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From: Ken St. Louis
Date: 10/21/03
Time: 3:55:28 PM
Remote Name: 157.182.13.3
Dear Sergio,
Thanks for your question. I understood your English just fine.
Many speech-language pathologists in the USA would probably say that reading aloud to oneself is not particularly helpful to people who stutter, especially if they have not been in speech therapy. Oral reading generally does not deal in a direct way with the emotional problems of stuttering. It also may or may not deal with the specific problems that occur with the stuttering, such as tension, blocks, and so on. Nevertheless, I have been impressed with the number of people who stutter who have told me or reported that reading aloud helps or has helped them. Generally, oral reading is part of a homework regimen that accompanies or follows speech therapy. Yet, I have a friend who never had speech therapy but in college was able to overcome a mild stuttering problem that began in childhood by reading aloud to himself.
My advice would be to seek speech therapy if possible. If that is not possible, I would suggest you order "Advice to People Who Stutter" which is published by the Stuttering Foundation of America. Their address can be found through an Internet search. In general it is better to approach the stuttering by analyzing it, facing it, and becoming desensitized to it than by seeking activities that tend to avoid, minimize, or hide it.
I hope this helps.
Ken