Treatment of stuttering in adults, adolescents and children of preschool and school age: which doctor treats, methods, methods of correcting logoneurosis, prevention of occurrence and relapse

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Stuttering (hesitation in speech) is a fairly common disorder in which the rhythm and smoothness of speech is disrupted due to convulsive movements of the muscles of the speech apparatus. As a rule, it is difficult for a child to start speaking; stuttering in the middle of a word, phrase or sentence is less common.

With qualified help, stuttering lends itself well to speech therapy and psychological correction!

Typically, stuttering occurs in children 2-6 years old, and with age it often decreases or disappears. However, some adults continue to stutter throughout their lives, either constantly or during stressful situations.

The presence of hesitations in speech negatively affects the child’s psychological state, his studies and social adaptation. The child begins to experience fear when pronouncing certain words or letters and tries to avoid them during speech.

Over time, a habit of avoiding speech situations is formed, which entails a narrowing of the circle of communication and a feeling of one’s own inferiority. The child becomes shy, fearful and withdrawn, anxious; school performance declines. Timely, comprehensive assistance from specialists will prevent the formation of a pathological speech stereotype.

Who stutters?

Stuttering often begins in childhood and can vary in severity in different situations (such as talking on the phone) depending on the level of anxiety associated with that situation. Research shows that one in five children goes through a stage of stuttering, of which three out of four grow up without symptoms. Other studies indicate that 1% of the world's population suffers from stuttering (approximately 66 million people). Many famous people have stuttered, including Marilyn Monroe, Bruce Willis and Gareth Gates.

How exactly is it treated?

How to stop a child from stuttering, what needs to be done to speak without stuttering or stuttering, how can a teenager quickly get rid of stuttering and stuttering in speech and be cured as an adult?

The choice of treatment method for a speech defect is based on the individual characteristics of the person, his age , as well as the degree and form of the disease. Below is a description of the methods for treating the disease.

Speech therapy sessions with the child and stages of correction

How to cope with stuttering, overcome the problem, unlearn stuttering? There are a huge variety of proprietary methods to combat this speech defect.

The most famous of them is the technique of doctor Smirnova . The essence of the treatment is as follows: a speech therapist conducts 20 minutes of lessons a day with a stuttering child (preferably in the morning) in a playful way.

Classes should begin with a warm-up for the hands. Then muscle tone relaxes, motor and speech coordination develops, and lastly, a sense of rhythm and tempo develops.

It is worth noting that this method of correcting, eliminating and overcoming stuttering is practiced only on preschool children .

Psychological and psychotherapeutic approach

How to deal with stuttering in adults and cure it in teenagers? One of the ways to get rid of the disease is hypnosis. Since ancient times, it has been given a special place in the fight against illness.

During the procedure, a person’s speech spasm is relieved by hypnosis. Hypnosis does not help to get rid of stuttering completely, but only to maintain the results obtained.

Medications

Experts say that in order for the treatment to be most effective, it is necessary to take medications: Phenibut, Afobazol, Neurobion, Eglonil, Cytolopram .

The exact names of the tablets and doses should be prescribed by your doctor. Don't self-medicate!

Combating with different signals and currents

How else to overcome and eliminate stuttering? Treatment of the patient with the use of various signals and currents inhibits the stuttering process. One such treatment method is the rhythmization method .

So, the patient puts on headphones, which allow him to hear his speech louder, so the person has to speak more quietly, which has a beneficial effect on the treatment of stuttering.

Biofeedback (BF)

How else can an adult stop stuttering and save a child from stuttering? Biofeedback (hereinafter referred to as biofeedback) allows a person to see how his body works. With the help of biofeedback, speech and its deficiencies are corrected correctly, as well as its improvement .

This method includes the ability to breathe correctly when speaking, speak clearly, and develop fluent speech skills.

Physiotherapeutic

How to correct stuttering in adults, which will help eliminate the disease in children? Physiotherapeutic methods improve and stabilize the functioning of the nervous system, improve the psycho-emotional state of the child.

If a child or adult stutters, a doctor may prescribe procedures such as:

therapeutic electrophoresis;
electrosleep therapy;
baths with nitrogen, iodine and bromine;
acupuncture;
aerotherapy;
massotherapy.
aerotherapy;
Darsonvalization of the cervical spine.

Osteopathy

Scientists prove that the causes of stuttering lie in:

in violation of coordination of the muscles responsible for speech;
in violation of hearing feedback;
in insufficient control of speech function by the central nervous system.

Osteopaths successfully solve these problems . How is stuttering treated in children and adults by an osteopath? Doctors:

relieve excitement of the nervous system;
relieves spasms of speech centers;
identify and solve problems of speech muscles;
relieve nervous tics.

After eliminating the causes of stuttering with the help of osteopathy, the disease usually goes away.

Treatment for stuttering

Although there is currently no cure for stuttering, there are many methods that can improve the situation to some extent. It is important to get a diagnosis from an expert first and your doctor should refer you to a speech therapist who can give advice on this matter.

Hypnotherapy (psychotherapy using hypnosis) seeks to 'forget' learned behavior such as stuttering. Stuttering has a psychological basis, and if a person can speak fluently in some situations, he can often learn to speak in other situations. Hypnotherapy seeks to access the state of mind when a patient speaks fluently to help improve their speech in other difficult situations.

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Psychological causes of stuttering in children with different vectors of development

So, if a child with an oral vector of development (talker) in childhood receives good listeners in the person of his parents, when he can think in speaking, then he can grow into an outstanding speaker (teacher, etc.).

Such a child thinks out loud, and since children are constantly thinking about something, reflecting on everything they see around them, such a child constantly speaks without stopping. He likes to be listened to, so sometimes he starts making up tall tales.

But often parents cannot stand it and begin to make their own demands. And if the child also likes to embellish his stories, then they often hit him on the lips (“so that he doesn’t lie anymore”).

For an oral child, such a blow to the lips is a severe shock and trauma. His nature requires speaking, but an obstacle arises in the form of parental punishment. If this situation is repeated often, then such a child begins to stutter, and his speech begins to be distorted (lisp, burr, whistling, etc.).

It is known that a child with an anal vector of development (slow) is characterized by such characteristics as: slow but thorough learning (both everyday and other actions), asking again until he understands, indecisiveness, obedience, etc. He likes to get things done.

At the same time, an anal child enjoys recognition of his achievements and well-deserved praise from his parents, so he loves to study and please his parents (with behavior, order in the room, studies).

If such a child receives the necessary conditions for development, then he can grow up to be a very competent specialist, a professional in his field, or an outstanding scientist.

However, if parents constantly rush such a child, pull him back, interrupt him (speaks slowly), and do not allow him to finish speaking, then he begins to develop a speech disorder - stuttering.

The stuttering of an anal child is characterized by difficulties with the beginning of a story, interruptions or long pauses when speaking, as well as the inability to speak in difficult situations or in front of an unfamiliar or large audience.

Psychologists note that a child with a visual vector of development is the most impressionable and sensitive, and he experiences emotions with maximum strength.

Normal developmental conditions (a strong emotional connection with the mother, which gives a feeling of security and safety) allow this fearful child to grow up to be a fearless and compassionate person, capable of all-encompassing love for people. Therefore, such children often become medical workers, social workers, cultural workers, or do charity work.

The emotionality and sensitivity of a visual child contribute to the fact that fear received in childhood or severe emotional stress leads to a violation of his speech.

The stuttering of such a child is characterized by confusion, as if he is overwhelmed by emotions that do not allow him to pronounce words normally.

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Forecast

The younger the patient, the better the prognosis for complete recovery. In 98% of cases, people manage to get rid of the disease. The remaining 2% are less lucky - they either continue to stutter, or there are slight improvements in their speech.

What can cause a person to relapse?

Recurrence of this disease is quite possible, but it is not so common . The main and main reason for relapse of stuttering is a malfunction of the nervous system, which, again, must be treated. Failure may be caused by strong feelings or stress.

Speech problems in babies

Speech skills in children aged 2–4 years are at the stage of formation and development. Stress or illness can impair speech function. Sometimes in young children (up to 3 years of age) signs of stuttering appear as minor hesitations at the beginning of a conversation.

Other symptoms of logoneurosis in children:

convulsive breaths;
breathing, slow or rapid, when the baby tries to start a monologue;
speech convulsions;
changes in voice volume;
coughing, yawning;
the intonation of the voice changes sharply;
the appearance of meaningless sounds or an obsessive parasitic word (“this”, “well”); increased sweating.

Often, stuttering in a 3-4 year old child is accompanied by involuntary muscle contractions in different parts of the body. The baby can shrug his shoulders, throw his head back, and stomp his foot. During a conversation, the color of the little patient’s skin changes (turns pale or red). Some preschoolers experience increased absent-mindedness and depressed mood.

Methods of working with stuttering and fear of speech, tested on yourself

Over the course of my life, I have tried many methods recommended by speech therapists to cope with my defect: chanting syllables, pronouncing words while exhaling, bodily techniques, etc. Once I was even sent to a grandmother-witch, who whispered something for a long time near my mouth. Needless to say that the results, although comforting, were temporary? Therefore, after many unsuccessful experiences, I had to take matters into my own hands and find ways that work.

Here are a few points that I identified as problematic:

uneven, shallow breathing;
high pitched voice;
high emotionality/nervousness;
high rate of speech, its “zigzag”;
chaotic mental activity, clashing of opposing thoughts with each other;
“freezing”, freezing of the body at the moment of speech;
various fears associated with communicating with people: fear of an authority figure, fear of appearing worse than others, fear of being misunderstood, fear of non-existence, fear of pain, fear of being an outcast, etc.

And then a number of working methods were formulated.

1. Balancing the mind and emotions

Meditation is a salvation for a person with speech problems. During the first time of practice, you can clearly feel and see how thoughts jump on one another and what happens to the mind when it tries to concentrate on one point. All the imbalance in the processes of thinking and speech comes out, but the more often and longer the meditative practice occurs, the faster the state of inner silence occurs.

I remember how difficult it was at first to see the chaos within yourself, to feel aggression when you couldn’t keep your attention on the tip of your nose or on your breath for at least a minute. Emotions and thoughts had wild dialogues with each other, and I learned to observe them from the outside, without judging. And then the discovery happened that you can speak through the ability to remain silent, observing how thoughts are built into a clear system, cell by cell. How emotions freely manifest themselves outside, without haste or expectations, in a measured flow.

You don’t have to speak loudly or a lot to be heard - a quiet, calm voice delivering a speech with even pauses between phrases can arouse much more attention and interest in people. It was a revelation.

2. Working with breathing and lowering the pitch of the voice

If someone asked me what needs to be taught to a child from early childhood, I would answer: to breathe correctly. And only then - how to hold a spoon correctly, how to ride a bicycle, etc. Breathing is life and allowing yourself to be part of the world around you, to take from it and give back to it, just as the process of inhalation and exhalation occurs.

Due to the fact that I initially had a rather quiet, high-pitched voice, and an extremely small lung capacity, deep breathing was difficult, causing significant physical discomfort. At the level of sensations, it seemed as if I needed to forcibly knock out some large plug located in the solar plexus area. Regular practice of pranayama, yoga exercises associated with abdominal breathing, vocal classes, and qigong helped here. Deep breathing, as a result, lowered the pitch of the voice - it became more “chesty.”

In addition, people who stutter often freeze their breath in the presence of others. Moreover, it does not matter whether the threat comes from others, an obvious or implicit one. It is difficult for a person to track long (unconscious) breath holdings, but loved ones can help here, noticing that your chest is moving unevenly and will point this out. In this way, you will gradually focus more and more on the need to breathe cyclically, deeply.

3. Removing body clamps

Any problem that has psychological/neurological roots is associated with somatics, that is, with the body. It is like two complementary systems that can support each other in coordinated cooperation. If the mentality suffers, then you need to turn to the body for help. That’s what I did, going to dances, yoga clubs, holotropic breathing, massages and body therapists of all stripes (for example, one of the powerful techniques - thanatotherapy) worked well. You can choose the direction to work with the body that suits you best. Some people are closer to fitness, others - osteopaths and massage therapists. The main thing is to remove any hint of compression of the chest, facial spasms and muscle “shell”.

In addition, for both those who stutter and those who are afraid of public speaking, I often recommend that in a stressful situation while delivering a speech, “return to the body” as much as possible, that is, feel yourself with your inner vision, often listen to your breathing, feel how tight your legs are stand on the ground, are there any clamps in the shoulders, how straight is the back, etc. If necessary, if the words “get stuck” in your throat, you can exhale deeply and continue the phrase again. Stuttering is also one of the body’s ways of telling a person about its desire to be free and natural.

4. Overthrow the inner “king”

Almost every person with a speech impediment has a figure of an authoritative “king”. It is he who criticizes, condemns for incorrectly pronounced words, replays, like on a film, the moments of imperfect performance and makes you crawl into a hole every time there is a stumble. Such a figure can easily give birth to very real people in the surrounding world who become its living embodiment.

“The king is dead - long live the king,” I once said to myself and staged a big “revolution.” So that now stuttering and fears would not rule my life, but I would decide everything for myself.

To follow this path means to learn to say what and how you want to say, without fear of entering into conflicts. The emphasis should be on the internal impulse, adequate pressure on sounds and syllables, on a clear desire/decision to speak, regardless of how it may be understood by others. Stuttering is a “freeze” between the desire to speak and silence (for example, for fear of standing out). And it begins to disappear when such a choice no longer faces you. When you realize that there is nothing left to lose, there is nothing to prove to anyone, there is no one to be afraid of, there is nothing to run away from. That's when acceptance and peace come.

I worked for a long time on removing fears associated with interacting with people and with the world in general, on allowing myself to say what I think, and the way I want. This was the most difficult and at the same time the most important point. Because the root of my problem lay in the plane of total separation from the people around me and at the same time in a strong desire to be accepted and approved by society. This is where the daily tracking work took place:

am I comfortable with the people I am with;
did I say what I wanted to say;
am I following old speech patterns or am I in the process of enjoying the way I speak, even if it diverges from generally accepted norms.

Here I had - and still have to - balance between my own desires and the needs of the people around me. This is a point about developing within yourself a sense of freedom and recognition of your right to be who I am when being around people. And this work does not stop for a second even now, when I feel myself internally and ask the question: “Do I feel good in my own body and in the space in which I am?..”

5. Be in yourself, not in others

This will also be useful for those who are afraid of public speaking.

And this is a logical continuation of the previous point. A person who has difficulty speaking wants to be listened to carefully, without haste, without unnecessary comments, in an atmosphere of emotional warmth and acceptance. Which, unfortunately, rarely happens. Many of those whom I observed admitted that their neurosis was especially strong when they were poorly listened to or when they were in a situation of threat of condemnation and criticism of what was said.

Therefore, during the speech, their attention was on the partner, on analyzing how the other (!) would perceive them and how to make him understand correctly (it’s as if you are mentally crawling into the other and trying to make sure that everything suits him). But at this time, focusing all their attention on another, they were not in themselves.

Speech therapists recommend looking the other person in the eyes during a conversation so that the brain focuses on holding the gaze, and not on how the speech will sound. I agree with the second half of this thesis, but I don’t quite agree with the first. Choosing an object to fixate with your gaze during a speech can be useful, but if the object becomes a person who is an authority for you or another figure with whom friendly contact has not been built in advance, then the result may be the opposite.

The same goes for public speaking. If you are very nervous and the “white screen” begins to approach, try to look for the most pleasant face and turn to it mentally. Only then, when confidence in your speech becomes more and more, can you begin to “walk” with your gaze over the rest of the audience. In fairness, I note that the choice of method depends on the character of the person: one person is calmer when his speech is addressed to a familiar, pleasant person, while another, on the contrary, may prefer the method of addressing a neutral point, that is, to no one in particular, so that there is no unnecessary emotional connection. distracted from the essence of the monologue.

In any case, even if there is anxiety before the performance, this is normal. Because when we interact with someone, we gain energy, and it fluctuates, redistributes, and it may take some time for everything to balance. Give yourself and others this time.

6. Working with a positive self-image

People with speech defects often have a distorted perception of themselves. This is due to constant comparison of oneself with others, with a subconscious search for confirmation of one’s imperfection. That’s why it’s so important to learn to look at yourself with tenderness, catch the negative inside and immediately gently switch to the positive. Photo sessions in different images, sessions with a coach or psychologist to develop confidence and healthy egoism, techniques like “imaging yourself through the eyes of a loving person” or “100 qualities for which you can be liked” can greatly help with this.

It is important to understand that the world does not want to destroy us - it wants to teach us how to use our power.

What you shouldn't do:

- try to strictly control the speed and smoothness of speech: this destroys the natural process of sound production;

- isolate yourself from situations that are perceived as dangerous: this hinders the development of communication skills and the natural resolution of conflicts;

- force yourself to communicate with a large circle of people: this is emotionally draining and, due to inexperience, harms the health of speech;

- before pronouncing a phrase, pronounce it in detail to yourself: this increases anxiety and fixes attention on the expectation of negative consequences;

- try to follow advice that does not internally “response”: this prevents you from hearing yourself and looking for your own, natural ways of freeing your voice.

And finally, I would like to address separately the acquaintances, relatives, and colleagues of people with speech disorders.

1. Please give the person the opportunity to express what he wants to the end. Don't interrupt, don't rush, but don't treat him like a disabled person or a fool. The best way out would be to simply respect the opinions and words of the other person, no matter how or what he says. We are all equal.

2. More warmth, tenderness, democracy and openness. We all want to be expressed and heard, understood and accepted. No one makes mistakes at the emotional level, and perhaps people who stutter are a symbol of a cry for help from all those who, even without speech impediments, are afraid to talk about their experiences directly and openly. Let's be kinder to each other.

Prevention of the onset of the disease in childhood and adulthood

In order to reduce the risk of a speech defect in a child, it is necessary to maintain harmony and calm in the family. Parents should not shout or raise their hands at their baby.

As we know, a child follows the example of his parents, so it is important that their speech is literate, clear and smooth.

For adults, reading poetry out loud is a good way to prevent stuttering . It is important to observe intonation, punctuation sounds and correct breathing.

Now you know what to do and who to contact if a child, teenager or adult begins to stutter, how to learn to control the problem and talk without stuttering, how to stop stuttering and stuttering when speaking.

If you or your child have noticed a tendency to stutter, you should not delay visiting a doctor.

The specialist will recommend you effective and suitable treatment methods for this disease . With a little effort, your speech will become much cleaner and clearer.

Symptoms

The development of each child is individual. Someone may have symptoms of stuttering that are part of a child's normal speech and language development. If symptoms last between 3 and 6 months, the child may later have problems developing a stutter.

Symptoms of stuttering can vary throughout the day and in different situations.

These may include:

Repetition of sounds, syllables or words, for example, repetition of a sound, as in V-V-V-Vanya.
Prolonging sounds, for example, MMMama.
Using interjections such as “well” or “ugh”, for example: I want, well...
Speech is too slow or with too many pauses.
Stopped or blocked speech. The mouth opens to speak, but nothing comes out.
Chances of feeling out of breath or nervous when speaking.
Rapid blinking of the eyes or trembling of the body or trembling of the lips when speaking.
Increased stuttering when tired, excited or stressed.
Fear to speak.
Symptoms of stuttering can be similar to other health conditions. To confirm the diagnosis, you should see a doctor.

What is stuttering? Secrets of our brain

According to the theory of speech production, the speech process is a kind of circle of information transfer between three brain centers located in the cerebral cortex - speech (Broca's center), auditory (Wernicke's center) and associative.

With the help of the associative center, we select the necessary words, arrange them in the required sequence, that is, we build a phrase. From the associative center, information is transmitted to the speech center, which processes it, emits the required number of nerve impulses and sends them to the muscles of the speech apparatus (lips, tongue, vocal cords, larynx), as well as the muscles involved in the act of breathing (diaphragm and chest) . A person exhales and speaks, while information in the form of speech enters the auditory center. Auditory control makes it possible to judge the correctness of speech, and if everything is pronounced correctly, information about this is returned to the associative center. This is a signal for the construction of the next phrase.

From this diagram it becomes clear that smooth speech is possible only when all three centers work synchronously, that is, when they transmit information at the same speed. When stuttering, this synchrony is disrupted. The “culprit” for this is Broca’s speech center. For various reasons, its activity is significantly increased, which causes it to produce more nerve impulses and transmit them to the muscles of the speech apparatus. This causes their additional contractions, which, when exhaling, leads to the appearance of convulsive stuttering.

There are two main forms of speech cramps:

Clonic – convulsions that cause numerous speech repetitions (lo-lo-lo-zhka, ku-ku-ku-kla);
Tonic – convulsions that hinder speech movements for a long time (t…….axe, m……..machine);

Most often, both forms occur in the speech of a stutterer.

How to help your child?

Try to ensure a calm environment in your home.
Make time to talk with your child.
Encourage your child to talk to you about simple and fun topics.
Try not to react negatively. Instead, praise your child for speaking correctly.
Don't interrupt your child while he is talking.
Talk slowly (slowly) to your child. This may help him speak slowly.
Pay attention to your child when he starts to say something.
Wait for your child to say the words or sentences themselves. Try not to speak them for him.
Talk openly about stuttering if your child brings it up.
Alert your child's teachers and help them provide a school environment that is child-protective and bullying-preventive.
Share your family history of speech and language disorders (if you know it) with your healthcare provider.
Your child may need to see a speech therapist again to prevent the stuttering from returning. You may also benefit from online counseling, forums, or self-help groups.

When to see a doctor?

if stuttering lasts more than 6 months;
if the child is afraid to speak;
when the child does not speak at all;
Problems develop at school.