Is There a Cure for Stuttering ???

I have to say that one of the most common questions that people ask me is,”Is it possible to cure stuttering?” People who don’t question whether a cure for stuttering exists have either already decided that if you stutter, you’ll always stutter, or they are so busy looking for the cure that they wouldn’t even consider the possibility that there isn’t one.

My answer is pretty simple. There can’t be a cure, because stuttering isn’t a sickness. It isn’t even a thing that happens to you.

So what is it??

Stuttering is the outcome of the way the brain functions when the speaker for some reason – developmental, emotional, or learned behavior – interferes with the natural automatic way that fluent speech is created. Stuttering is the direct outcome of faulty neurological processing. It can be transient or become chronic when reinforced by practice, beliefs, or the common misunderstandings about fluent speech and stuttering that are widely held by the general public.

Now comes the important question (🥁 drum roll……)

Can a person who stutters ever become a naturally fluent speaker?

The answer: Absolutely!

It is possible, because people are capable of changing the way their brain functions. The brain continues to prune the activation of neurons and develop new neural networks even in old age. YAH!!!  But the best part about being able speak fluently is that everyone who is capable of stuttering already has the ability to do the basic processes involved in speaking fluently and actually does them sometimes. These basic process are:

• Thinking –  You definitely have the ability to do that!
• Producing a voice – If you can sing a melody, on or off key, you can produce a voice. You also do this when you say “Hmmmm”or “Yummmy”.
• Forming speech sounds automatically – If you can speak gibberish or sing the words of any song, you’ve done that.

The problem in stuttering is that all these processes aren’t working together as part of a network. Getting them to work together in the natural way is totally possible.  It takes understanding, experience and some getting used to, but it can be done. Of course, most people will also have to change the factors that reinforce using their speaking system incorrectly. These factors include:

• Beliefs
• Emotions
• Perspective
• Habits
• Attitude
• Behaviors

It’s all doable. Change is possible. The system that creates stuttering can be transformed into one that creates easy, comfortable, flowing speech.

No, there’s no cure, but you can do it differently. You can change the way your speaking system works.

If you want to learn more, I invite you to schedule a free consolation. We’ll talk about you, and what you can do to speak the way you want to speak.

Begin your path to fluency. Schedule your personal assessment at no cost with Barbara Dahm.

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