If you have, or know someone who has, a stuttering or stammering condition, you understand how hard it is to live comfortably with a speech impediment. You’re aware that the pressure of “trying” to speak fluently and clearly in front of other people causes great self-consciousness. You know there’s a problem, and you’d like to work on it, but you don’t know where to start.

Whether you call it stuttering or stammering, if you cannot get a complete word or thought out without repeating the sound several times, your speech impediment falls into the category of stuttering/stammering. Some people prefer one word over the other, but it doesn’t really matter what we call it. What matters is that we explore ways to overcome this speech difficulty.

Many people start with speech therapy, which can be a very good way to get help with a speech impediment, but is not right for every case. Some people don’t feel comfortable going to a therapist, and some have found that it really didn’t help them as much as they hoped. If you would like to try a speech therapist, you may find that seeing a specialist in stuttering or stammering helps you address your problem more completely than seeing a generalist.

If you would like to try something besides seeing a speech therapist, there a number of self-help books and DVDs available, as well as individual and group coaching in overcoming speech disorders. The beautiful thing about the Internet is that there are so many people with great information on topics such as speech, and many of those people can help you with their books, DVDs and coaching. You should certainly take advantage of these offerings and look for tips and techniques that can help you overcome your speech difficulties.

You have to do your own research, of course. You are the person living with the speaking disorder. You know what you need, and you will know, when you see something useful, that it can help you overcome your difficulties, or at least that it is worth checking out. Doing your own research and seeking out people who can help you change your speech will give you a chance to try different things and find the one that is going to help.

In the end, it’s always your decision, but by putting together a research plan, checking out a lot of options and figuring out what you are and are not willing to do, and what you do and do not want to try, you give yourself a major head start in finding the right solution.

They say that when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. While that is true to a certain extent, the student becomes ready, in part, by looking for a solution and, in the process, a teacher. When the student has learned all he can on his own, the teacher appears. By spending the time and effort to find out what speech tools and courses and systems are out there, you can make much better decisions about what treatments and techniques might work for you. 

Tags: stammering, speech therapy