply does not have time to perceive everything. Because of this, an unequal system can fail.

Approximately 0.7-9% of children suffer from stuttering. This diagnosis can be made at the age of 3-4 years. Typically, the disease manifests itself most clearly in preschool children. There are many situations that can trigger childhood stuttering. The reasons may lie in threats, bullying, poor family conditions, and being forced to speak or perform in front of an unfamiliar public. Sometimes children begin to copy the conversation of friends or relatives who stutter. One way or another, most often there is a psychological etiology, but one should remember about pathological conditions that affect the nervous system: fetal hypoxia, intrauterine infection, head injuries, infectious diseases of various origins that cause organic damage to the structure of the brain.

Predisposition factors for stuttering

Children suffering from logoneurosis become downtrodden and unsure of themselves, and stuttering hinders them greatly. The reasons why it arose are very important. But the development of the disease can be prevented, since there are risk factors that indicate the possible development of stuttering:

1. Tearfulness and irritability. Indicates instability of the children's nervous system.
2. Speech developed early.
3. The child began to speak late.
4. Excessive rigor and increased demands. The authoritarian attitude of parents towards children can cause psychological reasons for stuttering.
5. The habit of speaking incorrectly.
6. Imitation. Copying stuttering after other children or loved ones.
7. Bilingualism. Learning two languages ​​at once puts a lot of stress on the nervous system.
8. Male gender.
9. Left-handedness.
10. Poor health. Frequent infectious diseases, allergies and other pathologies “set” a child apart from his peers, and parents often pull back and forbid something. Complexes and self-doubt develop.
11. Difficult pregnancy or childbirth.
12. Heredity.

A child suffering from logoneurosis is usually very embarrassed about his disability, so parents must know, or at least inquire, how to cure stuttering. It is difficult for the child to communicate with peers; he experiences discomfort and tightness at any performances. Children who stutter are very withdrawn and feel that they are different from others. They may be bullied, made fun of, rushed, or not taken seriously. All this can lead to the development of logophobia in adolescence. To prevent this from happening, you need to look for the causes of the defect. Determining them will help the specialist prescribe rational therapy. Do not forget that treating stuttering at home and constantly working on yourself and your speech give good results.

Why do adults stutter?

Quite rare, but you can find stuttering in adults. The reasons for such a speech defect for a mature person are not as varied as for a child, but are very similar:

• Stress and other emotional disturbances. They provoke the development of a neurotic form of speech impairment. In this case, logoneurosis manifests itself during anxiety, fear, worries, or when speaking in front of a large audience. This form of speech impediment may occur once for a short period after strong experiences or shock, but it goes away over time. But there are cases when stuttering becomes chronic, and these disorders are accompanied by convulsions of the speech organs and
• Diseases that affect the conduction of nerve impulses (cause neurosis-like stuttering): tumor processes, head injuries, stroke, neuroinfections (encephalitis, meningitis, etc.). With this form of stuttering, convulsive syndrome of the facial muscles and respiratory muscles is pronounced. People with this type of disorder may engage in characteristic head nodding, finger fidgeting, and body swaying movements. Emotions have no effect on the manifestation of these symptoms. In this case, treating stuttering in adults is a very difficult task, since organic brain lesions cannot be treated.
• Early onset of stuttering and lack of treatment.
• Male gender. According to statistics, women stutter 4 times less often than men.
• Hereditary factor.

Adults who suffer from stuttering eventually become very withdrawn and unsure of themselves, they try to avoid all kinds of social events and groups. The very thought of having to talk makes them nervous, and this creates a vicious circle. These people quickly get tired and feel emotionally exhausted. They believe that overcoming stuttering is impossible. Often adults are embarrassed by their shortcomings and do not turn to a specialist, remaining alone with their problem. If left untreated, this can lead to serious depression and mental disorders.

Where to treat logoneurosis?

Having discovered that you or your child has a stutter, it is very important to know where and who to turn to. This is a rather complex disorder, the treatment of which requires a lot of time and patience, as well as the coordinated work of several specialists and the patient himself.

First of all, you should contact a neurologist. It will help identify the most important component to overcome stuttering - the causes. Treatment must be comprehensive, so it will not be possible to do without the help of a psychiatrist. Both specialists can prescribe the medication portion of the treatment. Another doctor whose knowledge may be needed is a psychotherapist. He not only prescribes medications, but also treats patients using therapeutic conversations - hypnosis, auto-training, etc.

A speech therapist is also on the list of doctors who help a person who stutters cope with his problems. This specialist teaches the patient to control his breathing and articulatory muscles, and to speak smoothly and rhythmically. He explains to the person that words can be pronounced with ease. A visit to an acupuncturist is accompanied by procedures involving the activation of certain biologically active points using needles and helps relieve tension and improve blood circulation in the brain. It wouldn't hurt to do physical therapy with a personal instructor.

Only the coordinated work of all specialists and the great desire of the patient will ensure the final elimination of stuttering.

Methods for dealing with speech disorders in children

As soon as the first symptoms of stuttering are discovered, you should immediately contact a specialist. The optimal age to start fighting the disorder is considered to be 2-4 years. It is better for the child to go to first grade without logoneurosis, but it is never too late to consult a doctor. If the child is 10-16 years old, then it is worth holding off on treatment, since this time in the life of a schoolchild is accompanied by willfulness and denial of everything around him. There are many methods and comprehensive programs to combat this speech defect. The main thing you need to know in order to eliminate stuttering in children is the reasons. Treatment depends entirely on them.

In case of neurotic disorders, the child is recommended to undergo psychotherapy courses and sessions with a speech therapist. If stuttering was caused by shock, then the “silent” mode will help. When the conflict is chronic and caused by an unfavorable situation within the family, conversations are held with parents to reduce the negative impact on the child’s health. Children are often prescribed tranquilizing drugs - "Diazepam", "Medazepam" and others to relieve excitement of the nervous system, and to eliminate facial muscle spasms - "Mydocalm". In addition, physiotherapeutic procedures are carried out: electrosleep, acupuncture, swimming with dolphins, etc.

Children suffering from a neurosis-like form of stuttering are treated by neurologists, speech therapists and psychologists. In this case, the child is prescribed drugs that increase blood circulation in the brain and improve its functioning - Nootropil, Noofen, Encephabol, and some homeopathic drugs. All this, in complex work with other doctors, will give a positive result.

There are a wide variety of stuttering treatment methods that are used in speech therapy:

• Methodology of Vygodskaya I. G., Pellinger E. L. and Uspenskaya L. P.
• Methodology of L. N. Smirnov.
• Methodology of V. M. Shklovsky and others.

On average, treatment can take from several weeks to several months, depending on the severity of logoneurosis, the causes and efforts on the part of the parents and the child. Classes can be conducted both with a group and individually.

Parents should not pull back and force the baby to speak “correctly.” This can only cause harm, because it is already difficult for the child to cope with his problem. It is necessary to ensure peace in the house so as not to overstrain his nervous system. To help doctors, parents should wean their child from watching cartoons and computer games; ensure 8 hours of sleep; limit consumption of sweet, fatty, spicy foods; attract the baby's attention to calm games; take walks in quiet places; do not ask to retell something; speak slowly and smoothly around the baby. The mutual efforts of both parties will ultimately be crowned with success.

How to treat logoneurosis in adult patients?

Treatment of stuttering in adults, as well as in children, is carried out comprehensively. The patient may be prescribed anticonvulsants and sedatives, which help relieve spasms and overexcitation, but do not affect the etiology of this speech defect.

Comprehensive treatment from a psychotherapist and speech therapist is very effective in dealing with the problem. The first allows the patient to feel his problem during conversations or when introduced into a state of hypnosis. He gives auto-training to the patient so that he can cope with his problem on his own. The speech therapist provides correction of speech, regulation of breathing, voice and articulation, development of results in conversation and reading, as well as in stressful situations. The most well-known method for treating stuttering in adults is the method of L. Z. Harutyunyan.

Naturally, every person who suffers from speech disorders wants to cure stuttering. The reasons for this are very good. After all, a person who stutters feels insecure, cannot communicate without embarrassment, is withdrawn and lonely. This ruins your life and prevents you from fully working, relaxing, and making acquaintances. Therefore, it is very important to cure logoneurosis before such problems arise. Acupuncture and acupuncture are also popular. Physical therapy has a positive effect on getting rid of speech impediments.

Is it possible to cure stuttering at home?

Of course, many people want to know how to cure stuttering without turning to doctors. On many resources you can find recipes for infusions of herbs and essential oils that will help cope with this problem. Perhaps the sedative effect of herbs will have a positive effect on the patient’s nervous system, but it is unlikely to relieve him of logoneurosis. Conspiracies and prayers for stuttering are also recommended on the Internet. These methods are unproven and are based only on a person’s faith.

However, treatment of stuttering at home is possible if it is the active assistance of the doctor: exercises, techniques, correct lifestyle. Stuttering is indeed a serious problem, so you should not neglect medical help. And then recovery will not be far off.