Prevent Stuttering

There are different treatments for people that stutter.  It depends on how old they are and how serious their stuttering is.  Since each person's case is different, different treatments will be needed for each person.

The purpose of them having treatment is so that they can become fluent in their speech.  There are different techniques that are used to make this happen.  They include:

• Airflow therapies
• Masking
• Vocal control
• Biofeedback methods
• Rhythmic speech
• Therapy for attitudes
• Techniques for anxiety reduction
• Trial therapy

There is also speech therapy, which is one of the most widely used methods of treatment that is used for people who stutter.  This method deals with being taught new speech techniques (syllable-by-syllable speaking) and changing the format in which people currently speak (reducing speech rate). 

In addition to that, there may be some psychological counseling involved.  With this type of counseling, it can help to boost a person’s self esteem.  It can also help to decrease fear of speaking in front of other people. 

There is also individual therapy and group therapy available.  There is a definite focus on speech rate reduction.  There is also input on reducing secondary behavior and emotional feelings.  These things can tie in with stuttering and can have an adverse effect on that person.  The person that stutters may be taught how to modify their stuttering.  

Fluency Shaping Therapy

This type of therapy refers to speaking more fluently, prolonged or connected speech.   This therapy works to help people who stutter to control their breathing in order to speak more fluently.  It also involves controlling their phonics and articulation. 
They are trained to minimize the rate at which they speak.  This is done be stretching consonants and vowels.  In addition to that, there is also constant airflow and soft speech contacts.  The result of this technique is a fluent speech that is slow and spoken at a monotone level. 

As they continue to use this technique, the rate at which they speak and their tone of voice will increase.  Their voice will start to sound normal and then they can talk with other people once again.  This has proven to be a success, despite the speech not sounding natural after the treatment has ended. 

Electronic Fluency Devices

These electronic devices can help a person have altered auditory feedback.  This is when the person hears their voice in a different way.  This technique has been used for many years as treatment for people that stutter. 

It can be created by speaking in unison with someone else.  It can also be done by masking, which is blocking out the person’s voice just a little.  Or it can be done by changing up the how often the feedback is presented.

There have been studies done on these techniques, and the results are mixed.  Not everyone had resounding success. Some showed little to no improvement.  In fact, studies showed that altered auditory feedback did not meet the criteria for the quality of the experiment. 

Anti-Stuttering Medications

There have been studies where certain medications were used to see if they could help in the treatment of stuttering.  Some of those medications include:

• Anti-convulsants
• Anti-depressants
• Antipsychotic medications
• Anti-hypersensitive medications
• Dopamine antagonists

These medications have been used in studies for both adults and children.  After the studies, it was found that only a few of these drug studies were ok. 
There was only one out of the group that proved to show that stuttering could be reduced a little less than 5%.  Not only that, but when these studies were conducted, it was reported that people experienced unpleasant side effects from the medication.