The Why and the How of Voluntary Stuttering

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Re: Voluntary stuttering

From: Peter Reitzes
Date: 10 Oct 2005
Time: 18:14:50 -0500
Remote Name: 69.22.238.4

Comments

Janet, thanks for the questions. I do not know of any research in the area of voluntary stuttering and reinforcement. Voluntary stuttering is used to change habits and to change how one responds to stuttering. For example, a speaker who stutters with closed eyes and much noticeable facial tension may attempt to use voluntary stuttering to change this manner of stuttering into a more gentle and forward moving stutter. You ask, “does it ultimately help in making the person who stutters more fluent or just more comfortable with their stuttering?” Different people have different experiences with this speaking strategy. Some people, like myself, go through a period of increased stuttering (because we stop hiding and avoiding stuttering) followed by a reduction of stuttering. Some people who have used voluntary stuttering do not experience a reduction of stuttering but do experience a reduction of speaking fears. Some people who use voluntary stuttering end up stuttering a lot more, but that is because they are speaking a lot more. The more one uses and experiments with voluntary stuttering, the more worth one may find in this strategy.


Last changed: 10/24/05