Some people wonder about the extent to which exercises can be applied to treat stuttering. Stuttering is a speech disorder that occurs through repetition and lengthening of words, and frequent pauses during speech, accompanied by unusual expressions and movements. In this article, we will learn about some tips to reduce the severity of stuttering for adults and children.

Exercises to treat stuttering

There is no definitive cure for stuttering, and these exercises to treat stuttering are not considered exercises in the known sense, but they are practices that can be followed to reduce its severity as follows:

1. Speak slowly

Speaking slowly and deliberately helps reduce anxiety associated with stuttering. This can be practiced by reading slowly and loudly in private. When a person can master this, this exercise will help him improve when talking with others. It is also possible to pause between each sentence to reduce the speed of speech.

2. Avoid some words

People who stutter can resort to avoiding some of the words that cause their stutter, and can write a list of these words and replace them with other words.

3. Speech practice

This method depends on choosing a friend or family member and talking to them, and the feeling of safety when talking to them helps to improve pronunciation with others. The quality of the groups makes the individual feel that he is not the only one who suffers.

4. Mindfulness

It is one of the means that helps to feel calm and focus on thoughts or on a specific event, and it is one of the means that helps reduce anxiety and relaxation, but there is a need for more scientific studies that confirm the effectiveness of this method.

5. Voice Recording

Recording one’s voice helps the person notice the words that cause them to stutter, and helps them notice improved pronunciation.

Treatment of stuttering in adults

As we mentioned, there is no definitive treatment for stuttering, but there are some other means that contribute to reducing the problem, including:

1. Speech therapy

The speech-language pathologist helps the patient to:

• Speak slowly.
• Note stuttering spots.
• Control situations in which stuttering increases.
• Work on fluency in speech.

This method is considered one of the most effective ways to treat adults and children.

2. Cognitive behavioral therapy

It is a type of psychotherapy that helps people change the way they think and modify their behavior accordingly. This therapy includes some skills such as:

• direct connection.
• Increase a person’s knowledge about the problem of stuttering and its origin.
• Ability to solve problems.
• Exercises to increase the length of sounds.
• Relaxation techniques such as deep breathing.
• Challenge negative thoughts.

This method helps reduce stress and anxiety associated with stuttering.

3. Electronic means

These methods help to improve speech fluency. There is a method that requires speaking slowly, otherwise the sound heard by the person will be reflected in the earpiece in an annoying voice. There is another technique that imitates the speaker’s voice, making him feel that he is talking to another person, and the therapeutic response to these methods varies from person to person.

Tips for treating stuttering in children

Treating children with stuttering helps prevent this from developing in the future. There are a number of tips that parents can follow when dealing with a child who suffers from this, including:

• Listen to the child attentively and look him in the eye when talking to him.
• Wait for the child to say the sentence he wants to connect, and not interrupt it or try to complete the sentence instead.
• Create the appropriate time to talk with the child, away from any distractions, and the time to eat is appropriate to do so.
• Speak slowly in front of the child, because the child imitates the way the parents speak.
• Talking between family members.
• Not focusing on the child’s stuttering and making him realize that he has a problem while speaking, and not exposing him to situations that cause him embarrassment from speaking in front of others.
• Praise the child when pronouncing the words correctly, being careful not to scold him, and gently modifying the words he stutters.

After identifying the extent to which some exercises can be implemented to treat stuttering, stuttering can be controlled by applying some of the steps we mentioned in the article, but there is no definitive treatment for this problem.