Stuttering

[Reluctant]

Do you know anyone who stutters? Are there stutterers in Oman? :p Ever since I was a kid I've stuttered, sometimes I have days or weeks when it's good and I hardly stutter at all, some periods are worse. For me I think a lot of it is connected to stress, however, this isn't the case for all stutterers. However, interestingly, for nearly all stutterers, if they speak to themselves or read aloud in private, they will almost never stutter. So, I think it has to do with social apprehension to a certain extent as well. When I am relaxed and at ease and open with myself and others I find I stutter much less, however, it's still evident sometimes. Luckily, some people don't even know that I stutter, it's not as bad as many people, but it is very difficult in some situations when it's bad. Or, some days you will be fine, but then you get caught on one word, or alternatively it will just be bad all day. Moses (peace be upon him) stuttered as well:

(Moses) said: "O my Lord! expand me my breast; ease my task for me; and remove the impediment from my speech, so they may understand what I say." 20:25-28

Some muhadditheen, tracing it back to Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, also say that one of the characteristics of al-Mahdi will be that he has a stutter.

I would like to know your views on stuttering and if you have ever experienced it or know someone who does. : )

[death rose]

i've never experienced it or know someone who stutters
but hehe i think its cute :P

[Endure Whisper]

My cousin and little brother stuttered for a while.. they don't anymore.. never felt it was weird, I mean i was when they were kids and no one attended to that seriously.. they're perfectly fine now. I think it's normal unless it gets too extreme..

[minerva]

speech therapy helps a lot. and breathing and relaxation techniques. (flexing and extending muscles, one set at a time, and breathing out while flexing). also singing helps a hell of a lot, one has to slow down breathe and on exit of the breath, start the word. (breathing the word out). talking in a sing song voice stops stuttering too.

[Reluctant]

Yeah, I actually went to some speech therapy for a few weeks a few summers ago and they mainly focused on breathing techniques. It helps a lot if you take deep breaths and speak while you exhale. I definitely notice a difference if you start speaking at the top of a breath with a lot of air. I still need to practice though.

[Storm]

Moved from General Sabla

[minerva]

Yeah, I actually went to some speech therapy for a few weeks a few summers ago and they mainly focused on breathing techniques. It helps a lot if you take deep breaths and speak while you exhale. I definitely notice a difference if you start speaking at the top of a breath with a lot of air. I still need to practice though.
carry on and don't give up. practise singing on your own and try to enrol in drama classes. good luck. i used to stutter and one of my daughters stutters too. my grandma did..apparently it runs in families. when we have exam stress it gets worse, but we cope. take care :)

[Reluctant]

Stuttering is not a disease you get, it's not a health issue. :rolleyes: It's more of a social issue if anything.

Thanks minerva, yes it supposedly does have a genetic component, I have a cousin and a great uncle who stutter. At the speech therapy we gave blood samples for a government study, I guess they are hoping to conclude something.

[Muse]

i once saw a documentary on mtv's true life on stuttering.. but personally never experienced it or know anyone who has, i agree with everyone above me on the speech therapy sessions

[Jihad4Truth]

I had a good friend in highschool who stuttered. He was cool and a real character and I forgot he even did that until now when I thought about it.

[UmKhalid]

I keep on telling my mother: "I stutter!" ... but she doesn't believe it.

I don't know if it's stuttering or not, but that's the only way I could label it.

Sometimes I get stuck on one word, trying hard to bring the word out, but end up repeating the same syllables. It's really frustrating. The only way to fix it is that I have to pause for a moment, cut the word down, then say it slowly before continuing whatever I was saying.

It gets worse when I'm excited about a certain subject, because then I start talking really fast without noticing it. If something interrupts my train of thought it's like all the words collide and everything's messed up ... same thing, have to take a moment to reesemble my words.

Now what I didn't expect is to find that the problem almost vanished after I started learning Tajweed and practiced Tarteel (Reading Qur'an aloud with a rythem). It helped teach me where the letters come from, and so now if I find it hard to say a word I'd remember the 'Makhaarij Al 7uroof = Where the letters come out from in the mouth' and it's fixed! - I'm saying almost because there are still occasions where I get stuck on a word.

[um_amira]

gasm bilaaaa (i swear) i was thinking last night to open this thread - about stuttering LOOL

Me and my Brother stutter in my family- but him more
my stuttering is shwaia - a little bes not much like my brother.

[J'adore]

I dont stutter.. and No one in my immediate family does either. But I Remember I had two cousins who did and It was especially evident when they were nervous.. I think they continued to practise talking and being comfortable around others.. Cuz they don't do it anymore.. OR atleast not where its obvious or noticable..

I think it's a different case depending on the person, But I do believe it can be stopped.

[Reluctant]

Thanks for your responses. That's really interesting that you mentioned tajweed UmKhalid. Actually I never talk about my stuttering or bring it up, today I just felt like talking about it for some reason. But last year I actually found a stuttering forum and one of the people on there said that his went away (he was Pakistani I think) because of learning how to read the Qur'an. Interestingly whenever I give the adhan or iqama I never stutter, but this is because it's both relatively slow and melodic and it's Arabic. I actually got into studying foreign languages because I thought maybe I can find one I don't stutter in and then move to that country and live a normal life.^^ Actually when I'm relaxed I don't stutter in Arabic, it's about the same or maybe a little less in normal conditions. But, I'd love to learn tajweed and how to fully read the Qur'an so I can try. Thanks a lot for sharing.

[FaHaD]

i know a family in which stuttering run among siblings, affecting both genders.

i know a friend who is has a sever form of stuttering.. but when he reads, sings...he becomes totally normal. something inhibited while concentrating.

some forms of stuttering, the developmental one, starts at childhood but it fades with adulthood.

some may remain at adulthood, specially the neurogenic (something with brain and nerves) and psychogenic ones.

most of the ongoing researches on stuttering are focusing on:
1- finding the genetics of stuttering through means of genetic linkage analysis of affected families.
2- finding the affected region in the brain: through certain scans..e.g PET scan..

[minerva]

last week i met a stuttering specialist. he's got a phd in fluency problems.
he gave me a few tips

1. it's ok to stutter, or to have a student/son/daughter who stutters. tell them it's ok, and what's important is WHAT you are saying not how you say it.
2. speak slowly to a stutterer, that way you'll teach them to speak slower.
3. do not make a stutterer repeat what they were saying before, because that will increase the tension.
4. make the stutterer speak more in public, send them to shops, to do errands etc....that way they'll get the hang of 'practising what they wanna say in their heads' and not feel hampered by their speech.
5. keep calm at all times. do not look or sound nervous when a stutterer is speaking to you. let them speak at their own pace..

all this has brought improvement.

some of his patients are politicians, phd students who have to defend their thesis, priests who have to speak in front of congregations, doctors who have to meet patients, lawyers who have to speak in court etc.... he's doing wonders with his clients, God bless him.

[squinty]

I stuttered when I wore braces...
everyone laughed at me! :p

[Miss G]

My brother stutters. It was worse as a kid, but he had some help with a specialised teacher in school when he was alot younger. he still stutters now but it's not so bad. When he's with friends or in a very casual social situation, he stutters very little. However, when he's talking to older family members he tends to stutter alot more. He sounds like a messed up radio station when he talk to my father. :XD: