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From: Peter Ramig
Date: 10/22/03
Time: 11:22:08 AM
Remote Name: 128.138.238.231
I know of no evidence pointing to rapid or slow speech CAUSING stuttering; however, people who stutter often change their speaking rate as a way of attempting to cope with existing stuttering. For example, some will increase their rate in attempts to "skim" over stuttering; while others may slow down in attempts to prevent or avoid stuttering momments. I discourage avoidance of stuttering at all costs, but because evidence does support a vulnerable speaking mechanism in those of us who stutter, it makes some sense to add additional milliseconds of time (slowing down) to make the complex motor coordinations necessary in producung fluent speech. In supporting slowing down, I do not mean a stutterer should use ABNORMALLY slow speech in attempts to avoid impending stuttering. Rather, I support slowing down slightly as one is encouraged to stutter in a forward flowing fashion with air and voicing turned on.