The Struggle Of Stammering
North Wales speech and language therapists Gail Edgley and Lisa Grader talk about stammering and the new movie, The King's Speech.
The King’s Speech gives us a fantastic spotlight to talk about stammering, be aware of it, understand how difficult it can be for children and adults and what to do.
It is a window of opportunity not to be missed. This is why we’ve jumped at the chance and are thrilled to be organising a special showing of the film in partnership with Clwyd Theatr Cymru.
The film also coincides amazingly well with the 2011 Royal College Of Speech And Language Therapist’s 2011 campaign, ‘Giving Voice’.
The film draws you in straight away. Actor Colin Firth’s portrayal of King George VI’s struggle to overcome this debilitating speech condition is incredibly authentic and has already won a Golden Globe award.
Unlike films like A Fish Called Wanda (starring Michael Palin), which use stammering for cruel laughs, here is a film about a stammering man of stature, dignity and character with a voice to be heard - who is not weak or a weirdo.
When asked, "How did you manage to get this so right?" by Norbert Liekfeldt of the British Stammering Association, Colin Firth replied:
"I've been asked this several times. It is terribly important to me that if you're addressing the real issue like this, I feel I owe it to myself and to anybody who struggles with it to be as authentic as much as I can. It's amazing, if you go into an issue like this, just how many people will tell you I have it, had it, my brother does, my cousin."
We want to make it known that around 720,000 adults and children in the UK alone stammer, but what we see and hear is often just the tip of the iceberg. What we don’t see is the emotional anguish, the negative thoughts and the avoidance behaviour hidden below the surface.
Swapping words, even ordering food in a restaurant only because you can say those words, turning down a career opportunity because you would have to speak in front of a group, social withdrawal and simply not speaking all help to protect a person from the pain, the embarrassment and the relentless effort to speak.
The trouble is that people judge and stigmatise the condition. A child can quickly become angry and frustrated, particularly when other children start to notice, and go from being very outgoing to wanting to play alone and rarely speaking.
Children and adolescents become easy victims of teasing and bullying, get quickly side-lined and develop huge issues of low confidence and poor self worth. In fact it can cause a great deal of anxiety and unhappiness throughout life.
So what can be done? There is not just one cause or theory of stammering, and not everyone inherits it genetically. Fortunately Speech Therapy can go a long way to help the condition.
This is especially true for children as young as three whose stammer can completely go away. Intervention at school-age after sex to seven years or even later may not cure, but offers the benefit of reducing the physical symptoms and often severe psychological, social, educational and economic impact that stammering can have.
Delivering personalised Fluency Programmes in the adult service, we’ve had a 30-year-old woman decide to take up nursing who had previously ruled it out, a doctor confidently standing up to give presentations and a 20-year-old making a phonecall for the first time, to name a few of the successes.
But today's speech and language therapy experience is rather different than the one depicted in the film - so don’t expect to be encouraged to swear or hold marbles in your mouth!
Costal and diaphragmatic breathing is still a key skill taught as is relaxing tense muscles, but other methods such as smooth speech, accent method, mindfulness, NLP and in-the-ear digital devices such as SpeechEasy are currently being used and developed.
Top 10 Tips if you come across a child or adult with a stammer:
1. Be calm and patient
2. Give time (pauses)
3. Reduce pressure / demands
4. Do not speak for them or finish the sentence
5. Notice / pay attention to when already fluent
6. Give natural eye contact – don’t look away
7. Show interest in what is said and not how
8. Speak slower, more relaxed and breathe freely
9. Don’t make it a big issue. It’s okay to stammer
10. Treat equally with dignity and respect
With all the cuts in the present financial climate we must be sure to remember and provide for the needs of people whose very speech disorder prevents them from speaking out.
Congratulations to everyone involved in making The King's Speech, particularly Colin Firth, director Tom Hooper and screenwriter David Seidler – and good luck at the Oscars to be held on Sunday 27 February.
With eyes set on the coming wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton, there is a huge fascination with the Royal Family that can only boost the chances of this film winning Academy Awards. If you haven’t already, our recommendation is 'go and see it'.
There will be a special showing of The King’s Speech at Clwyd Theatr Cymru on Tuesday 1 March at 1pm, with a short speech awareness talk and question and answer session with a panel of stammering experts and witnesses in the field. Tickets are £5.
For more information and advice about stammering visit www.stammering.org or www.stammeringcentre.org. Alternatively, get referred for help by your GP, or call the Speech And Language Therapy Service on 01978 727073.
