About 1% of the total world population stutters and about 5% of people stutter at some point in their childhood. Still, stammering is one of the most misunderstood disorders and has a lot of myths about it. When ‘The King’s Speech’ won the Academy Award for best picture, director, actor, and original screenplay, everyone’s attention turned towards stammering for a brief bit. Professor Mark Onslow, Foundation Director of the Australian Stuttering Research Center, said that “The King’s Speech is an outstanding film but presents a somewhat controlled depiction of stuttering in comparison to many of the debilitating cases we see clinically.” He went on to quote “Without early intervention, stuttering can have a devastating impact on an individual’s academic, emotional, social and occupational potential and development.”
Here’s a broader analysis of what a stuttering person goes through:
Fear: People who are fluent speakers themselves fumble over words when they are under stressful situations or fatigue. But people who stammer become over conscious of their mistakes and feel incredibly helpless and tense. It eventually disrupts the flow of thoughts and speech, leading them to avoid giving speeches or tending meetings.
Shame: What people perceive from the outside is just the tip of an iceberg of stammering. The shame a stutter feels deeply for their inability to complete a simple sentence is huge and is different from embarrassment. Most of the time, they deliberately extend certain sounds or words or use any other coping mechanism to keep up with the fluent speakers. But eventually, they start to feel a wave of shame on how they actually sound.
Frustration and Anger: These are the most commonly seen effects of stuttering. It is not only prevalent in adults but also observed in a child who cannot communicate his/her thoughts properly. The frustration then turns into anger can also be categorized as some of the first symptoms. It can also occur due to how people react to their stuttering. Sometimes, people are angry with a parent or family member (Who stutters) as they believe they passed on the DNA.
Subject to Bullying in Young Age: A lot of studies have said that children who have stuttering issues are subject to more bullying in their young or adolescent age more than kids who speak fluently. A study was conducted by Blood and Blood (2004) on 106 adolescents out of which 53 of them stutters and 53 of them not. They found that a whopping 43% of adolescents who had stuttering issues got bullied while only 11% got bullied in fluent speakers.
Low Self Esteem: People who look away while having a conversation, filling in the sentences, or impatient with a person/child who stutters can lead to low self-esteem. Eventually, people will become more conscious of what others might think of them or talk about them. They reduce their ambitions or aspirations and become timid.
Depression: Ultimately, later in life, they start to fall prey for depression. They feel sad about lost opportunities, people’s reactions, blaming themselves, and blaming neurological conditions that tamper their potential treatment. It also affects their health, happiness, and ability to live a wholesome life. They often feel reduced energy levels and fatigue that affects their day to day life.
How People Can Deal with Emotional Wellbeing Setback?
First and foremost, admit to themselves and their immediate set of people (family and friends) about their problem. Read and educate more on stammering and how common it is. Then, trying an alternate method of speaking or attend speech therapy, which can help them gain confidence.
How Can Stamurai Help?
We have a speech therapy app that provides tools to combat stuttering. Our app has instructional videos, reading and sound practices, and commonly feared words. We also have statistics and reports that can monitor your progress.
Download the app here — https://stamurai.app/5Ei7aPIjp5
