Stammering, Its Cause and Cure

tting at the very essence of the successful method of treatment of his malady, for there is no method of curing stuttering, stammering and kindred

known as stuttering and stammering, we will at this time drop all reference to the other f

ds used by the stammerer in the production of speech. It is necessary, therefore, before taking up the discussion of the causes of stuttering and stammering, to determine the method by which voice is prod

s ask the question: "How is speech produced in the n

ed which vibrates with the sounds. The low tones produced by the saxophone or clarinet result from the enlargement of the aperture, while the higher tones are produced by contract

in the "manufacture" of words, there are concerned the glottis, the larynx, thorax, diaphragm, lungs, soft palate, tongue, teeth and lips. In the production of the sounds and the combination of sounds that

e organs of speech to become operative or to manifest any action, the

message to that organ before the necessary movement can take place. In saying the word "you," for instance, it would be necessary for the tongue to press tip against the b

when it is further considered that separate brain messages must be sent to each of the organs, muscles or parts concerned in the production of that word, the

t brain impulses to them, the result is perfect speech, the free, fluent and easy conversation of the good talker. But when

organ, muscle or part which failed to function. But experience has proved that this is usually not the case. An examination of two thousand cases of defective utterance, including many others besides stuttering and stammering, revealed three-tenths of o

he production of speech? This is the question that long puzzled investigators in the field of speech defects. Like Darwin, they said: "It must be this, for if

en the brain and the muscles of speech. In other words, the harmony between the brain and the speech organs which normally result in smooth wo

speech, which results in loose, uncontrolled repetitions of a word, sound or syllable, or it may take the form of an overinnervation of the vocal organ with th

e tongue flattens itself against the roof of the mouth, moving from the tip of the tongue toward its base. If you are a stammerer, you will probably find in endeavoring to say this word, that your vocal organs fail to respond quickly and correctly to the set of brain messag

ng and to get an idea of its real nature, let us imagine an experi

sage in terms which, if interpreted in words, would be "pick up the pencil." Suppose that when that brain message reaches your thumb and forefinger, instead of reaching for the pencil, they immediately close and clap or stick, refusing to act. Your hand is unable to pick up the pencil. That, then, is similar to stammering. The hand is doing practically what the vocal organs do when the stammerer attempts to speak and fails. But, on the other hand, if, when the message was r

the brain and the organs of speech, still, the mind of scientific and inquiring trend must ask, "What causes the lack of co-ordination?"

original or basic causes of stammering. These original or basic causes in their various ramifications are almost as

immediate cause of the trouble, but rather a predisposing cause or a cause whi

ation of having the list complete but rather of giving facts about the represe

stammering which the author has examined can be t

ry or I

r severe n

injury o

ere

ise

ing or stammering in the order in which we have

imicry or Imitation is almost wholly confined to children. After reaching the age of discretion, the adult is

who stutters or stammers, and so keen is this delight that he persists in this practice day after day until (as its o

ut knowing that he engages in imitation. This practice, notwithstanding the fact that it is unconscious, soon develops into stuttering, without any cause

able through contagious impressions, especially among children of

with others who stutter or stammer, nor is it charitable to allow a child w

ildren have been known to contract stuttering from associating with a deaf-mute w

he had swallowed a nail when about six years of age and that this was the cause of his stammering. The logical conclusion in a case like this would be that the nail had injured the vocal organs,

ke the case of the boy who swallowed the nail, might be expected to prove a case of absolute physical injury or impairment of the vocal chords, but once again,

. This was of course merely a hallucination, but the fright that this boy's state of

the cellar, the closet or the garret. To these scare-tales told to children should be added the misguided practice of telling children that "the bogey-man will get you" or "the policeman is after you" or some such tale to enforce parental commands. A

child of a nervous disposition and lay him liable in later years to the afflictions which accompany nervous disorders. In some cases "tickling" a child has caused stammering or stuttering. Care should be exercised here as well, for prolonged tickling brings about intense muscular co

itals of the falls and injuries suffered by the junior members of the household, from the first time that Johnny fell out of bed and frightened his mother nearly to death, to the day that he

red in childhood which are responsible for the ills of later life, although it

physical structure brought about by the injury but rather by the nervous shock attending it. In other words, cases of stammering and stuttering caused apparently by inj

old, my brother and I were playing in the cellar and I wanted to jump off the top step. When I jumped, I hit my head on the

d down the stairs, might have been the cause of the trouble. More probably, it was the combined injury, u

was hit on the head with a ball. I lost my memory for one week and when I regained it

chin, which resulted in his becoming an immediate stammerer. Here, as in the case of the boy who swallowed the nail, it migh

that practically all cases of stammering caused by injury ca

and that children of stuttering or stammering parents usually stammer. In this, as in the case of any malady hereditarily transmitted, it is difficult to say

) is frequently the cause of stuttering of a type known as Choreatic Stuttering or "Tic Speech." Infantile Cerebral Palsy sometimes brings about a condition known

t regardless of the length of time elapsing between the disease which predisposes the individual to the speech disorder and the time of the first evidence of its presence, diagn