According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, most treatment programs for people who stutter are "behavioral," that is, they are designed to teach the speaker specific skills or behaviors that lead to improved oral communication.
Examples include teaching speakers who stutter to:
- Control and/or monitor the rate at which they speak
- Initiate words in a slightly slower and less physically tense manner
- Regulate or monitor aspects of breathing
The rate management programs include:
- Practicing smooth, fluent speech at rates that are distinctly slower than typical speech
- Using short phrases and sentences
- Learning to produce smooth speech movements at progressively faster rates, in progressively longer sentences, and in progressively more challenging situations until speech sounds both fluent and natural
[Editor's Note: In researching this topic, I found that most treatment programs for stuttering were proprietary and not much detailed information was available.
I picked at random two treatment sites to visit. Both seemed to stress the importance of fluency and attitude change. The Hollins Communications Research Institute (HCRI) uses a behavioral approach. They say that the cognitive and emotional components of stuttering result directly from the presence of disturbed speech muscle movement patterns. On the other hand, treatment programs from The American Institute takes a more holistic approach. Their treatment program for adults, teens and older children includes physical speech and voice treatment to effectively manage and improve speech fluency, work toward reducing or eliminating fear and avoidance, strengthening self-confidence and self-esteem, and developing a new attitude.
We encourage our guests to research treatment options carefully before making any decisions.]
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