Speech correction for stammerers.

Date:
[between 1935 and 1940?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Speech correction for stammerers. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    but little. If the stammer was caused by a physical defect it would not be worse in the presence of other people, and would not vary with the circum- stances in which the sufferer finds Stammering is purely a nervous and psychological trouble, and it has absolutely no relation to the physical formation of the vocal organs. It must be pointed out, however, that there may be unbalanced development of the vocal muscles, which, if present, must be remedied before the speech can become consistently normal. Lack of Will Power Sometimes people are inclined to blame the stammerer for stammering. They seem to think that he can speak correctly if he tries, and that it is just a matter of “ will-power.” To take up the attitude that it is the sufferer’s own fault is nothing less than mental cruelty born of lack of understanding and insufficient knowledge of the subject. Those who have themselves suffered in the past know full well that what the stammerer needs is active help and sympathy rather than dog- matic assertions that the impediment is his own fault and that he need not stammer. The sufferer is not to be blamed, for he has not caused himself to stammer. His speech impediment is the result of some external influence which in the vast majority of cases was completely outside his control at the time at which it occurred. Mannerisms There is a widespread notion that the adoption of some mannerism will cure stammering, and suggestions along these lines are often made by well- meaning friends. Thus one says to you, “ A friend of mine found that if he put a pencil in the corner of his mouth he could speak perfectly.” Someone else tells you that all you have to do is to twiddle a penny in your pocket with your fingers while you are talking. Still another will say, ‘“ What you must do is to snap your fingers when speaking.” There are many such ideas in common use, and they will always prove helpful to start with, but in the long run they are worse than useless. For the sake of example let us say that you com- mence to snap your fingers when you speak. Your attention is now con- centrated on doing this, so that your speaking becomes less conscious and therefore more natural. You are almost certain to speak considerably better for some time. For how long you ask ? The answer is for just as long as it takes you to become used to snapping the fingers, or whatever other mannerism you have adopted. As soon as you are used to doing it and it has become a habit you will do it without thinking about it. Your attention then reverts to your speech and youstammer as badly as before. In the sum total you are worse off than before for in addition to stammering you are now snapping your fingers !
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