Stuttering help?

Question

My boyfriend has a stuttering problem. He's gone to therapy for several years, since he was a toddler. Is there a new treament that helps? He doesn't want to go through what he already has when he was younger... What should I suggest to him?

He is in his twenties, and he is extremely intelligent.

In his teens, he has a very hard time. In high school, he was scared to meet people, and, in college, he failed classes since he wouldn't give presentations.

It's not extreme enough to wear an ear piece. That wouldn't be worth it to him. It's not severe. It's just a little bit here & there.

His best coping skill so far is using synonyms to replace words that he gets caught up on... or saying "um" or "you know" to gather himself.

Answer 1

It's not uncommon to be at the place your boyfriend is. Most stutterers are weary of speech therapy, especially because most of it yields zero results. There are no instant miracle cures for stuttering. Therapy, electronic devices, and even drugs are not an overnight process. However, a Specialist in Fluency Disorder (Not just any Speech Therapist) can help not only children but also teenagers, young adults and even older adults make significant progress toward fluency.

Being a stutterer myself, the best place I've been to is the American Institute for Stuttering. I attended one of their 2-week Intensive Programs for adults and my view of stuttering was radically changed. They really helped my self-esteem, view of myself and life, and I made great friends. It's a real quality place with lots of resources and quality specialists.

www.stutteringtreatment.org

By the way, I commend you from having a boyfriend who stutters. It's annoying when people think stutterers are not as smart or capable as the rest of the population.

Answer 2

Give him the web site for The Stuttering Foundation at www.stutteringhelp.org. He can find some of their books and videos at public libraries. The book that helped my uncles and cousins overcome their stuttering was "Self Therapy for the Stutterer." One uncle went to speech therapy and used the book at the same time. He went to one of the specialists that he found through the Foundation. The ones listed with them have gone to special training for working with stuttering and some of them used to stutter themselves. That is why they chose to have this career - so they could help others with the same thing they went through and finally overcame.

Answer 3

I've heard that there's an ear device that "repeats" what a person says less than 1/4 sec after he says it, but in a slightly higher pitch. It helps with severe stuttering. For myself, (but my problem is very mild) it helps to change my voice slightly; an English accent helps when I'm reading aloud.

Answer 4

All the suggestions so far are screwy. There is one sure solution. He should start smoking cigars when he talks. Now of course even though the cure is pretty fast. He could develop a habit for tobacco. And find that difficult to break.

Answer 5

he needs to learn to say it in his mind before he opens his mouth and practice short sentences. I didn't stutter, but it seems when people who stutter talk , they get frustrated and it gets worse and they try too hard.

Answer 6

You should suggest that he get his jaw wired shut for a few months. Then when it gets unwired, he wont' be sad about his stuttering - he'll just be happy he can talk now .... woohoo (you sound judgemental)

Answer 7

ask him to read you all kinds of poetry out loud. over time it will help

Answer 8

read poetry outloud

Answer 9

tell him to spit it out, that worked for me

Answer 10

tha doc!@