Problems dealing with round table discussions and making a "good first impression"...

Simply stating that you stutter at the start really helps. Unfortunately "jumping" into the conversation can be particularly hard. I was once "scolded" for bringing up something that had already been "tabled" .... The reason I was late was that I had blocked, and by the time my remark came out the conversation had already moved on... For this reason, your might both mention your stutter AND the fact that you will raise your hand to ask for your time when you have something to say. If they don't give you the time THEY are the ones who will look bad to the audience..

One more thing: Mentioning your stutter and how you wish to be supported at the round table GUARANTEES a GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION. You will be admired for your courage and straightforwardness, and people will be even more interested in what you have to say. It beats any attempts to hide the stutter and to hide any internal struggle.... every time.

 

 

Why is 100% fluency still not a "cure"?

Here is a silly analogy. Suppose the on-off switch on your TV set stops working, but you find that if you whack the top of your set it will come on. Is the TV "fixed"? 

There won't be a "cure" for stuttering until we understand the precise cause, presumably some very specific physical or chemical problem in the brain. In the meanwhile it is often possible to find "workarounds" in the form of speech techniques and/or attitudinal adjustments, that allows a stutterer to communicate effectively, sometimes to the point where the stutter can become undetectable. Still the PWS needs to remain aware one's speech patterns and exercise effective control.  A "naturally fluent" speaker does not need to do that. In that sense the stutter is not "cured" any more than the TV set being whacked to be turned on has been fixed...

It may also be possible that the controls that allow for fluent speech become "second nature" and no longer require a special effort. I think of this situation as possibly having built "alternative pathways" in the brain that now allow for a feeling of normalcy in speech production.  I feel I am at this stage. I don't think about my stutter any more,  by any measure I am viewed as fluent. Still I am caught by occasional "surprise blocks" I am usually able to get out of, quickly and without the listener having noticed any problem. 

I know that my approach to achieving fluency has been sound, and I have written about it in my audio course, but I must also acknowledge that the results may well depend on the original degree of severity. It is also possible that "developmental stuttering" may include a yet unrecognized family of different stuttering causes, with similar symptoms, but different developmental trajectories through life, including one that tapers off with old age. I have known people who have stuttered severely throughout their life and some who have improved considerably, apparently even without therapy. We just don't know enough yet.

Is it common to try to find different words when blocking?

Yes, that's very common.... and the essence of what is for some "covert stuttering". My advice is not to give in to the temptation to find new words. It can become an agonizing mental gymnastics ... I would recommend to get specific guidance form a specialized SLP. One technique I find very helpful is voluntary stuttering. Allow yourself to stutter on those words by actually "imitating" the way you would normally stutter, only YOU are making it happen instead of letting it happen to you... It often turns into "effortless stutter" that allows for good communication.

Blaming the "victim"

 The "blaming the victim" problem is HUGE.  That is precisely what I'm getting at when I question whether there is just "one kind" of developmental stuttering. Some of us assume that however we were able to improve (or help some to improve) should work for everybody .... if they only followed our "instructions". And I say this as someone who has in fact produced approaches to improvement. The important point is to realize that results may be quite different for different people and that's nobody's fault. It's just the "nature of the beast"!

Is there ony "one kind" of developmental stuttering?

 

Here is an issue I wish there were more research on (do let me know if you are aware of any...). Do we really have only 2 kinds of stuttering: developmental and neurogenic? What bugs me is that we lump all developmental stuttering in one category, yet I see different types of "development". The most obvious one is how most children who show some kind of stuttering behavior, recover from it spontaneously. Those who don't continue to stutter into adulthood. In adulthood we think in terms of a continuum of "severity" but we still assume we are dealing with the same problem. If there were different original neurological causes leading to different severities, it would be very difficult to tell them apart because the developmental aspects would tend to blur any differences. Is this what's happening? And here is one more indication that we MIGHT not be dealing with "one" kind of developmental stuttering. Some people stutter less and less in old age, and for some it doesn't change at all! I have known stutterers who attempted therapy throughout their life with no success.

This last fact really nags at me because I, and others, who feel they have "recovered" from stuttering, often think that it was due to their "work" with techniques for improvement, therapy etc. This includes me. I've gone as far as to put my ideas and experience into workshops, postings and even an audio course (script uploaded in group files). The suggestions I make, and which I applied to my own situation, are widely accepted in traditional therapy and I am confident that they would be helpful to any stutterer, but I must admit that I am an "experiment of one" ... and maybe my stutter would have vanished of its own accord regardless of any techniques. I think that Pres. Biden might be in this category. I feel very strongly that this hypothesis should be given serious consideration. If you are a researcher in this area would you please get in touch with me?