Physically: the objective is to speak powerfully from the thorax by retraining your costal diaphragm.
Mentally: there are six objectives:
To understand the dynamics of stammering.
To counteract the tendency to “hold-back” and use avoidance mechanisms.
To deal with the fear through concentration and non-avoidance techniques.
To accept yourself as a recovering stammerer until you have proven yourself “a fluent speaker with occasional reminders of your past affliction”.
To develop an assertive attitude to attack your remaining feared situations.
To understand the process of relapse and how to counteract it.
Note that in step 3 he addresses the ever present fear that stutterers live with. In my work I have discovered that the PWS demonstrates what is almost a universal fear of what others may think of them because they stutter. Objective 4 addresses the fundamental issue of self-esteem. I believe this is paramount and that is why this work has covered it thoroughly. Finally in Objective 5 McGuire points out the need for the PWS to become assertive – to exercise their own power rather than giving it away. Summary
It is becoming increasingly recognized that blocking and stuttering are primarily learned behaviors – a view supported by Carl Scott, John Harrison, Dave Elman and a growing body of health professionals. John Harrison states that the problem is much more cognitive then physical. Other researchers agree with this conclusion. For example, the linguist Wendell Johnson, who wrote a series of books and articles on Stuttering between 1928 and 1972; the hypnotherapist Dave Elman, (Elman, 1964), the psychologist Dave McGuire and his colleagues (McGuire et al, 2002) also suggest that stuttering is a learned behavior.
Appendix B A Case Study
by Linda Rounds
with Bob G. Bodenhamer
This case study first appeared in the National Stuttering Association’s newsletter Letting Go.
Imagine with me, if you will, that it is tomorrow morning and like all other mornings you wake up to face another day as a person who stutters. You begin your normal morning routine that in all appearances resembles any non-stuttering persons morning routine. In fact the only difference in your routine and a non-stutters routine is what is occurring in your mind. While the person who does not stutter is worrying about what to wear and if they are having a bad hair day, you are scanning ahead in your mind at what speaking threats might be awaiting you. You immediately feel anxious and fearful and begin to plan out how you can avoid threatening situations. The day plays out as you expected … you were able to avoid some situations, others you were not. By the time you arrive home at night you are emotionally drained and have expended all your energy trying to keep your stuttering problem at a minimum or at best, hidden all together. But what if on this particular evening when you arrive home something new happens and you are handed the emotional tools to immediately control the stuttering? Too good to be true? Another empty promise? Not so fast, it really happened.
I began stuttering at the age of five; by the age of seven I was proficient at stuttering. I was fully equipped with every emotion and belief necessary to be good at stuttering. I carried those emotions and beliefs with me everywhere I went, even as I proceeded into adulthood. During my childhood school years once a week, instead of being allowed to go outside to play at recess time, I was often whisked away to speech therapy. In high school my well-meaning teachers felt I would overcome stuttering by providing me ample speaking opportunities in front of the class. Then as a young adult I enlisted in the Army for four years to help pay for my college education. The Army recruiter promised that the Army could help me overcome stuttering, what he didn’t tell me was that their technique was to scare the stuttering right out of me. None of these methods were very helpful.
When I was 19 years old I made the most meaningful decision of my life. No, I am not talking about marriage, although that is very meaningful. I am talking about the decision to become a Christian. From that point on my perspective of life and the world did a 180-degree turn. However, becoming a Christian did not end my stuttering and the disappointment I felt over God’s seeming lack of concern about my speech problem was no small matter through the years. But I will revisit that issue a little further down.
Now, you would think that most people who stutter would avoid professions that require a lot of speaking. This is probably true, however, for some unknown reason, 12 years ago I was drawn to a profession that not only required a lot of speaking but also a lot of public speaking. In actuality, it is due to the dynamics of my profession that set me on a relentless path to overcome stuttering.
Previous treatment
Before I go on to how I moved from stuttering to stability, I think it is note worthy to mention that I have tried some of the more popular treatments for stuttering with minimal success. After becoming very disenchanted (and thousands of dollars poorer), I began doing research on my own to see if I could discover the key to unlocking the mystery behind my stuttering. You see, I have always been bothered by the theories that stuttering is caused by a physical defect in the speaking mechanism and/or brain. It made me feel dis-empowered, like my only hope was to wait until they invented a magic pill that would cure stuttering. It also did not take rocket science to figure out that my speech mechanisms were in good working order since even my most difficult words could be spoken fluently in certain situations. And then there was that ever-present anxiety that always preceded the stuttering. Hmmm, I wonder