The main mechanism of communication between people is speech. It gives you the opportunity to interact with the outside world and express yourself. If something prevents a person from speaking normally, it often becomes an obstacle to a happy life. That is why it is so important to identify and start treating stuttering in time. The reasons for this deficiency are very diverse and not yet fully understood, although there are many theories of its occurrence.
Stuttering - what is it?
Even Hippocrates himself in the 5th century BC described this disease. 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 any reasons or adequate therapy for this speech defect. Only with the advent of the science of speech therapy, doctors and scientists came to grips with the study of this disease and finally formulated what it is.
Stuttering is characterized by impaired fluency andits pace, words become slurred and broken, syllables or sounds are repeated, forced pauses are heard, and it seems that the person speaks with great difficulty. Often this causes pity, sympathy or even hostility among others, which reduces self-confidence and leads to various psychological problems in 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 - tongue, palate, lips, respiratory muscles. Most often it happens in children, but in 1-3% of cases stuttering occurs in adults. The reasons for this complex process lie in the overexcitation of Broca's area in the brain. This center is responsible for controlling the muscles of the face, pharynx, tongue and other organs that provide coherent speech. Further propagation 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 ticks. All this happens against the background of worries, stresses or emotional upheavals.
Stuttering has different symptoms with different types of seizures:
- Tonic. Repetition of vowels and sonorous consonants, forced pauses between words.
- Clonic. Repetition of consonants, syllables or even words.
- Mixed. These and other speech disorders appear.
There are three types of stuttering depending on the course of the disease:
- Permanent.
- Waving. The speech defect never completely disappears, but it manifests itself weaker, then stronger.
- Recurrent. May completely disappear 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. Neurotic stuttering is easily treated 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 lesions of the brain (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 the norm, and depend on the temperament and the characteristics 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% - pathology.
- Delays in a stutterer last 1-30 seconds and are accompanied by a noticeable tension of the facial muscles.
Sometimes an electroencephalogram is needed to make a correct diagnosis. This will help distinguish neurosis-like logoneurosis from neurotic.
Only a specialist can make an accurate diagnosis and decide how to cure stuttering during an internal examination, so you should not look for symptoms of the disease in yourself and your loved ones. It is better to consult a doctor and find out the real causes of logoneurosis.
Reasonsstuttering in children
Often, parents ask the question: “Why did the child have a 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 by about five years. All this time, the baby's nervous system is in an excited state, so it receives a lot of information from all the senses. The child's organs of articulation 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 may fail.
Approximately 0.7-9% of children suffer from stuttering. This diagnosis can be made at the age of 3-4 years. Usually, the disease manifests itself most clearly in preschool children. There are many situations that can trigger a child's stuttering. The reasons may lie in severe fright, threats, bullying, poor family environment, compulsion to speak or perform in front of an unfamiliar audience. Sometimes children begin to copy the conversation of stuttering friends or relatives. One way or another, most often there is a psychological etiology, but one should be aware of 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, stuttering greatly interferes with them. Reasons forwhich it originated are very important. But the development of the disease can be prevented, as there are risk factors that indicate the possible development of stuttering:
- Tearfulness and irritability. Indicates the instability of the child's nervous system.
- Speech developed early.
- Child started talking late.
- Excessive strictness and increased demands. Authoritarian attitudes of parents towards children can cause psychological causes of stuttering.
- The habit of speaking incorrectly.
- Imitation. Copying stuttering after other children or loved ones.
- Bilingual. Learning two languages at once puts a lot of stress on the nervous system.
- Male.
- Left-handed.
- Poor he alth. Frequent infectious diseases, allergies and other pathologies “separate” the child from peers, parents often pull back and forbid something. Complexes and self-doubt develop.
- Difficult pregnancy or childbirth.
- Heredity.
A child suffering from logoneurosis is usually very embarrassed about his disability, so parents should know or at least ask how to cure stuttering. It is difficult for a kid to communicate with peers, he experiences discomfort and tightness at any performances. Children with stuttering are very introverted, they feel that they are different from others. They may be mocked, 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. Their definition will help the specialist prescribe rational therapy. Do not forget that the treatment of stuttering at home and constant work 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 diverse as for a child, but are very similar:
- Stress and other emotional upheavals. They provoke the development of a neurotic form of speech impairment. At the same time, logoneurosis manifests itself during anxiety, fear, feelings, or when speaking in front of a large audience. This form of speech defect can occur once for a short period after strong feelings or shock, but this disappears over time. But there are times when stuttering becomes chronic, and convulsions of the organs of speech and nervous tics join these disorders.
- 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 muscles of the face and respiratory muscles is pronounced. People with this type of disorder may exhibit characteristic head nodding, finger twitching, and torso swaying. Emotions do not affect the manifestation of these symptoms. In this case, the treatment of stuttering in adults is a very difficult task, since organic brain lesions are not amenable to therapy.
- Earlyonset of stuttering and lack of treatment.
- Male. According to statistics, women stutter 4 times less than men.
- Hereditary factor.
Adults who suffer from stuttering become very withdrawn, insecure over time, they try to avoid all kinds of social events and groups. The mere thought of having to talk drives them into a stupor, and this creates a vicious circle. These people quickly get tired and feel emotional exhaustion. They believe that overcoming stuttering is impossible. Often adults are embarrassed by their lack and do not turn to a specialist, being left alone with their problem. Left untreated, it can lead to serious depression and mental disorders.
Where to treat logoneurosis?
When you find yourself or your child stuttering, it is very important to know where and to whom to turn. 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 consult a neurologist. It will help to identify the most important component in order to overcome stuttering - the causes. Treatment should be comprehensive, so it will not be possible to do without the help of a psychiatrist. Both specialists can prescribe the medication part of the treatment. Another doctor whose knowledge may be needed is a psychotherapist. He not only prescribes drugs, but alsotreats patients with therapeutic conversations - hypnosis, auto-training, etc.
Speech therapist is also on the list of doctors who help a stuttering person cope with his problems. This specialist teaches the patient to control his breathing and articulatory muscles, to speak smoothly and rhythmically. He explains to the person that it is possible to pronounce words with ease. Appeal to an acupuncturist is accompanied by procedures with the activation of certain biologically active points with the help of needles and helps to relieve tension and improve blood circulation in the brain. Do not interfere with physical therapy with a personal instructor.
Only the coordinated work of all specialists and the great desire of the patient will ensure the elimination of stuttering completely.
Techniques for dealing with speech disorders in children
As soon as the first symptoms of stuttering have been discovered, you should immediately contact a specialist. The optimal age to start dealing with the disorder is considered to be 2-4 years. It is better that the baby goes to first grade without logoneurosis, but it is never too late to consult a doctor. If the child is 10-16 years old, then treatment should be delayed, since this time in the life of a student is accompanied by waywardness and denial of everything around. 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 causes. Treatment is entirely up to them.
With neurotic disorders, the child is shown courses of psychotherapy and classes with a speech therapist. If astuttering was caused by shock, then the "silence" mode will help. When the conflict is chronic and caused by an unfavorable situation within the family, then conversations are held with parents to reduce the negative impact on the child's he alth. Often, children are prescribed tranquilizing drugs - Diazepam, Medazepam and others to relieve excitation of the nervous system, and Mydocalm to eliminate facial muscle cramps. In addition, physiotherapy procedures are carried out: electrosleep, acupuncture, swimming with dolphins and more.
Children suffering from a neurosis-like form of stuttering are being 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, some homeopathic preparations. All this in complex work with other doctors will give a positive result.
The methods of treating stuttering that are used in speech therapy are very diverse:
- Methodology of Vygodskaya I. G., Pellinger E. L. and Uspenskaya L. P.
- Methodology of L. N. Smirnov.
- Method of V. M. Shklovsky et al.
On average, treatment can take from several weeks to several months, depending on the severity of logoneurosis, causes and efforts on the part of parents and the child. Classes can be held both with a group and individually.
Parents should not pull and force the baby to say “correctly”. This can only cause harm, because the child is not easy to cope withwith your problem. It is necessary to ensure peace in the house so as not to overstrain his nervous system. In order to assist doctors, parents should wean their child from watching cartoons and computer games; ensure 8 hours of sleep; limit the intake of sweet, fatty, spicy foods; draw the attention of the baby to calm games; arrange walks in quiet places; do not ask to retell something; talk to the baby slowly and smoothly. The mutual efforts of both sides will definitely succeed in the end.
How to treat logoneurosis in adult patients?
Treatment of stuttering in adults, as well as in children, is complex. The patient may be prescribed anticonvulsants and sedatives that help relieve spasms and overexcitation, but do not affect the etiology of this speech defect.
Complex treatment by a psychotherapist and a speech therapist very effectively copes 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 independently cope with his problem. The speech therapist provides speech correction, breathing, voice and articulation, working out the results in conversation and reading, as well as in stressful situations. The most well-known method for the treatment of stuttering in adults is the technique 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 stuttering person feels insecure,cannot communicate without embarrassment, withdrawn and lonely. This breaks up life and interferes with full-fledged work, rest, and making acquaintances. Therefore, it is very important to cure logoneurosis even before such problems arise. Acupuncture and acupuncture are also popular. Physical therapy has a positive effect on getting rid of a speech defect.
Can stuttering be cured at home?
Of course, many people want to know how to cure stuttering without going to the doctors. On many resources you can find recipes for decoctions of herbs and essential oils that will help to cope with this problem. Perhaps the sedative effect of herbs will have a positive effect on the nervous system of the patient, but it is unlikely to save him from logoneurosis. Also on the Internet, conspiracies and prayers for stuttering are recommended. These methods are unproven and based only on the faith of a person.
However, the treatment of stuttering at home is possible if it is an active assistance to the doctor: exercises, techniques, the right way of life. Stuttering is indeed a serious problem, so you should not neglect medical help. And then recovery will be just around the corner.
