Stuttering problem in adulthood. The main reasons for this condition and the main provoking factors. Tips for self-elimination of pathology and methods of modern therapy. Stuttering in adults is a disease that is manifested by impaired speech reproduction and is provoked mainly by neurogenic and psychological disorders. At an older age, it occurs mainly in people who never got rid of it in childhood. A person lags behind the required rhythm, the melody and correctness of the reproduction of some words are lost. Due to the long course of the disease, it becomes more resistant and develops certain adaptive mechanisms in humans.
The main causes of stuttering in adults
The presence of any type of speech pathology brings an enormous number of problems to an adult. His quality of life is instantly reduced, the individual is deprived of almost all types of adequate communication. Until the middle of the nineteenth century, no one was going to treat this condition at all, and it was considered a common misfortune of certain people. Nowadays, a huge step has been taken in identifying the true causes of stuttering in adults, which helps to successfully fight it. But, unfortunately, a single etiological factor has not yet been found. All the most often provoking moments are divided into two types.
Organic lesions
The name of this group speaks of its true essence. Basically, its negative representatives are the consequences of various significant damages. These include disorders that can physically affect a person's health. The presence of such a reason always presupposes the formation of a response therapy around the etiological factor. The course of such a state is always significantly different from other species and requires special attention.
Today, there are the following types of damage that cause stuttering in adults:
- Trauma … Very often, bruises, concussions and concussions of the brain can be reflected among speech disorders. And a previously absolutely healthy person will subsequently suffer from stuttering. Moreover, it can appear in his life both in early childhood and in more mature years. This reason is completely uncontrollable and is characterized by completely different types of subsequent manifestations. They can act as an independent problem or be combined with any other disorders of human health.
- Cerebral circulation disorders … At an older age and with a tendency to obesity, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, stroke may develop. With this pathology, brain cells temporarily or permanently lose their previous functions and cease to be responsible for them. Often, it is after such conditions that people cannot restore correct speech and motor skills of the muscles responsible for it. This situation is further complicated by the fact that almost all patients are already in old age and by themselves do not respond very well to any type of therapy. Moreover, stuttering in this case is only part of the whole complex of symptoms that occurs after a stroke.
- Tumor processes … This reason is observed much less often than all the others, but requires special attention to itself. The presence of any mass formation among the structures of the brain can lead to the development of stuttering without any other specific symptoms. Most often, the cause is precisely the spatial growth of the neoplasm, which compresses the pathways and disrupts the innervation of the human articulatory muscles. In more rare cases, damage to the very center of speech may occur, which promises more serious consequences.
Neurological disorders
Violations of the emotional state of a person can most often cause the onset of this pathology in adulthood. It is this effect that, even without the presence of any organic lesion, is capable of leading to serious consequences in the form of stuttering. This condition is characterized by the absence of other symptoms besides the one described.
There are several of the most common harmful factors in this group that can provoke stuttering in an adult:
- Stress impact … Almost every day, people are exposed to negative influences of various kinds. Most of them are quite light on such moments, but there are also very vulnerable individuals. A person who takes to heart such presence of negative emotions cannot always cope with them correctly. Often, such an impact leads to an exacerbation of a once existing problem with speech reproduction or may even provoke it.
- Severe mental trauma … Everyday small problems are not the only troubles of the people of the modern world. After all, life sometimes delivers tougher blows and forces you to resist a whole storm of your emotions. Most often this is the loss of loved ones, a horrifying picture of an accident or injury from the outside. At such moments, not every person is able to withstand powerful one-time stress, and often this is reflected in the problems of the vocal apparatus.
- Excessive excitement … Of course, this problem rarely begins to manifest itself in adulthood, more often it simply passes from childhood. People are simply very sensitive to emotions for any reason. They are pursued by such a surge at almost every step. They cannot calmly survive new acquaintances with people, business meetings and public speaking. Even a conversation with their superiors scares them to the point of impossibility. This excitement triggers a cascade of reactions that cause a spasm of the articulatory muscles. As a result, normal speech reproduction is no longer possible.
Signs of stuttering in adults
The presence of such a problem in a person should be alerted even in early childhood. But if it appeared much later, then it will already have its own specific features. This pathology in maturity differs from that in children. A similar moment must be taken into account both during the diagnosis and when choosing the tactics for treating stuttering in adults. It is also worth carefully collecting the history of the disease in order to understand when the first signs appeared.
The first symptoms most often occur immediately after the action of any harmful factor. The only exception is the moment when stuttering simply passed from childhood. In this case, the main manifestations always come in a single form without concomitant pathology. But if such a problem has arisen in adults, then most often it will constantly be combined with any other somatic disorders.
You need to pay special attention to the following signs of stuttering in adults:
- Preservation of inner speech … Very often, when communicating with patients, it can be established that they do not stumble in their thoughts and do not notice problems with speech. That is, trouble arises only when they begin to pronounce the far-fetched. So this pathology can be distinguished from children's stuttering, when the child cannot not only speak, but also think in the correct speech.
- Extra effort … A very noticeable sign is the particular nervousness that a person experiences at the time of a conversation. His interlocutor feels and notices some desire to speak out. But it is constantly interrupted. A kind of "pushing" phrases and words through force also catches the eye. All this creates a certain discomfort for a person and pushes others away from him.
- Interruption of the speech stream … This trait is inherent not only in sick people, but also often found among the characteristics of someone's conversation. But it still requires a special attitude and attention. There are certain techniques that are able to count the number of words spoken without delay and difficulty. The whole process is designed for the pronunciation of one hundred words. People who stutter take more than 7% of pauses while speaking. This will also be noticeable during normal conversation.
- Long pauses in conversations … Such stops are also perfectly acceptable. If, in the process of reproducing speech, a person needs to stop for more than thirty seconds, this indicates that he has some kind of violation. Such pauses can be the same or increase along with the worsening of the course of the disease. Sometimes they are systematic, in other cases they are absolutely not controlled by time.
- Muscle tension … Ordinary people behave very freely and uninhibited during a conversation. They do not have any restrained movement or constant need to drink water. If a person suffers from stuttering, then his whole body will literally be stretched like a string. The limbs will begin to shake and not obey, the tongue and tonsils will tremble, and the voice will become even more distorted or completely disappear.
According to the results of numerous studies, it was determined that the stronger sex is more prone to such a reaction of the nervous system than women. It is believed that men react more violently to external influences. Low emotionality contributes to this. The indicators today are as follows: about five sick men for two women.
How to get rid of adult stuttering
This pathology is very traumatic for the human psyche and affects his health. Many problems arise both in personal life and in the process of finding a job and performing work. Failures in personal life, which almost always accompany all sick people, deserve special attention. That is why the question of how to cure stuttering in an adult is of great interest to many.
General tips for individual person work
Such a violation is completely impossible to treat without the patient's independent work. The effectiveness and success of the therapy depends entirely on his attitude to the problem. Stuttering must be considered a serious pathology. Therefore, the approach to its treatment must be grounded and comprehensive.
The actions of the person himself should include the following points:
- Awareness of the problem … For some reason, many people find it very difficult to admit their imperfection, so they are in no hurry to turn to someone for help. But this point must be performed first. Don't think that stuttering is an untreatable problem. It is necessary to persistently believe in yourself and confidently go to recovery.
- Self-study … Such procedures are today called auto-training. Their essence is that the person himself spends some time correcting speech. Special programs are being created in order to control the conversation. People only need to choose the right time, tune in to learning and do it. The technique has a very good positive effect, but it is applied independently only at the initial stages of the disease.
- Breathing exercises … This set of exercises was developed by the famous doctor - Alexandra Nikolaevna Strelnikova. Classes are aimed at eliminating the initial disorder - spasm of the speech apparatus. By performing some simple breathing exercises, this pathological effect can be completely neutralized. The procedure itself does not take a lot of time and does not require anything other than the diligence and diligence of the person himself.
All independent types of treatment should be prescribed by a qualified specialist. Their use should also take place under the strict periodic supervision of a doctor.
Psychological help for stuttering in an adult
Today this type of therapy is the most widespread and well-known. Due to its non-invasiveness and ease of implementation, many doctors are inclined to precisely this effect on the patient. At the same time, patients remain satisfied with the received help. A wide variety of all methods allows not only to carry out their individual selection for each person, but also to combine several different combinations for a specific case.
The most famous today are the following types of exposure:
- Rational … It is used at the very beginning, after a person's direct appeal for help. It is designed to help him adapt to the existing problem and learn how to respond correctly and calmly to medical help. To do this, the doctor uses the usual sessions of mental therapy with reasoning about the current situation and advice on how to solve it.
- Suggestive … This technique involves the use of hypnosis as the main tool for helping the patient. In order to determine the root cause, the doctor plunges the patient into a light trance and conducts a conversation with him at this time. While talking, he calculates many points that, in an adequate consciousness, do not lend themselves to correction. Also during this period, various exercises, speech therapy speech turns are used. The effectiveness of the method is very high, but it requires the selection of a good specialist.
Speech therapy exercises against stuttering in an adult
Speech therapists, like no one else, can objectively assess the state of a person's speech apparatus, and also develop a scheme of assistance for him. This option is often used in childhood, but it is also mandatory for use at any time in life. Its versatility allows the exercise to be applied to a wide variety of cases and patients.
This process is lengthy and requires sequential passage of the following stages:
- Formation of a new speech motor skill … On an individual basis, with each patient, you need to consolidate the correct pronunciation of each word and letter. A person must learn to say all of them slowly and clearly on his own. At this stage, it is necessary to correctly establish the sonority and timbre of the voice, pay attention to the movements of the articulatory muscles and mastering them. Only after reaching this level can you proceed to the next one.
- Consolidation of the mastered material … It completely depends on the diligence and efforts of the person himself. If he trains carefully and follows all the recommendations, then the recovery will be significantly accelerated. At the second stage, the established speech is tried to be applied during reading and speaking. The person is offered to independently express any thoughts so as not to stutter. Each stage has its own duration and can vary according to the situation.
- Automating correct speech … This stage is the final step in solving this problem. But you shouldn't neglect it either. To achieve full recovery, doctors suggest that people use their acquired skills in everyday life. Initially, they form various situations that make a person speak correctly, quickly and clearly. Applying skills in practice takes patients to a whole new level of speaking.
How to get rid of stuttering in an adult - watch the video:
How to treat stuttering in adults is asked by many people who are familiar with this problem, which becomes a big disappointment and has many consequences. In order to prevent this from happening, it is necessary to pay attention in a timely manner to the presence of speech disorders. And qualified help will allow you to quickly recover and completely get rid of stuttering at any age.
