Stuttering is a speech disorder in which patients are unable to fully pronounce sounds immediately. With this pathology, patients suffer from independent prolongation of sounds and syllables and their repetition. Also, with this pathology, frequent stoppages of speech and disturbances in its rhythmic flow are possible. In most cases, the main cause of pathology is psychological factors. The pathology in medical practice is called logoneurosis (called obsessive fear of communication).
Treatment of stuttering in Moscow
Even in the ancient world, the main causes of problems with the pronunciation of words and sounds were known. Therapy for this pathology is carried out in Moscow in specialized clinics in which patients are restored to psychological health.
It is worth noting that patients in the first years of life suffer most from this pathology. It is observed in children who do not always find it easy to adapt to the world around them due to their individual character traits. According to doctors, up to 7.5% of children in the first years of life suffer from stuttering of varying severity. For many young patients, the problem goes away as they grow older, but sometimes the problem with even pronunciation and fluency of speech remains with the patient for the rest of his life.
Stuttering treatment in Moscow is carried out by experienced specialists. The leading role in therapy is given to conducting psychological trainings and classes. During exercise, patients' self-esteem increases, which relieves spasm of the laryngeal muscles, which becomes a common cause of pathology.
Additionally, a full examination of the patient’s body is carried out, which makes it possible to identify causes of the disorder that are not psychological. For example, to diagnose potential diseases of the nervous system and brain that cause disruption of signal transmission responsible for smooth speech. In such a situation, the leading role is given to the treatment of the identified diagnosis.
The mechanism of occurrence of logoneurosis, stuttering
The mechanism of logoneurosis (stuttering) is quite complex. It is necessary to take into account the role of predisposing and permissive factors. Predisposing factors include unfavorable conditions of premorbid development, which can slow down, or less often accelerate, pause or distort the development of speech. If this predisposition is expressed to a strong degree, then logoneurosis can occur under the influence of even minor or unclear resolving influences. Stuttering is associated with interhemispheric asymmetry and dominance of the cerebral hemispheres. Sometimes children who stutter are left-handed. In these cases, stuttering is facilitated by an inept attempt to re-educate left-handedness, which disrupts the relationship between the dominant and non-dominant hemispheres.
Causes of stuttering
This pathology can begin at any age. Often the onset of the disease is associated with serious psychoneurological shocks. Although most often the problem is identified in the earliest years. During the period when the child just begins to speak in whole words and sentences. Experts include the following in the list of causes of pathology:
- congenital weakness or underdevelopment of the articulatory apparatus;
- hereditary predisposition;
- brain damage that occurred during birth;
- sudden fears;
- rickets or malnutrition at an early age;
- traumatic brain injuries;
- severe infectious diseases;
- complications of diseases of the larynx, tongue and oral cavity.
Most of the reasons are removable. Including problems associated with disruption of the structure of the articulatory apparatus.
Correction of logoneurosis at MC “VERAMED”
In the network’s clinics, you can visit a psychologist and neurologist, get advice from a speech therapist and reflexologist who know what new treatment or the latest achievements, correctional techniques are used in the world to correct speech problems. VERAMED specialists are ready to offer comprehensive treatment for stuttering, as well as individual procedures, speech therapy sessions, massage, acupuncture - what your doctor prescribed. The price of services is competitive and affordable, and the experience and qualifications of our specialists allow you to be confident in a professional approach to a delicate problem. They have extensive knowledge, the most modern therapeutic techniques and new equipment in their hands. Make an appointment in Odintsovo or Zvenigorod by calling a single call center.
Stuttering in children
Problems with pronunciation in children can also have different etymologies. Parents most often pay attention to the presence of a disorder at the age of 3-4 years, when their son or daughter begins to speak in separate sentences. At this stage, it is recommended to contact a speech therapist to confirm the presence of pathology. If a violation is confirmed, the small patient is referred for consultation to a child psychologist and, if necessary, a psychiatrist.
Among the common causes of violations, experts pay attention to the following factors:
- birth trauma, including cerebrovascular accident during long and difficult childbirth;
- problems caused by intrauterine development;
- congenital or acquired neurological disorders;
- the child has experienced severe stress or fright.
An experienced child psychologist will determine the cause of stuttering and develop a treatment program. In cases where the problem is associated with physiological or neurological diseases, the underlying diagnosis is treated first. Next, the program of classes with young patients includes game courses with a psychologist. The use of such programs becomes the basis for restoring the normal flow of speech.
Which specialist should I contact?
As mentioned above, stuttering is caused by a number of reasons, and therefore the approach to treatment must be comprehensive.
- A neurologist evaluates the state of the central nervous system and treats diagnosed disorders.
- A psychologist helps to cope with emotional turmoil, overcome fear of communication, and correct character weaknesses.
- The speech therapist teaches you how to breathe correctly, control your voice, and conduct a smooth and rhythmic conversation.
Acupuncture procedures that have a positive effect on brain function, sessions with a psychotherapist and a physical therapy instructor will also be useful.
However, the most important thing in the treatment of stuttering is motivation, since the duration of the course is several weeks. The exercises are based on repeated repetition of the same actions, constantly overcoming the fear of communication. Efficiency directly depends on the efforts and desires of the patient himself.
Publication date: 04/13/2021. Last modified: 05/06/2021.
Stuttering in teenagers
The problem of stuttering may appear during adolescence. In this embodiment, the appearance of pathology may be associated with the occurrence of a neurological disease or injury.
A common cause of stuttering in adolescence is problems of adaptation in communicating with peers, private stressful situations, and severe fear. For teenagers, maximum attention in therapy is given to sessions with a psychologist or psychotherapist. If a pronunciation problem is associated with traumatic situations, the teenager’s parents are involved in a conversation with a specialist. Many psychological traumas are caused by internal conflicts in the family. When the cause of speech impairment is relationships with classmates, a psychologist may recommend changing educational institutions or having a conversation with a teacher.
Stuttering in adolescents associated with psychosomatic trauma is eliminated with the help of speech exercises. Classes are conducted to help the young patient increase self-esteem.
Breathing exercises
When a teenager stutters, a spasm occurs in the muscles involved in articulation. The type of breathing is thoracic, which means superficial. Therefore, eliminating stuttering in adolescents begins with developing deep diaphragmatic breathing.
After classes, the diaphragm develops and the ligaments become more mobile so that the child begins to use breathing correctly in the process of speech formation, and maintain the pace of inhalation and exhalation. Hesitations associated with lack of air disappear, which means that fear goes away and the teenager becomes more relaxed.
There are many breathing exercises techniques, the most effective and popular is the method of A. N. Strelnikova. The technique is based on rhythmic breathing movements overcoming the resistance of the diaphragm.
The technique is as follows: the child takes a sharp breath, while making some movement, using the diaphragm muscles. After a series of breaths, he exhales calmly, then a new series of breaths. And so several repetitions.
As an example, here are a few exercises:
- “Palms” - the teenager stands or sits, arms along the body. During several successive sharp breaths, he should clench his fists rhythmically: and so on 8 times. Then exhale and a new series of breaths;
- “Pump” - legs apart, arms along the body. During inhalation, the child should bend forward, arms hanging down, back rounded. Exit - returns to the starting position;
- “Hug your shoulders” - arms in front of you and bent at the elbows, palms facing down, forearms on top of each other. When inhaling, you need to hug yourself by the shoulders, while your arms form a triangle.
Treatment methods for stuttering
Therapy pathology in the pronunciation of words and syllables can be caused by various factors. Depending on the initial cause, doctors develop a course of therapy. In a situation where a problem arises due to physiological disorders, neurological lesions, treatment of the underlying disease comes to the fore.
If a stress factor is identified, antidepressants may be prescribed. Working with a psychotherapist plays a positive role in eliminating pathology.
Treatment of stuttering with hypnosis
Hypnosis sessions allow you to relieve stress and help you forget about the situation that led to fright or fear. They immerse the patient in the situation that became the trigger for the appearance of a speech disorder. Often, outside the session, the patient is not able to remember what shocked him so much.
The hypnotherapist removes the negative aspects that have arisen. As a rule, several sessions of hypnosis are enough for the patient.
Treatment of stuttering in the clinic
In most situations, stuttering is not a disease that requires a course of treatment in a hospital setting. If the patient chooses to go to the clinic, a change of environment plays a leading role in treatment. The hospital offers all the conditions that allow you to relax and forget about conflict situations.
In a calm atmosphere, during classes with a psychologist, physiotherapy, and relaxation, the patient gets the opportunity to rest, relax, and forget about unpleasant and stressful situations.
Treatment of stuttering in children
Young patients quickly get rid of this defect in just a few sessions with a specialist. The course is prescribed jointly by a pediatrician, a child psychologist and a speech therapist. All activities are playful in nature. Kids are interested in completing the tasks of an adult assistant and understand that with each lesson speaking becomes easier and easier.
All classes for children are conducted only in parallel with courses for parents. In most cases, stuttering occurs in children who have a vulnerable and active psyche. Parents often need the skill of communicating with such a gentle and reverent offspring.
3. Symptoms and diagnosis
As stated above, there are different variations of stuttering that are quite different from each other. In some cases, logoclonia predominates (involuntary repetition of sounds or syllables “at the start” of a phrase or word), in others the tonic component is pronounced - the need to pronounce a word causes overstrain of the facial muscles, tongue, and neck muscles.
Sometimes certain sounds are involuntarily stretched out (as if sung), or the patient cannot pronounce certain phonemes, while other combinations of sounds are verbalized without difficulty. Often, stuttering appears only in certain situations, and in a more comfortable environment for the patient it disappears without a trace.
There are four phases in the progression of logoneurosis: from preschool to “adult”, at the onset of which a stuttering person, as a rule, develops his own techniques for “smoothing out” or “masking” stuttering, gets used to almost automatically replacing words or sounds that are inaccessible to him with more convenient synonyms; in general, comes to terms with the presence of the disorder, more or less adapts and learns to live with it, as well as with a deeply rooted inferiority complex, fear and avoidance of communication, anxiety-depressive syndrome and other mental disorders, sometimes much more severe and pronounced than the primary stuttering.
However, under favorable conditions, correct parental behavior tactics, and a friendly attitude from the microsocial environment, in many cases there is a tendency toward a gradual reduction of stuttering. Complete elimination of speech disorder is observed in 50-80% of cases.
Diagnostics may require the involvement of specialized specialists - first of all, to identify or exclude a pathological organic background (residual consequences of birth trauma, latent neuroinfections, tumors, etc.), as well as to assess the general psychological state, constitutional personality type and other factors, important in terms of future treatment.
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Treatment of stuttering in adults
Psychotherapy is also among the most effective treatment options for stuttering in adults. It is worth noting that stuttering in patients who have reached adulthood often involves more than just the repetition of syllables and sounds. A hidden form of pathology is often the use of interjections and individual vowels in conversation. For example. "Eh.."
The cause of the problem can be various diseases:
- stroke;
- neurological disorders;
- consequences of meningitis and other diseases.
In such a situation, treatment of the main diagnosis is included in complex treatment.
To eliminate the problem, patients are given psychological training and training in pronouncing words and syllables without repetition or violations. Additionally, hypnosis is used to help identify the original psychosomatic cause and resolve it.
Definition of logoneurosis, what is logoneurosis
Logoneurosis (stuttering) is a speech disorder characterized by a violation of its speech height=”321″[/img]involuntary stops or repetition of individual sounds and syllables. In most cases, logoneurosis (stuttering) occurs at 3–5 years of age, and can begin in the second year of life and in later childhood: at 5–6 years of age it appears in 2% of children, at 6–14 years of age — in 1% of children. Stuttering occurs 3 to 12 times more often in boys than in girls.
Stuttering treatment at home
Many activities that help get rid of stuttering can be done independently at home without the supervision of a doctor. Such practices are described in the medical literature. Recommendations will definitely be given at a medical institution during classes with a speech therapist and psychologist.
- Breathing exercises are recommended for patients of any age:
- In a sitting position with the head lowered to the chest, the patient inhales quickly through the nose and exhales as slowly as possible through the mouth.
- Rotations of the head performed along the axis help strengthen the ligaments, which helps get rid of stuttering. You need to stand straight, your body relaxed, your arms at your sides.
- Rehearsals of pronouncing phrases in front of a mirror are carried out, helping to consolidate the skill of pronouncing syllables and words without delays or violations. During classes with a child, parents or teachers can go through the entire complex with him.
The habit can also be eliminated by singing syllables of words. Young children especially like these activities.
The speech therapist is ready to recommend songs that appeal to representatives of any age group. You can hum them constantly. Including to myself. Additionally, it is recommended to practice making speeches and speeches at home. Adult patients pronounce their “words” that need to be spoken, for example, at a meeting. With teenagers and children, parents can talk through answers to homework at home. At the initial stages, such training can be brought to automaticity. Next, the habit of public speaking will be formed, which in most cases is broken in those suffering from stuttering due to the lack of desire to once again demonstrate to others the existing deficiency.
Logorhythmics
Treatment of stuttering in adolescents using logorhythmics is aimed at improving speech rhythms and creating smooth, expressive speech. Exercises affect breathing, movement, sensory and speech motor areas. Also, such activities have a positive effect on the emotional and volitional qualities of the patient, making him more active.
During classes, the child makes movements, while rhythmically pronouncing some sounds.
For classes you need music - at different tempos (fast, moderate, accelerated, slow, rapid), which helps the child quickly switch from one type of movement to another. You also need speech material - tongue twisters, rhythmic sentences.
An example program could be like this:
- introductory exercises - walking for the ability to control movements, the ability to walk at different paces;
- chanting to develop speech breathing, coordinating singing with hand movements;
- singing and its coordination with walking - aimed at developing rhythmic hearing, attention, understanding of the character and tempo of music;
- exercises for coordinating melodic speech with movements - the child learns to control his muscles;
- listening to music, exercises to stimulate musical memory;
- game exercises to develop emotionality and stimulate imaginative thinking;
- final exercise of a calm nature.
Or you can pronounce tongue twisters: first short ones (within 2 weeks), gradually choosing more complex and longer ones, with sounds and words that are difficult to pronounce.
The role of psychotherapy
Despite the fact that stuttering is a speech pathology, its treatment in adults is very often carried out not by speech therapists, but by psychotherapists, while when working with children, psychotherapeutic techniques are ineffective.
Experienced neurologists often in their practice encounter patients who know how to speak correctly, but because of some internal fears and problems, they are simply afraid of it. There are many examples of musicians who play wind instruments stuttering. Is it worth saying that they need to train their breathing? Should stuttering singers train their voice and articulatory apparatus? Of course, there is nothing wrong with these exercises, they will be useful to every person, but will they play a decisive role in correcting such a speech defect as stuttering?
In some cases, after such classes a person actually begins to speak correctly, but this is most likely due to self-hypnosis and the adult’s faith in specialists. That is, he came to a respected person, did everything correctly, which means he will speak. That is why, when working with children in correctional ways, these methods do not work on their own.
One of the most effective methods of psychotherapeutic influence is hypnosis. But specialists can use other correction methods. The choice of a specific technique largely depends on the identified reasons. After a stutterer gets rid of his fears, internal complexes, uncertainty and other psychological problems, he can quickly restore his speech and not remember the illness for the rest of his life.
