Stammering is a problem with speech where you have trouble forming words or putting thoughts into words. Often times children stammer as they learn to compute what they want to say into actual words. Adult stammering is rare, and there is very little in the way of proof for what exactly causes it or how to cure it. The fact is that putting thoughts into words and then organizing speech so that the words flow well is a very complex task for the human brain, and the brain is a complex machine, so it is no wonder people sometimes stammer.

Many children stammer as they are learning to speak, but most grow out of it. Generally by the age of 5-8 a child will outgrow a stammer. Boys are more likely to stammer than girls. A very small percentage of adults have a stammer.

What causes stammering?

No one really understands why stammering occurs, but a lot of research is being done to find out. Research has shown that stammering seldom occurs when a single word is spoken or read. Stammering comes when you are speaking longer phrases, but it usually occurs at the beginning of a sentence or idea. When stammers occur is part of how researchers have determined some of the causes.

Different parts of the brain deal with language processing and the formation of speech, so how these two processes coordinate. Basically studies suggest that, in stammerers, speech formation jumps the gun before the language processing has been completed. So, the problem may be an issue of chemical problems between brain cells.

Most researchers agree that stammering is probably not caused by one single thing for a person, rather it is a combination of various factors. Also, most researchers agree that the reason for stammering is different for each person, and the things that help stammering will be different for everyone as well.

The following are some of the factors that lead to stammering:

Physical factors

Do you have other blood relatives who stammer?
Do you have difficulty in concentrating or organizing yourself?
Do you ever find yourself thinking faster than you can speak?

Speech and language factors: These are factors that have to do with cognitive part of speech, whether or not speech comes easily, if you were slow for your age, or advanced, and how you speak.

Do you have difficulty finding the right words?
Did you have trouble learning to talk or were you advanced for your age?
Did you have difficulty making sounds for speech?
Are you a fast talker?

 Environment: These are things that affect how much you stammer, not necessarily why, but your environment, or everything around you can play a role in how you stammer, and sometimes changes in environment can help you overcome some stammering.

Is there competition to speak at home or at school?
Are people around you in a rush?
Do you get teased?

Personality: Who you are, and the personality you have can affect how much or whether or not you stammer.

Do you worry about things?
Do you keep problems to yourself?
Is it important to you to get things right?
Are you sensitive to what others think?

For most people it is a combination of some of these factors that, when added together, make it more likely that they will stammer. So, if you found you answered yes to several of these questions, chances are you should get some therapy for stammering.

How to stop stammering:

Stammering is a communication and behavioral problem and thus, in order to stop, you will need to change your communication patterns, your attitudes, and in some cases even your way of life. Also, you have to learn fluency enhancing techniques and learn how to synchronize breathing with your speech. It often takes practice and discipline.

Self-therapy is one of the most affordable, as well as one of the most effective ways to treat a stammer. It is definitely the place to start if you struggle with a stammer. Most of the time all you need to get started is a little money and the ability to commit yourself to spending 30 minutes to one hour a day doing simple exercises.

Most of the time, with self-therapy, you will notice significant improvements in your fluency within a few weeks. Also, depending on the severity of your stammer, you should be able to eliminate stammering within a few months.

The following are two self-therapy stammering programs that have been shown to be extremely beneficial to those who stammer:

The Comprehensive Stuttering Therapy by Phillip J. Roberts:

Comprehensive Stuttering Therapy is one of the best self-therapy programs out there, it is extremely comprehensive and when followed it is a very effective self-therapy, probably the most effective available to stammerers.

The Comprehensive Stuttering Therapy offers 29 exercises addressing every element of the stammering phenomenon. It addresses the "disfluencies" as well as the emotional toll it can take on the stammerer, such as the negative feelings and behaviors that often result from stammering.

With this program, the stammerer goes through the exercises daily, and will gradually improve their fluency and alter the destructive feelings and behaviors that promote and result from stammering.

Understanding and Controlling Stuttering by William D. Parry:

Understanding & Controlling Stuttering is another excellent self-therapy program. In this program the developer, William Parry, shows his theory to explain stammering. He explains that stammering results from a neurological confusion between the voice and the Valsalva mechanism (a set of muscles that we tighten when exerting effort). He then offers techniques and exercises to eliminates stammering by controlling the Valsalva mechanism.

Other options:

While it is likely that self-therapy is all that is needed to improve fluency and eliminate stammering, for some, it takes more than just self-therapy. If you still stammer after trying self-therapy, you can then consider other therapeutic options. However, trying the self-therapy options first can help educate you on stammering, which will be useful when you try other options.

If you need further help, consider using electronic devices developed for stammering, visiting a speech-language pathologist or attending an intensive stammering program in a speech clinic. Let's take a look at these three options and how they help with stammering:

 Electronic devices:

There are some electronic devices that were developed as a way to enhance fluency. These devices are based on DAF (Delayed Auditory Feedback) and FAF (Frequency-Shifting Auditory Feedback) theories. Basically, the electronic device picks up your voice from a microphone, delays the sound for a fraction of a second (in the case of DAF) or shifts the frequency (in the case of FAF) and feeds your voice back through earphones. This is supposed to give you time to process the next word because you do not hear the first one as quickly.

When using these devices, DAF and FAF can almost always instantly reduce and often eliminate stammering with minimal efforts from your side. However, unless combined with some other therapy, such as self-therapy, the affects are not as good or as lasting. Experts suggest you combine DAF and FAF with a comprehensive stammering self-therapy or visits to a speech pathologist.  The biggest benefit of using a DAF and FAF device is that it will help you slow down. You will therefore be more in control of your speech and it will be easier for you to put the fluency techniques that you learned from the self-therapy or from the speech pathologist into practice. After a while, you should be able to speak fluently without the help of electronic devices, but practice makes perfect. You can get DAF and FAF devices from a speech pathologist, or from Casa Futura Technologies.

Speech Language Pathologist:

Another way to treat stammering is to visit a speech-language pathologist. Visiting a SLP is one of the most expensive options, and it is usually very time consuming. The better prepared you are when you go in, and the more information you have about stammering, the faster you will reach your goal of fluency, and the less you will spend on treatment. Usually a SLP will spend time with you to understand the underlying causes of your stammering, and then they will help you come up with a treatment plan.

Speech Clinics

Several speech clinics provide intensive therapy programs for stammering, and can be very useful because you will not feel alone, and you will find there are qualified personnel there to help you. When selecting a speech clinic look for one that does not try to cure stammering overnight. Look for clinics that use a holistic approach for achieving fluency, even if it is combined with other options, a holistic approach is the only way you can effectively reduce and eliminate stammering. Look for a clinic that is comprehensive and tries to address all aspects of stammering so that you do not fall back into it.