Is stuttering a stammer? What can be done about stuttering? Can it be corrected?

When a child is young, he doesn't like to talk. This continues and he gradually develops a stutter. What should we do? Is stuttering a stutter? Can stuttering be corrected by doing this? Let's listen to the doctor's introduction.

According to a survey on the website of the American Stuttering Foundation, the incidence of stuttering is about 5%, and the prevalence is about 1%, which means that 75% to 80% of stutterers will recover, and 1% will continue to become chronic stutterers. Children who are learning to speak sometimes repeat words, and this kind of relaxed speech movement is not smooth, which is common. However, with development and language maturity, the situation of not fluency usually disappears within six months.

However, some children do not speak fluently, with more repeated, interrupted or elongated sounds. In serious cases, the words in the throat and mouth show that they are trying hard to speak, or even have a struggling expression. When parents see their children's strange expressions and speech, they feel anxious and worried. Usually, they instinctively remind their children to speak slowly, think before speaking, or even ask them to take a deep breath and relax. However, the children's speech is still sometimes good and sometimes bad. When parents encounter problems, should they not deal with or respond, pretending that nothing happened, so as not to hurt their children's self-esteem? Or if they want to respond, how should they do it more appropriately? It really bothers parents.

Causes of stuttering and how to deal with it

According to research by American scholars, about 50% of children who stutter have parents or a family history of stuttering. If a family member continues to stutter, the child will continue to stutter for a longer period of time. The cause of stuttering is unknown. In addition to factors such as congenital heredity and gene mutation, environmental interaction is also an important factor.

It is recommended that when parents find that their children stutter, they do not need to deliberately correct them, ask them to say it again, or suggest them to speak slowly or think before speaking. They should not show an unhappy expression, and they should not punish their children for this. Because these oral suggestions or treatments will make children feel that "he should be able to control his stuttering", but he cannot always do so. In addition, the child's temperament is sensitive, so the child will be afraid to speak or react to stuttering, and develop a more forceful or more serious real stuttering.

Diffuse MRI studies of stuttering

In recent years, scientists have also used diffusion-type magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to observe the direction of nerve fibers connecting the brain's neural networks. A study was conducted on three groups of children aged 9-12, including: 8 children with persistent stuttering, 7 recovery groups (those who recovered within 3 years), and 7 children who spoke normally.

The results showed that the persistent stuttering group:

■ There is a defect in the left cerebral white matter, which is responsible for the connection area of ​​oral and facial movements.

■The gray matter in the left brain also decreases in growth, mainly in the inferior frontal lobe, which is responsible for the articulation of speech.

These two areas are functionally related to speech and motor expression. These evidences show that when children speak fluently, there are developmental defects in the connection between the left cerebral cortex and the motor network in the speech expression area. Children in the persistent stuttering group do have different congenital brain structures. The study also found that the left brain of children who can recover within 3 years does grow, so they can fully recover from developmental stuttering.

It has been proven by science and brain imaging that changing behavior and brain function can promote changes in brain anatomy. For example, musical instrument training can increase the density of gray and white matter in the brain; adult movement training can increase the volume of gray matter in the brain; and neuroimaging studies have confirmed that long-term behavioral training can affect the structure and function of the brain.

Early treatment of stuttering is more effective

"Early intervention treatment can help 75% of patients recover before the age of 16. If a child's speech is not fluent for more than 6 months, it is recommended to seek the help of a speech therapist." Speech therapists will evaluate and diagnose the child's speech dysfluency and give parents and children appropriate advice or treatment to help the child get through the stage of speech dysfluency. And because children have better brain nerve plasticity, the adjustment of the external environment will help children adjust, improve and recover.

Parents' appropriate behavior and attitude can affect the fluency of speech of children who stutter

In addition, clinical studies have also found that children who are under too much external pressure are more likely to maintain speech slurs. Although innate factors cannot be changed, parents can change and adjust their cognition and behavior to allow their children to live and speak in a less stressful environment.

Through adults' care, positive reinforcement and encouragement, children can speak easily. Parents can demonstrate speaking slowly. Children feel that the slow rhythm and speaking style are in line with their current emotional development and speaking speed. Children can change their brain structure and develop fluent speech as their brain nerves become more plastic and grow.

There are about 200,000 people who stutter in Taiwan. In addition to poor oral fluency, it can also cause problems in interpersonal relationships, social interaction, or work adjustment. The ratio of children is significantly higher than that of adults, about 4 to 1. If a child has been speaking unfluently for more than 6 months, it is recommended to seek help from a speech therapist.