| The speech impediment stuttering has had its | | | | have a speech impediment and they also advise |
| fifteen minutes of fame or news coverage in | | | | that there is no point in dreaming of achieving |
| recent years. Firstly there was the famous | | | | fluency as they believe that there is not a cure |
| comedian and traveller Michael Palin, then came | | | | for stuttering. Just as well many people, people |
| the pop idol Gareth Gates and lately the vice | | | | who have had and who have overcome a |
| president of the United States Joe Biden. No | | | | stutter, did not listen to their words of wisdom. |
| longer do the people who suffer with this type of | | | | There are a number of therapies for stuttering |
| speech impediment have to accept their stutter, | | | | that do work. Again, as already mentioned in this |
| yes there is an alternative. Nobody is trying to | | | | article, these are not some sort of magic pill or |
| suggest that overcoming or eradicating a stutter | | | | special potion or drug. These therapies instead |
| is easy, far from it in fact, however for people | | | | come in the form of one-to-one speech therapy |
| who have the determination, the will to succeed | | | | courses for people who stutter. During the course |
| and who are willing to work hard, fluency is | | | | the course attendee is taught a series of |
| attainable. | | | | techniques and is given advice as to the forms of |
| So what are the available treatments for | | | | practice and the amount of practice that should |
| stuttering? Well until recent times seemingly the | | | | be applied to enable the techniques to become |
| own form of treatment came in the form of | | | | "natural". This is not some weird form of speech |
| traditional speech and language therapy. This | | | | that is being coached, this is not the costal |
| unfortunately was a far from successful form of | | | | breathing many people have undoubtedly heard |
| stuttering therapy with the speech therapists | | | | of, this is not extremely weird sounding slowed |
| themselves confirming that they were unable to | | | | speech or strange sounding prolonged speech. No |
| help people to achieve fluency. This is fair enough | | | | this is teaching people to speak in the way that |
| however the advice that they do provide, in my | | | | they do dream of, the way in which other fluent |
| humble opinion, is rather on the negative side. | | | | people speak. It is a smooth, confident and natural |
| What do you mean? You may be thinking. Well | | | | speech. |
| they advise people to accept the fact that they | | | | |