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From: Peter Reitzes
Date: 13 Oct 2009
Time: 07:14:04 -0500
Remote Name: 165.155.192.75
Cassandra, thanks so much for writing. Your question is one I have personally faced and have worked on over the years with different clients. I can’t speak to your specific stuttering, but allow me to speak generally. There are many ways to face blocking in the middle of a word. One could choose to simply stay with the block and hold it for a second or two. The Speaker could choose to change the stutter. For example, if the speaker is stuck in a silent block, he or she could attempt to initiate sound. If the speaker is stuck on a consonant and needs to move to the vowel, the speaker could practice opening the mouth (dropping the jaw) to get to the vowel (Example: the speaker is stuck on the “s” in the word sun – the speaker can drop the jaw to force him or herself to move to the “u” vowel and then complete the word). Or, the speaker could pause for a fraction of a second or more in an attempt to let the stuttered moment pass. Or, the speaker could stutter hard through the word, pause for 1-3 seconds, and then repeat the word with a smoother stutter (this is called a cancellation). If the speaker anticipates the stutter, he or she could pause before the stutter or use an “easy voice” (sometimes called a gentle onset) to initiate the word or to work through the entire word. These are just some ideas, I am sure there are many more. Thanks for writing.