What are some ways I can control my stuttering?

Question

I've been stuttering/stammering since I was really young. It just got worse and I dont know how to control it. Any tips? And what causes it?

Answer 1

Don't talk.

only kidding.

Answer 2

You could just explain to whoever your talking to that you stutter and im sure anyone would be more patient with you and be more understanding but idk

Answer 3

Sweet heart I have the same problem and it gets really frustrating when I try to have normal verbal conversation and I end up sounding like "Porky Pig" or Mel Tillis  so I just usually stay quiet

Answer 4

Hi Stef,

I know how embarrassing it can be.  I don't suffer from it as I don't do it often but when I do it's at the most stressful points in my life.  When I'm frustrated and need to get what I'm trying to say OUT!!  

Like if I get pulled over by a cop I sound guilty rather than afflicted.

I was told to say it in your head first and it helped.  If I try to speak (and I know everyone out there does) off the cuff I stutter.  But if I think of it carefully before hand I can avoid it.

Answer 5

I've got a friend who stutters, but she only does it when she is nervous. Sorry, but the only advice I can give you is to find ways to feel relaxed. You're probably going in a cycle of:

You start getting nervous because you have to speak soon

You stutter worse because you got yourself wound up about speaking

This then makes you feel worse about it all

You have to speak soon, so you feel nervous

You stutter worse because you got yourself wound up about speaking

This then makes you feel worse about it all

and so on

Like I said I can't give you proper advice, I don't know enough about this, but I think that if you can find a way to keep calm and optimist it should be better.

Do you stutter less around people you are confortable with? If you do, that is proof that it is your feeling nervous that is causing some of it.

hero

Answer 6

Stuttering Therapies

If you stutter, do not give up hope. Stuttering can be treated and we have selected the best stuttering therapies available.

There are two things you should consider when choosing a stuttering therapy:

1. Stuttering cannot be eliminated overnight. If you have been living with stuttering for years or even decades it won’t go away that easily. Whatever therapy you choose, it will probably take several weeks or months before stuttering can be effectively controlled. Claims that you can “cure” stuttering in a few days should be looked at with extreme caution.

2. Stuttering is not only a speech disorder but also a communication and behavioral disorder. Stuttering can be compared to an iceberg and the speech disorder only represents the tip of the stuttering iceberg. The bulk of the iceberg is made of the communication and behavioral disorders as well as all the negative feelings such as shame, guilt, embarrassment etc. A therapy that exclusively focuses on the speech disorder is bound to fail over the long run. An effective therapy should be based on a holistic approach and should address every aspect of stuttering: the speech disorder (the "disfluencies") as well as the communication and behavioral disorders and negative feelings associated with stuttering. See What is Stuttering?  for more information