Can stuttering be overcome through positive reinforcement and patience?

[Mattius_]

Ok, I am in the dorms now at school and I have met an international student from Kenya who has a studder. He can hardly ever put together a sentence without studdering bigtime (He said he did this in his native language as well.)

Often times when he is saying something we finish his sentence for him because he goes slow and we know what the rest of his sentence would be.

For example, hypothetically, he might say: I went to Mcdonald's today, it was ggggggg and we finish it for him by saying good (highly simplified example but you get the idea.)

Anyways what struck me odd is that when we finish his sentence for him he confirms that we guessed right by saying the word 'exactly'

For example:

Him: I went to Mcdonald's today, it was ggggg
Me: Good
Him: Yes, exactly.

He never studders when he says the word 'exactly' or when he says 'yes exactly.'

So to me that means that maybe he can talk in normal fluency he just is nervous or something. I don't know, he doesn't seem nervous at all when he talks, and he says he has been doing it since he was a child.

My point is that if he can say 'exactly', or 'yes exactly' then he can learn to say other words in good fluency as well. Any speech specialists in here want to comment on this?

 

[amwbonfire]

People sometimes stutter on certain letters, or, more commonly, on certain sounds. "Yes, exactly" is pretty easy for him to say, but his vocals have trouble saying "Good". Nervousness has nothing to do with it.

If his stuttering on the word "good" bothers you, make him say something else. "Exactly" seems easy for him to say, so make him say "Excellent."

But seriously, try not to finish his words for him. It'll most like annoy the hell out of him - it's very frustrating when you can't do something, but you try, and someone else just does it for you.

And the word is "stutter", not "studder". He's a stutterer.

 

[Artman]

My Grandfather was a stutterer. I occassionally stutter. My dad used to say that it was because he thought too fast. His thoughts got too far ahead of what he was saying. I do it when I am nervous and I have to settle myself down to stop. He also may feel that what he has to say is not important. This is one of the causes of my nervousness around people that do not know me very well.

Try and get him to relax, slow down, and somehow let him know that what he is saying is important to you.

 

[humanino]

As amwbonfire, I think this is a very bad idea to finish his sentence. I think you should pretend not to notice anything. He is only nervous, and that won't stop if you keep showing him how much he needs help. This is also consistent with Artman's opinion I guess.

 

[The Bob]

My friend (who is english) normally stutters for no reason. I don't think it is nerves because he knows what he wants to say. It might be his native language doesn't have that sound in it and so it is hard to say. I find it hard to use the rolling 'R' in German because I am not native to the country. Langauge all develops at the age of 3. At 3 you can say all the sounds necessary for any language in the world. By 4, you have filtered all the ones you need a lot out and the others become unused. That is why I have a fairly good french accent, as my Dad taught me both languages when I was a child.

The Bob (2004 ©)

 

[Kerrie]

I had a stuttering problem as a kid, still do at times. It's not nervousness, but rather a "short" circuit in trying to think and get the words out. There have been a few people in school and even now who will poke a little fun at me, and I quickly put them in their place about it. Whatever you do Mattius, don't make an issue of it by finishing his sentences, but allow him to work it through.

 

[tribdog]

Wow, what a bunch of horrible advice.
Don't finish his sentences and just wait for him to spit it out? Who the hell has that kind of time. I hear someone stutter and I start throwing out possibilities.
Stutterer:"I want a bbb...bbb.bbb..."
Me: beer...burrito...boat...bulldog..boomerang..bird. Buick.baby...backrub.
Stutterer: "No a bb.bbb
Me:book...barn owl...breathmint? SPIT IT OUT!

I've found that whatever they were trying to say wasn't really that important because they usually quit trying to tell me about it.

 

[Kerrie]

Wow, what a bunch of horrible advice.
Don't finish his sentences and just wait for him to spit it out? Who the hell has that kind of time. I hear someone stutter and I start throwing out possibilities.
Stutterer:"I want a bbb...bbb.bbb..."
Me: beer...burrito...boat...bulldog..boomerang..bird. Buick.baby...backrub.
Stutterer: "No a bb.bbb
Me:book...barn owl...breathmint? SPIT IT OUT!

I've found that whatever they were trying to say wasn't really that important because they usually quit trying to tell me about it.

i do hope you are joking...some people are extremely sensitive to this issue...imagine if your own child had this problem and others made an issue of it...

 

[Mattius_]

Ok, I was asking for just the possibility of him kinda curing his own problem or maybe more information regarding, this is strictly scientific. I didnt really request lectures about what I should or shouldn't do or anything about his feelings. He is fine with what he does, he is not embarrassed, you can easily tell that he has had this problem his whole life(which I told you all about him doing in his native language, I just wanted to know what a specialist of someone who had the same problem knew a little more about it. And secondly, he isn't a child, he is 19 years old so I think he should probably have his issues sorted out by now about his confidence and ability to deal with his problem type stuff. He will ALWAYS have to deal with people finishing his own sentences, and you can totally tell that he has adapted to it.

It's not nervousness, but rather a "short" circuit in trying to think and get the words out.

can you explain this short circuit a little more, I am really kinda interested in this.

People sometimes stutter on certain letters, or, more commonly, on certain sounds.

I don't think that's the problem ill examine it a little more but I am pretty sure he studders because of the short circuit thing kerrie was talking about. I think he sometimes gets words just fine and then other times stutters on the same ones.

 

[Janitor]

I know there are people who stutter when they talk, but don't stutter when they sing, if that is relevant.

 

[The Bob]

Curing the problem could be done by making him say the sentence again, from the beginning. That way the 'short circuit' is missed out because he has thought about it and now can say it all again and know what to say. This might help.

The Bob (2004 ©)

 

[humanino]

Well I guess now, I will help stuttering people finish the sentences ! Sorry for the bad advice. I gave it because I had a stuttering friend in the past, and in his case that was nervousness. He would stutter during the five first minutes or so in a conversation, and then it faded away. But if somebody corrected him, that would obviously go worse. Maybe he had a very specific problem.

 

[Artman]

My stuttering surfaces now when I am trying to explain a complicated computer term or function or some engineering principle to someone who has asked about it, but then quickly loses interest because it is over their head. This makes me feel like they don't want to hear what I am saying.

I am actually an experienced public speaker so if the audience is there specifically to hear me, I am fine.

 

[The_Professional]

Wow, what a bunch of horrible advice.
Don't finish his sentences and just wait for him to spit it out? Who the hell has that kind of time. I hear someone stutter and I start throwing out possibilities.
Stutterer:"I want a bbb...bbb.bbb..."
Me: beer...burrito...boat...bulldog..boomerang..bird. Buick.baby...backrub.
Stutterer: "No a bb.bbb
Me:book...barn owl...breathmint? SPIT IT OUT!

I've found that whatever they were trying to say wasn't really that important because they usually quit trying to tell me about it.

Hahaaa, it seems that in this politically correct world people can't make a joke anymore without offending any race, sex, political agenda, etc..etc..

Damnit youre not supposed to be making jokes!

 

[Artman]

...I hear someone stutter and I start throwing out possibilities.
Stutterer:"I want a bbb...bbb.bbb..."
Me: beer...burrito...boat...bulldog..boomerang..bird. Buick.baby...backrub.
Stutterer: "No a bb.bbb
Me:book...barn owl...breathmint? SPIT IT OUT!

Actually, I think this works okay with people with a decent sense of humor. This is exactly how my friends would deal with me. It can set you at ease. Just remember that this approach can backfire: "K...kkk...ken is trying to k...kkk...kkill me."

 

[jimmy p]

Wow, what a bunch of horrible advice.
Don't finish his sentences and just wait for him to spit it out? Who the hell has that kind of time. I hear someone stutter and I start throwing out possibilities.
Stutterer:"I want a bbb...bbb.bbb..."
Me: beer...burrito...boat...bulldog..boomerang..bird. Buick.baby...backrub.
Stutterer: "No a bb.bbb
Me:book...barn owl...breathmint? SPIT IT OUT!

I've found that whatever they were trying to say wasn't really that important because they usually quit trying to tell me about it.

I've missed this