tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12602489.post5471809785723605042..comments2024-03-24T15:07:18.773+01:00Comments on The Stuttering Brain: They walk on solid ground, we walk on ice.Tom Weidighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02084153394215001999noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12602489.post-28896142641936317902009-02-13T18:35:00.000+01:002009-02-13T18:35:00.000+01:00Hey Tom,Yeah--this seems reasonable. It can't be ...Hey Tom,<BR/><BR/>Yeah--this seems reasonable. It can't be labeled as a 'scientific' theory, per-se, as it can't really predict empirical data... but it seems like a very reasonable way to view the nature of the pathology.<BR/><BR/>I do have one question though:<BR/>"So Tom if you are right, then why don't you try it yourself!"<BR/><BR/>...Sorry, I just couldn't resist :)<BR/><BR/>Greg<BR/>http://stuttering.meGreghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06461391169646033150noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12602489.post-28087323220131928802009-02-12T23:44:00.000+01:002009-02-12T23:44:00.000+01:00I worked for awhile in private practice with Phil ...I worked for awhile in private practice with Phil Schneider, a speech therapist in New York.<BR/><BR/>He used an interesting metaphor (simile?): stuttering is like an allergy. It's a hypersensitivity reaction to stressors. For example, most people's speech is sensitive to rate of speed: faster means less fluent. Similarly with anxiety, etc. But stutterers are more sensitive to these stressors and our speech is affected more than a "normal" speaker's.<BR/><BR/>One of the techniques he asked me to use was simply "pause more". Say a few words or a phrase, stop, speak again. I asked him, "how many words, how long a pause?" He said: you don't need to analyze it so much; just try it and play with it and see what works for you.<BR/><BR/>It did have some benefit, and probably would have had more if I had been more consistent about using the technique. It worked, but it seemed too simple, and maybe that's why I didn't use the technique more conscientiously.Orahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05187596156466209667noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12602489.post-33334690617926847012009-02-12T18:12:00.000+01:002009-02-12T18:12:00.000+01:00Good pic!Good pic!Orahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07560420178241698669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12602489.post-72504030574069955302009-02-12T10:30:00.000+01:002009-02-12T10:30:00.000+01:00Dear TomI was hoping to see self acceptance as an ...Dear Tom<BR/>I was hoping to see self acceptance as an important step in your list of treatments. I am fifty, stammered all my life and couple of years ago, developed great self-acceptance, after sharing my issue with a local saint. Since then, my speech is better (certainly not “cured”- wouldn't even bother about that now !); my frame of mind, even better. <BR/>I realize that every community differs: Instead of saints, you may have counselors in your society, who may charge an hourly rate for consultation, which may not be paid by social security etc. but I feel, that many PWS would benefit, if some one, or some group could help them accept themselves with their 'freckles and all'.. if some system or self therapy could help them see the big picture- many people dealing with all kind of diversity all the time, sometime obvious and sometime not so obvious- THEN, I think, they would struggle less, when talking – will deal more comfortably with occasional negative reaction from audience..<BR/>If there was a world view (not necessarily religious) which helped them to see their inner worth, independent of fluency and audience reactions.. All this would certainly help as much (if not more) as SM / FS..<BR/>Wonder what people (especially PWS) think of this in west..<BR/>Needless to say, I have been following your posts with great interest. Thanks for this service..<BR/>sachinSatyendrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03829552345809055365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12602489.post-19149734378044619282009-02-12T06:41:00.000+01:002009-02-12T06:41:00.000+01:00Tom - a little less serious now... Your lyrical - ...Tom - a little less serious now... <BR/><BR/>Your lyrical - even poetic - title for this blog entry reminds me of the colorful and evocative pictures you so often choose to illustrate your posts. I miss seeing one here. <BR/><BR/>I wonder what image you would choose!Orahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05187596156466209667noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12602489.post-80157875464901796172009-02-12T06:07:00.000+01:002009-02-12T06:07:00.000+01:00I think your 'low capacity demand' explanation for...I think your 'low capacity demand' explanation for how conventional smooth speech, or 'fluency shaping' techniques work is nice. It certainly matches with my experience, and suggests that it's not the precise technique that is important but rather the extent to which it dampens you speech 'bandwidth' usage.achttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08817718132877704613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12602489.post-84840569406589156962009-02-12T03:14:00.000+01:002009-02-12T03:14:00.000+01:00I don't think any kind of therapy can cure a p...I don't think any kind of therapy can cure a pyhsical/neurological condition. Stuttering is a neurological condition, as much as Parkinson's or Tourette's. I don't know of many therapies that are being practiced for those conditions, yet therapies still exist for stuttering. I think it's just a lack of understanding of the true cause of stuttering and the related neurological aspects.<BR/><BR/>Here is a good summary of some of the brain studies, just in case some of you haven't read about them.<BR/><BR/>http://biology.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371%2Fjournal.pbio.0020046&ct=1<BR/><BR/>I do think some day there will be a cure, whether it be from deep brain stimulation, surgery, or a masked cure via drugs. But, I don't think therapy is the answer.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12602489.post-39310933834839975882009-02-11T22:19:00.000+01:002009-02-11T22:19:00.000+01:00Options:Joe Biden cure: Read to yourself outloud i...Options:<BR/><BR/>Joe Biden cure: Read to yourself outloud in front of a mirror and befriend another person who stutters. Have your mom slap some nun. "You can overcome anything if you put your mind to it!"<BR/><BR/>Bill Walton cure: Chew gum when you talk.<BR/><BR/>Bruce Willis cure: Kick someone's arse when they bully you about stuttering.<BR/><BR/>Jack Welsh cure: Make 7 million Dollars and stuttering don't matter as much.<BR/><BR/>SFA cure: Stuttering Modification therapy or Fluency Training or Lidcome.<BR/><BR/>Which Option is most appealing?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12602489.post-5795760944703782192009-02-11T19:13:00.000+01:002009-02-11T19:13:00.000+01:00I want to ask.. Seems the answer to stuttering is ...I want to ask.. Seems the answer to stuttering is a zap of white matter to our brain. I head Ritalin causes white matter growth. Neurosurgery perhaps? Anyone hear about the case where a lifelong PWS got beaten and robbed and stopped stuttering? Or Vicki Schutter's (from the NSA) car accident where she stopped stuttering for a period after the accident? I know I'm crazy.. not in this lifetime!ig88sirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14118519918762348922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12602489.post-12442790943798465542009-02-11T18:57:00.000+01:002009-02-11T18:57:00.000+01:00You should have highlighted "you cannot change the...You should have highlighted "you cannot change the low capacity, it will stay forever" and add "except if your Joe Biden!"<BR/><BR/>The results of speech tools are about 20% improved fluency in my stuttering moment. Sometimes I can sound fluent via my own tricks though I am really not saying what I want to say. I think this is better sounding than FS and coastal breathing though. People will still discriminate if your using these techniques as I have seen. They are simple too slow and odd sounding to pass as normal (esp in the Tri-State area of the US where everyone is a motor mouth). I do what I can to survive in this tight economy. That includes being a depressed and angry victim of PDS.ig88sirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14118519918762348922noreply@blogger.com