Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a cure for stuttering?
Stuttering is not a disease caused by a virus or bacteria. Stuttering is
a condition and as such cannot be 'cured'. The fact that stuttering cannot
be cured doesn't mean that nothing can be done about it. Speech therapy can
greatly improve your fluency and in many cases virtually eliminate
stuttering. Look at the stuttering
therapies we selected for you.
What is a PWS?
PWS is an acronym meaning Person Who Stutters
or Person Who Stammers. Many stutterers feel comfortable with
the term stutterer or its British English equivalent
stammerer but others prefer the politically correct term PWS.
What causes stuttering?
There is no clear scientific explanation regarding the causes of
stuttering. Stuttering is probably a combination of genetic, physical and
psychological factors:
- Stuttering tends to run in families and you are twice as likely to
stutter if one of your parents stutters.
- Stuttering seems to be partly due to the unique way stutterers
physically react to stress by tensing the muscles of their larynx whereas
non-stutterers usually react to stress by tensing some other muscles.
- Stuttering induces negative feelings such as shame, guilt, lowered
confidence and self-esteem. These negative feelings in turn tend to make
stuttering worse.
Do stutterers have a lower IQ?
On average, stutterers have the same IQ as non-stutterers. Stutterers are
sometimes wrongly perceived as being less intelligent than non-stutterers.
This is mainly due to the fact that stutterers often resort to word
substitution: when a stutterer feels he will block on a specific word, he
often uses an alternative word. The alternative word is often less
appropriate and in some cases not appropriate at all. The listener might get
the false impression that the stutterer suffers from mental confusion. |