commentr/StutterSeptember 12, 2016

Content

Hey, I've had both speech therapy for stuttering and voice lessons for singing at various points in my life, though I'm currently not in either. Also, the singing lessons were not meant to address my stutter, but I think they helped a little bit. Literally no idea about the horse thing...could you expand? Anyways, my personal experience was that breathing exercises helped a lot in both speaking and singing. I think learning to use your diaphragm and utilize airflow correctly is a very important aspect of most stutterer's stutter. Other techniques that proved useful was softening hard sounds. Sometimes my G's sound like K's and my D's sound like T's, but in general this technique works well (it's also a natural extension of mastering airflow. Softening the sound is a result of articulating in a more breathy way). I've also had some pretty bad advice from previous therapists. I don't really like techniques that involve completely changing your natural voice. Using a sing-songy voice may make me more fluent, but it sounds weird and isn't socially acceptable. Ditto to using a monotone voice. Don't encourage word exchange either. While it can sometimes be useful, it's really just a crutch and is a form of avoiding the issue, rather than tackling it head on. Let me know if you have any other questions, it's good that people are getting into the field for specially stuttering. I feel like there's a lot of misinformation and disagreement among SLP's about how to address a stutter. This is also compounded by the fact that no two stutters are the same, so different techniques may work for different people.

Themes

Coping & AdvocacyTherapy & Professional

Subthemes

Fluency TechniquesMindfulness & BreathingUnhelpful Therapy Techniques