Myths About Stuttering: Separating Fact from Fiction
April 30, 2020
American Institute for Stuttering
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At the American Institute for Stuttering (AIS), one of the most common questions we hear from individuals is: "Why do I stutter"?
Over the years, we have heard a great deal of speculation in trying to answer this question: the impact of emotional trauma, bad parenting, "abnormal" neuromuscular development, brain injury from a fall in early childhood, low intelligence, anxiety - the list goes on and on.
Further, we also hear common myths and common misconceptions about the nature of speech therapy and the meaning of self-acceptance.
We are firm believers in the idea that knowledge is power, and the more we do not understand about our lived experience, the more overwhelming it can feel.
Therefore, we wanted to dispel a few common myths about stuttering and speech therapy, while providing accurate information about what we know regarding the causes of stuttering and current trends in in-person and online speech therapy that directly impact the stuttering community.
While it IS common for stress and anxiety to potentially exacerbate stuttering, research has consistently shown that stuttering is not caused by these things.
While stress or anxiety can be a factor in an individual's lived experience with stuttering, it tends to come from various negative reactions from listeners and the efforts put into avoiding stuttering - not the root cause. So, advice like "Calm down", "Don't be scared", or "Take a deep breath" are not only unhelpful, but inaccurate.
In addition, it is important to note that stuttering also does not indicate lower intelligence or cognitive capabilities - it is simply just a difference in communication. No need to finish a person's sentence if they stutter, as they know exactly what they want to say!
Research has consistently shown through neuroimaging (e.g., MRI, CT, EEG, etc.) that people who stutter have differences in brain development, brain structure, and brain function when it comes to processing speech and language.
Further, recent research also shows that specific genes are involved in the ultimate development of stuttering over time.
By correctly stating that stuttering is a neurological condition, it reinforces that stuttering is nobody's fault!
With this being said, there are still plenty of things that can be done to make the experience of stuttering easier!
Speech therapists can recommend plenty of helpful things that parents can do to help make their young child's environment more conducive for confident, comfortable communication.
For older children, teens, and adults, learning to work with moments of stuttering rather than work so hard against them can fundamentally reduce physical, mental, and emotional struggle associated with stuttering as a whole.
While it is true that there is a genetic component involved in the ultimate development of stuttering, there are many factors that contribute to its ultimate presence.
While a family history is one factor, it is far from the only one! Whether or not your child stutters is unique to their makeup.
Research shows that stuttering is multifactorial in nature, meaning that many different systems and processes are involved.
Things such as motor development, language development, temperament / sensitivity, and environmental conditions all are considerations in understanding what causes stuttering.
An early intervention speech language pathologist is trained to evaluate these contributing factors to support a young child and their family when they are questioning if stuttering is truly present, or if the child is going through a period of increased typical disfluencies.
For many years, the advice that many parents received from professionals was to ignore early childhood stuttering, as bringing it up would only make the child self conscious and potentially worsen stuttering.
Oftentimes, we still hear from parents of children who stutter that they are told this by well-meaning people in their lives.
However, since we know for a fact that developmental stuttering is tied to distinct differences in the structure and function of an individual's neurology, it is not something that can be created simply from calling attention to it. While it is true that a majority of kids who begin to stutter in early childhood will outgrow stuttering, bringing up the topic of conversation can help in a variety of ways!
Oftentimes, we hear from older adults (and even many children) who stutter that their parents rarely feel comfortable (or even actively try to avoid) talking about stuttering with them.
In some cases, this created a core belief that stuttering was something to hide, further increasing shame, avoidance, and family dynamics centered in silence.
By giving stuttering a name and providing a safe space to talk about it with curiosity and non-judgment, children can feel empowered to speak freely and understand that there is nothing "wrong" with the way they speak. Further, this empowers children to understand what they can say if any of their peers ask about stuttering, and ultimately, feel comfortable and confident in their communication.
Therefore, parents can feel confident and hopeful for the future, regardless of whether their children outgrow stuttering.
Whether it be education, career, or relationship building, speech fluency seems to be a requirement in reaching any hopes or aspirations. Even many famous figures in history who stuttered (e.g., King George VI or Bob Love) were judged by how much they reduced their overt stuttering.
For many years, this myth was a primary goal in speech therapy as well. Instead of integrating emotional factors of stuttering into the conversation, success was seen as how well a person who stutters could reduce or eliminate overt stuttering. Many different methods were utilized to accomplish this goal (e.g., delayed auditory feedback, fluency shaping strategies, etc.), and not everyone found this to be helpful.
In fact, in many cases, it served to increase stress and shame when stuttering did still occur, leading many to avoid and hide more frequently.
As times have changed, society has become more and more accepting of neurodiversity, or the expectation that all people move through the world with differences in various domains.
In recent years, this has also included verbal diversity, with less stake put into what is "normal" vs. "abnormal". Because of this, the notion of successful and effective communication should not automatically assume that stuttering is no longer present.
Many variables go into effective communication, such as body language, confident delivery, volume, rate, and overall connection with listeners. Attempting to hide or suppress stuttering affects an individual's message even more than disfluent speech could, in the long run!
In fact, we know plenty of individuals in all sorts of careers that demand effective communication (e.g., lawyers, doctors, therapists, teachers, etc.) who stutter openly and are extremely successful!
Working with a speech language pathologist who understands this dynamic can help to empower and promote effective communication, all while stuttering openly! This is true for children, young adults, and people who stutter in any age group.
As people who stutter have been more open about their experiences in speech therapy, it has become clear that acceptance of stuttering can be extremely beneficial for a higher quality of life.
However, it is very easy for a "black and white" understanding of stuttering to emerge. Many people assume that by accepting stuttering, it means that they must resign themselves to the fact that they will struggle forever, and there is nothing that they can do in the realm of positive change towards more ease and comfort in communication.
For a person who stutters, the truth is that acceptance simply means to "allow".
Allowing a moment of stuttering to exist in order to move through it, rather than working hard to fight or suppress it through avoidance.
Allowing themselves to talk openly about it in order to educate, connect, or advocate.
Allowing themselves to feel their emotions and be curious about their personal beliefs about stuttering, rather than internalize and refuse to process anything.
A helpful metaphor for this concept relates to swimming with waves in the ocean. While we cannot choose whether or not waves exist in the ocean, we do have a choice in how to interact with the waves.
We can either hold our ground and fight back against them (which typically results in exhaustion and being knocked down over and over again), or we can choose to let go and swim with them.
By doing this, we find that the truth is the act of swimming with the waves instead of against them is much easier, much more comfortable, and still gets us where we want to go.
Stuttering-affirming speech therapy is similar for people who stutter. By allowing ourselves to talk about the negative thoughts and feelings that dictate our actions (which includes counseling), and becoming curious about physical struggle behaviors that have formed in response to moments of stuttering, all people who stutter can experience great success in making positive change towards living fuller lives, all while embracing stuttering and making change.
While it is true that there are many myths that still circulate about how stuttering develops and options that people who stutter have in navigating stuttering, we live in an interconnected world with plenty of accurate information being disseminated.
Further, the American Institute for Stuttering is committed to bringing opportunities for education, empowerment, and community to continue dispelling myths about this often misunderstood speech disorder.
For even more additional resources through, check out the Stuttering Foundation, Friends: The National Association for Young People Who Stutter, SAY: The Stuttering Association for the Young, and the National Stuttering Association.
