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Why some people suffer from a stutter

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Re: Why some people suffer from a stutter

#81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We noticed he was more tentative and starting to stutter around the winter holidays, but could not figure out what the pattern was. Then one early evening before dinner we gave him a slice of organic, orange American cheese (milk, salt, enzymes, annatto). He started stuttering shortly thereafter. He'd had ice cream the previous day with no issues. Then we noticed it after mac'n cheese. Upon reflection, his grandparen…

This sounds like something that should be followed up with placebo experiments.

For sure, but how would that be possible with NIH human experimentation guidelines?

Re: Why some people suffer from a stutter

#83
post #71

Had a severe stutter as a child. It wasn't until I started meditating about 4 years back, that my stutter no longer holds me back. My experience here lines up with the experience cited by others on the thread. To phrase what seems to have worked for me in a more systematic manner - A. Micro level - deep breathing helps. At the end of a long day, when I am fatigued, my words get slower and harder to get out clean. I t…

Please do share your meditation techniques.

For me the most effective one has been following my breath. The principle there is that nothing can get more real than your breath right now. You are , only if you breathe. ( or atleast it resonates a ton with me ).

If thoughts come into my head I classify them into 2 - thoughts or feelings? Pleasant or unpleasant? and continue focussing on breathing. I do the above 15 mins everyday. This , for users of headspace, will probably be well known.

Re: Why some people suffer from a stutter

#84

Had a severe stutter as a child. It wasn't until I started meditating about 4 years back, that my stutter no longer holds me back. My experience here lines up with the experience cited by others on the thread. To phrase what seems to have worked for me in a more systematic manner - A. Micro level - deep breathing helps. At the end of a long day, when I am fatigued, my words get slower and harder to get out clean. I t…

What kind of meditation do you do?

Replied above, I use headspace a lot.

Re: Why some people suffer from a stutter

#86
What’s the super power stutterers have to compensate? Usually when there’s a deficiency in one area other area step up and become stronger. Obviously it doesn’t have to be the case but I was hoping the article would mentions something about it.

I ask as a stutterer. :) I open my mouth and sometimes the words just don’t come out. I can relax and think about what I want to say and it gets better. Or I choose a different word.

Re: Why some people suffer from a stutter

#87
I used to have a feeling on what words I would stutter, I still do, and accordingly pick a trajectory of words that would divert me from that particular word, which would sometimes comes a bit off, most of the time successful. Paradoxically I would scan what I would say in advance, and usually while talking would scan sentences that would come very soon in connection to the one I am speaking. If I notice there is a possible stutter word I would do what is possible to avoid that word, and think of a substitute. If I cannot find a word or the stutter word is coming very soon, I would prolong the current sentence or thought adding extra words or doing some non verbal gestures. After many years this practice became fluid.. I used to suffer much and wonder how my life would play out if I didnt suffer, I would imagine all kinds of scenarios that might have happened, situations where I stayed silent instead of speaking up. Sometimes I would notice people would get tired of listening to me or, more true, if I senses I had difficulty in talking I would not say what and how I really wanted to say.. I did learn to stay silent and listen to other people, I also became a musician and sometimes I wondered is it because of my stutter. Who knows, it has been interesting for sure..

Re: Why some people suffer from a stutter

#89

What’s the super power stutterers have to compensate? Usually when there’s a deficiency in one area other area step up and become stronger. Obviously it doesn’t have to be the case but I was hoping the article would mentions something about it. I ask as a stutterer. :) I open my mouth and sometimes the words just don’t come out. I can relax and think about what I want to say and it gets better. Or I choose a differen…

My vocabulary is very wide and I can decide, on the fly, to change one word for another, and that only as a response to avoid stuttering in certain words. As a result I am quite eloquent, and for this reason my colleagues often ask me to be the one to give lectures, talks, and that means that my work is better known in my area (I'm not the best contributor).

It's strange that because of my stuttering I'm now the master of ceremonies.

Re: Why some people suffer from a stutter

#90

My young son, now 7 (no stutter), did stutter at age 4 and had some level of anxiety. My wife and I discovered that he has an allergy to annatto, a natural seed used for orange dye & nutty flavor, that triggered the stuttering. The stuttering was likely due to slight inflammation in his brain. In this case, slice of organic American (orange) cheese caused him to stutter within 10 minutes. Then we could tell when he h…

Oh wow, incredible comment. I looked this up and apparently allergies are pretty strongly linked to stuttering. It's a connection I'd never assume to be possible.

As someone who sometimes has weeks of cluttered speech, and weeks where I'm perfectly fine, I'm now wondering if diet could be a contributing factor.

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