Table of contents:
- Stuttering in adults: symptoms
- Causes of stuttering in adults
- Treatment for stuttering in adults
- Psychological and language therapy
- Stuttering in audults: 4 tips
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Stuttering or dysphemia is a fairly common speech disorder that usually begins in childhood and if it is not properly corrected, it can continue into adulthood. This type of condition causes the person who suffers it to manifest involuntary repetitions and prolongations of sounds, phrases or words when speaking, as well as there may be moments when they are unable to produce sounds.
This disease causes a lot of anxiety and frustration in the person who suffers it since it is very evident and can affect interaction with others in various social areas, which negatively influences the quality of life and emotional well-being of the person. But how can we end this problem? and where does it come from?
In this Psychology-Online article we will talk about the causes and treatment of stuttering in adults and we will explain in detail what this problem consists of, what are the symptoms of people who suffer from it, why it originates and what is the treatment suitable to eradicate it.
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- Causes of stuttering in adults
- Treatment for stuttering in adults
- Stuttering in audults: 4 tips
Stuttering in adults: symptoms
People who suffer from this problem have a series of symptoms in common that make it very evident. Some of the main symptoms are the following:
- Repeat sounds when speaking, words, parts of words or phrases.
- Feeling extreme anxiety when speaking, which causes them a lot of discomfort
- Shy, withdrawn, blushing when speaking face to face with one or more people
- Continuously twitching either with eye movement, moving the head or some other part of the body.
- Lack of control and coordination when speaking
- Pause after or in the middle of a word
- Show tension in voice
- Feeling of lack of control when speaking
It must be taken into account that these symptoms can increase when the person is overly excited, anxious, tired or stressed.
Causes of stuttering in adults
It is currently unknown what the exact causes are for this type of problem to appear, however it has been found that its appearance is due to a combination of various factors, among them are the following:
- Not having treated and corrected this problem during childhood, which caused it to last into adulthood.
- Having suffered a cardiovascular accident or brain trauma where the speech part has been affected
- There may be certain genetic abnormalities that are transmitted from generation to generation in families, this is because some irregularities occur in the language areas of the brain.
- It has been found that emotional trauma (intimidation, fear, physical or verbal abuse, among others) can lead to the development of this type of problem in the person.
- Infections in the brain such as meningitis or encephalitis.
- Finding yourself in situations where you are constantly exposed to extreme stress, where the person is subjected to intense pressure.
- Side effects produced by certain drugs or drugs.
Treatment for stuttering in adults
In order to know which will be the most appropriate treatment for the person with this type of disorder, it is necessary to take into account their individual situation, since each case is completely different. The first thing to know is the origin of the problem, what are the causes of stuttering?
Since if, for example, it has a genetic cause, it was caused by an accident or disease, it is necessary for the person to go to a doctor and / or specialist who will be in charge of solving their case through pharmacological treatment. In most cases in this treatment the psychologist or a language professional such as a speech therapist also has to intervene.
Psychological and language therapy
The psychologist and speech therapist work together to help eliminate stuttering in adults. Psychological and language therapy is necessary in most cases, especially when the problem of stuttering is serious and has affected the person in different areas of his life. People who stutter, due to their difficulties in expressing themselves correctly, often have self-esteem and self-confidence problems, so it is necessary that in psychological therapy one of the key factors is to work on increasing self-confidence.
Along with working with self-esteem, these people are also trained in relaxation exercises so that they can feel calmer and reduce the anguish caused by talking and interacting with others, which causes stuttering to increase. The speech therapist teaches them, for example, to breathe properly to avoid hyperventilation, to control the speed at which they speak as well as various techniques so that they reach their maximum linguistic development. He also applies tests to the person to determine the level with which he reaches and will go in each session checking his progress.
Stuttering in audults: 4 tips
- Attend self-help groups. There are self-help groups that you can go to that are of great benefit to people with this type of condition. This is because they share their experiences and concerns with other people who suffer from the same thing, so they feel understood and accompanied in their process of overcoming it. The therapist also teaches them in a group specialized guidelines according to their case so that they can help each other to eradicate stuttering.
- Have patience. It may seem obvious that we need patience to get rid of stuttering, yet most people who suffer from stuttering fall into the trap of heartbreak and despair by seeing no short-term results. This, like the overcoming of some other disorder, is a process, the disease does not heal from one day to the next, so you do not have to lose your cool and you have to continue with the process without giving up.
- Receive treatment as soon as possible. Do not allow more time to ask for help and begin to solve the problem. We must remember that the more time we allow to pass, the problem will increase and it will take longer to eradicate it.
- Seek support from family and / or close people. You do not have to isolate yourself but on the contrary, get closer to the people you love the most and share with them this situation you are going through as they will serve as support to continue the treatment and not give up.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to Stuttering in adults: causes and treatment, we recommend that you enter our category of Clinical Psychology.