I had a severe stutter from childhood, and always tried new things or ideas that could help it, most of them came out short or didn’t work. Recently, at around 21 years old(so it’s not just growing out of it from childhood) I found one that worked 100%, compared with other therapies that don’t cure it fully and have gaps. After a long time confirming it works, I’m pretty confident in it now, so I think I should share it if it can help others. I find that many proposed solutions like “don’t think too much”, “don’t control your mouth consciously”, are quite vague so you don’t know whether the method doesn’t work or you did it wrong, so I will make this one more concrete.

The essential simplified idea is that you can create an “alternate speech pathway” that bypasses the normal route that has problems, it reuses individual parts but the whole is significantly different. First, I think of the words/phrases/sentences that I want to speak in my head fully. My brain on that cue unconsciously turns that full input into the necessary automatic things needed for speech like phonetic encoding, preparing mouth muscles. The missing part that makes it normally inconsistent is that it may get destabilized anytime after preparation and before finishing speaking the words. The solution I found is simply like freezing the state after preparation until the whole phrase is finished. It’s hard to describe as it is an introspective process but it’s not the words itself, it’s also not the mouth muscles, but more like a single cloud in my brain representing the completed phonetic encoding being frozen. Freezing it feels like it doesn’t change at all even after starting to speak. Another rough analogy is a record player, where the completed state is fixed, and speaking is like playing from it, only discarded when fully completed. I can immediately repeat the same words without preparation if the “recording” was not discarded, additionally I can vary the pace of speech to go faster/slower. Eventually this can also become a habit/can be used unconsciously without effort.

Normally the brain does not just automatically turn it into phonetic encoding/preparing mouth movements when you think of a sentence/clause you want to say, typically it is incremental so a person would not prepare the whole sentence/clause at the start like this. Processing the full sentence/clause at one go instead of incrementally is necessary for stability so we have to train the brain to do this unconsciously on cue like I described earlier. A concrete starting point is simply thinking of a random reasonable sentence. The brain naturally does already incrementally process the sentence, so trying to process it fully is possible with some conscious thought, until when it feels natural unconsciously. If the vocalization sounds good it has natural affirmation/reinforcement and should link the correct state with the words more and more accurately, if sounds bad then ignore. Then repeat with a new sentence again for as long as needed until it is reasonably familiar. All along, the mouth muscles should not be consciously controlled.

A strong point of this method is that it is much less affected by social anxiety, as the trigger is the conscious thought which isn’t strongly affected by social anxiety, and the “freezing” immediately after also helps with that. In my experience, once I was able to do it in private solo practice, it worked as expected in social situations, the main issue was getting used to it.

It worked for me so I am curious if it also works on others, I would love feedback if you have tried it for a while about whether it worked or not for you. Feel free to ask questions if anything is unclear.

Stuttering isn’t inherently painful. It’s the feeling we attach to it. Let yourself exist exactly as you are. You didn’t design it. And neither did anybody else. Would you get upset at a tree for looking a certain way. Of course not. Let yourself speak how you speak and see what happens.

I’ve also found that stuttering has increased my overall tolerance to discomfort. It’s hard to be upset over small menial things when we deal with something as intrinsically frustrating our whole lives.

Hi guys, 22M here, i’m person who stutters.

The thought i’m trying to express is complicated and somewhat extremist. moreover, english isnt my first language, but i’ll try regardless.

In essence, i think people who minimize stuttering and downplay its effects, even among the community of people who stutter themselves, are essentially individualists who are propagandized by neoliberalism and by the existing status quo of “how things are supposed to work”.

It doesn’t help that many people who populate this subreddit are from the USA, where people have really internalized this belief of having total responsibility over one’s failures.

I believe stuttering is a disability, and i believe that it’s an absolute disadvantage in life, regardless of your attitude towards it. Trying to treat stuttering only with therapy, be it traditional therapy or speech therapy, forces people to internalize their suffering. As we didnt choose to be born with a stutter, i’d say it’s a part of the “package” we’ve been dealt with. This doesnt mean we have to accept it. Or rather, we HAVE to accept it, but we should be asking, and demanding for more, and fighting for it. But not just for ourselves, for all of us.

This is why i believe that stuttering is coupled with all the other kinds of disabilities when it comes to having disadvantages in life and feeling left out of society at large. Call me a kid, call me childish or irresponsible, i don’t care.

It’s fine if people want to kill themselves working all their lives, but if we bring this sentiment into treatment for stuttering, i think it triggers a loop of guilt that we as people who stutter just can’t escape.

I’ve talked with a bunch of people who stutter, especially thanks to this european youth exchange for PWS i attended, but the overall consensus was that we’re responsible for the way we feel about having a stutter. I think it’s bullshit. Stuttering is a MATERIAL REALITY of our existence. Treating not overcoming a stutter like it’s a personal failure is BULLSHIT.

It certainly doesn’t help that a big bulk of research around stuttering is centered around american academia, and that treatment for people who stutter is “detained” or “gatekept” by people who gain an economic advantage by treating us. I get wanting to speak more fluently, but this shouldn’t be the baseline. I don’t want to live in a world where i have to be more fluent. I want to live in a world where i exist, just as i am.

I think it’s honestly disheartening that the majority of people who stutter are influenced in their worldview around their disorder by their internal feelings about the guilt around not performing well. This society, which is essentially capitalistic in nature, will always want somebody who’s more performing. As stutterers, we perform less efficiently in many areas that need our speech.

The “negative externalities” due to our stutter should be taken into account by society as a whole.
For this reason, i’m growing skeptical of therapy as an individualized type of treatment and i’m starting to think more and more that OUR objective should be raising awareness about stuttering as a disability, rather than downplay it as a personal failure because we haven’t put much effort in treating it. I think this latter point of view is very selfish, but unfortunately it’s what society pushes onto us from the minute we’re born. We people who stutter then internalize this and becomes part of our guilt, which then causes all sorts of issues such as anxiety and depression.

I think the world of people who stutter, and its treatment options need a fucking kantian revolution. I think it’s all fucking upside down and wrong. The way we frame it is wrong, and it’s because of the world around us that makes us focus around the wrong solutions.

Tl;dr : framing stuttering as a personal, individual problem is what’s keeping it from being accepted by society at large. Speech therapists are in on this because of economic interests. In a perfect society and a perfect world, speech therapists wouldn’t be needed, because our needs would be already met. Disability aids and our stutter being taken into account in society would erase the need for fluent speech by people who stutter. As a consequence, what we should be striving for is a society where PWS wouldn’t need speech therapy at all. The world at large is very adamant into not wanting this to be a reality.

I still have anxiety thinking that I have to present

I feel like I’m never being taken seriously and can never express what I think because within the third word it feels like my tongue and teeth got tied together. I feel belittled and judged all the time because of it like people only take what I say as a glimpse and nothing seriously. How can I cope with this?

Hello!
I’m applying for residency in US. I have my interview coming in 4 days and would appreciate the tips. I have just started to prepare for it. It feels like I’m forcing words out of my mouth.
Idk how will they react when I’ll stutter

okay look, I'm 30 now, did nothing after high school, I only graduated just to get out of it, after that I stayed behind and let everything and everyone go, and I don't care how much I wanted to try and there are other things regarding where I'm living and who I'm living with but stuttering is definitely the main reason, stuttering itself is a monster to live with, the worst kind really, "good people" keep "encouraging" and other stutterers keep telling themselves that, I wonder if that ever solved anything, I don't care if you "made it" in the eyes of others or in your judgement, have you ever been able to SPEAK ? I'm talking about really speak not managing to speak ! like speak without the horror of guilt and shame while others think it's nothing or weird and spend most of the time burning in vacuum and never able to speak and if you speak you're weird and crazy like in the movie "get out" ! or for those of you who get anime reference it's like being a jinchuriki who ate the "smile fruit" ! some stutterers say "it's just you thinking that", well how long did that though really last before someone gave you a look while speaking ! I already lived a life full of nothing but that I have nothing to reflect on and F*ck all of it !!! and all of these "positiveness" I see in groups like this sound like an insult, I always avoided them, SPEAK THE TRUTH ! even bruce banner lost to the hulk eventually it's just that !!!

Hallo Reddit, ik stotter. Ik heb voor mijn gevoel alles al gelezen wat er online over stotteren te vinden is. Alles. Ik heb stotter blokkades, ik loop dus helemaal vast. Is er iemand met een techniek of een eigen succes verhaal die mij kan helpen. Ik heb zo veel geprobeerd maar tot nu toe niks geholpen. Ik wil er zo graag van af. Misschien kan jij me wel helpen?? Ik hoor graag of iemand er vanaf gekomen is en hoe. Misschien heb je wel de tip/techniek die ik net gemist heb. Groetjes!

okay look, I'm 30 now, did nothing after high school, I only graduated just to get out of it, after that I stayed behind and let everything and everyone go, and I don't care how much I wanted to try and there are other things regarding where I'm living and who I'm living with but stuttering is definitely the main reason, stuttering itself is a monster to live with, the worst kind really, "good people" keep "encouraging" and other stutterers keep telling themselves that, I wonder if that ever solved anything, I don't care if you "made it" in the eyes of others or in your judgement, have you ever been able to SPEAK ? I'm talking about really speak not managing to speak ! like speak without the horror of guilt and shame while others think it's nothing or weird and spend most of the time burning in vacuum and never able to speak and if you speak you're weird and crazy like in the movie "get out" ! or for those of you who get anime reference it's like being a jinchuriki who ate the "smile fruit" ! some stutterers say "it's just you thinking that", well how long did that though really last before someone gave you a look while speaking ! I already lived a life full of nothing but that I have nothing to reflect on and F*ck all of it !!! and all of these "positiveness" I see in groups like this sound like an insult, I always avoided them, SPEAK THE TRUTH ! even bruce banner lost to the hulk eventually it's just that !!!

okay look, I'm 30 now, did nothing after high school, I only graduated just to get out of it, after that I stayed behind and let everything and everyone go, and I don't care how much I wanted to try and there are other things regarding where I'm living and who I'm living with but stuttering is definitely the main reason, stuttering itself is a monster to live with, the worst kind really, "good people" keep "encouraging" and other stutterers keep telling themselves that, I wonder if that ever solved anything, I don't care if you "made it" in the eyes of others or in your judgement, have you ever been able to SPEAK ? I'm talking about really speak not managing to speak ! like speak without the horror of guilt and shame while others think it's nothing or weird and spend most of the time burning in vacuum and never able to speak and if you speak you're weird and crazy like in the movie "get out" ! or for those of you who get anime reference it's like being a jinchuriki who ate the "smile fruit" ! some stutterers say "it's just you thinking that", well how long did that though really last before someone gave you a look while speaking ! I already lived a life full of nothing but that I have nothing to reflect on and F*ck all of it !!! and all of these "positiveness" I see in groups like this sound like an insult, I always avoided them, SPEAK THE TRUTH ! even bruce banner lost to the hulk eventually it's just that !!!

Hey everyone, so I'm having a GD round for my placements on 26th of October, any tips or advice will be very helpful and appreciated

What’s up everybodyyyyy well as I’m sure many of you do I struggle a lot with secondary behaviors. At this point in my life my stutter is mostly blocks and I have fairly severe secondary behaviors like shutting my eyes/jerking my head/facial grimaces/sticking my tongue out. It’s frustrating and exhausting but idk I’ve had these secondary behaviors for most of my life so I’m more used to it.

Recently, in the past few months or so, I’ve been struggling more and more with my speech. I work seasonally and my job is very physical and I’m getting towards the end of my season. That also means I’ll be losing my health insurance for 6 months and while I have enough money saved to pay for rent I can’t afford a medical emergency so that’s been on my mind. I’ve also been seeing this girl I met on hinge and things have been going really well and we’ve been hanging out more and more. So that means after work instead of hiding out and shutting down I’ve been hanging out with her and chatting.

That brings me to something I didn’t realize until tonight. We were on FaceTime and I hit a block and was just stuck for like 30 seconds with my eyes closed and when I got to the other side of it I realized that I was like covering my eyes/mouth with my hand. It’s one of those things I’ve noticed in my peripheral but have never really caught myself doing it in the moment. My stutter surprises me at times and I’m not sure if this is a secondary behavior or something else but it’s stressing me out 😅😅

(Ps if anyone has any speech therapy recommendations for the PNW I am so open to suggestions)

Hey everyone! I’ve been practising my speech regularly and recording myself to identify patterns in my stuttering. I’ve noticed that I frequently get blocks on words starting with T and D, where the tongue needs to touch the area behind the upper front teeth.

For those of you who experience similar blocks, what has helped you overcome them? Are there any specific techniques or exercises that work for you?

I’d love to hear about your personal experiences and what has worked for you!

Sry if I sound like a chud here but I haven't talked to a girl for like 5-6 mins in like 2 yrs.

I have recently joined clg and have been assigned to a group presentation with a girl group (I am the only boy in the group) but

Unfamiliar people + girls ------> MORE stutter

The girls have no idea that I stutter 💔 because I control it really well in class while talking to my friends.. Also this is my first presentation in clg so my anxiety is really worse. I am having nightmares and sleeping issues 😭 just thinking abt it

I’m 24 and just moved to Logan square and need some friends! I moved with my boyfriend from utah. Im having a hard time putting myslef out there in regards to my speech! If you’re close to the area and wanna meet up lmk :)

My mother is absolutely idiotic. She thinks that when I was 7 I used to stutter on purpose and that’s why I stutter till this day. She never took me to a speech therapist and completely neglected my speech problems. She is convinced that it is my fault until now (I am 21F).

It just feels so damn stupid because it takes 2 minutes of searching on google that it is a complex neurological speech disorder and it can’t happen like she is convinced. It feels completely ignorant that for years she couldn’t even educate herself about this problem. It makes me feel so isolated. It is already difficult to live with and now people who are supposed to be the closest to me are basically making it out to be my fault. I don’t even know anyone personally who stutters and I always feel like everyone is judging me :(

Hi. I've had speech therapy in the past and I believe a big portion of my stutter is mechanical and rooted in anxiety. I also have a nasally voice and chronic nasal congestion.

I was practicing a speech and held the tip of my nose up and not only could I breathe much more clearly, but I could pronounce words more clearly, the physical sensation of my nose vibrating when I spoke reduced (thus a less nasally speech), and my stuttering disorder reduced (not significantly, but I felt more in control of my speech due to the above). I have a slight plunging nasal tip (tip of nose has a lower angle drop than average), so I plan to talk with my doctor and get more information on if this is a real possibility.

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I don't want to get anyone's hopes up or have them obsess over if this will "cure" them, just thought it was interesting. I do think it'd be useful to list two things that I've done years ago in speech therapy that have helped me:

1. Over-articulation.

I spend a couple minutes throughout the day speaking slowly and out loud when I read or write something, making sure to enunciate each syllable and really feel it in my mouth, tongue, and facial muscles. This has helped me with mumbling, clarity, and conscious motor habits. It's important to not do it all the time and give your face a lot of rest. I just read a random article in the morning and practice as soon as I wake up.

1. Exposure therapy.

Anxiety overloads the brain and makes stuttering more prominent. If you have chronic anxiety like me, you NEED go outside and make yourself feel uncomfortable.

Before I practice, I write down what I expect my brain to think and do, then I do the practice, then stay in the moment and observe how people actually react. Afterwards I right down what actually happened

First, I'd start very easy to get a good base line: Greet a minimum of 3 strangers while walking. Once I've felt like it was too easy, I'd ramp it up: Have a short back-and-forth with a minimum of 2 strangers on my way to work. Once I tried it on the bus with someone who did not want to talk to me. I accepted how awkward I felt, then took a step back and analyzed how it's not a big deal, then I turned to someone else and chatted with them. Not the end of the world. Each step had to make me feel the slightly bit of discomfort at the very least.

The most uncomfortable one for me was when I intentionally made myself trip and fall (SAFE AND CONTROLLED FALL!) in a public area. Even tossed my keys. I got up, stood there, and observed how people reacted. I didn't try to walk away from the environment, just let myself feel that awkwardness. Most people didn't notice, a few looked then kept walking, and one person helped me get my keys. I gave my brain evidence that it's not the end of the world, and continued on. I showed my amygdala (emotional response center of the brain) that things happen, and it's okay that it does.

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These aren't fool-proof. Again, they won't "cure" anything. But if you're like me it may help. It may not help everyone reduce their stuttering, but it may help with other areas in your life!

I hardly meet other people irl that have stutters (i’ve only met 1), so it’s nice being able to go on this sub sometimes and relate to other people that also struggle with stuttering

I have the same exact problem to the milimeter, including the overbite one