Do you Have a Stammer?
Our Expert Speech & Language Therapists Provide Evidence Based, Quality Therapy to Help People who Stammer
Stammering can be getting your words get stuck when you speak or not being able to say them at all. Often you know what you want to say but can’t get the words out. This can be repeating words or parts of words, stretching sounds out or even getting completely blocked up when trying to say a word so that no sound comes out. Our therapists can help you develop strategies to allow you to speak more easily. We also help people who stammer build resilience about stammering, reduce avoidance strategies and build self esteem.
Some Facts About Stammering
Between 5 and 8 percent of children will stammer at some point, but most of these will not continue to stammer.
In the UK we use the term stammering. Other countries use the term stuttering. But it's the same thing.
A recent poll * suggests that 3% of UK adults believe they have a stammer; over 1.5 million people. It is predicted a further 1 million people in the UK have a stammer and try to hide it.
When someone hides a stammer it is often because they feel shame or embarrassment.
People who stammer will often avoid situations, words, relationships or even job opportunities for fear of stammering.
Stammering is often compared to an iceberg, with much more below the surface than is visible above.
There is no cure for stammering but sizeable gains can be achieved in both fluency of speech and in dealing with the difficult feelings that often underly the stammer.
Having a stammer is not linked to your level of intelligence.
Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden recently revealed he has a stammer after being attacked on Twitter for his delivery during a presidential debate.
Stammering affects more than just speech; it can cause feelings such as anxiety, frustration, embarrassment and low confidence.
* 2019 YouGov poll by Action for Stammering Children Charity and STAMMA
If you’d like to talk one of our therapists about your concerns about your stammer we can arrange a free consultation.
Things to think about when embarking on your therapy journey
What do you want to achieve through therapy? Try to be clear and specific about your goals and what those will look like when you achieve them. As well as thinking ‘I want to be able to speak more clearly’, try also to think about where you want to get to in specific terms, for example, what will you do differently once you reach that goal? What things might you do / have in your life that you don’t now? How might you think or feel differently about yourself and your place in the world once you reach your goal?
What has worked for you in the past? Have you developed some of your own strategies that have helped you? We can capitalise and make use of what you know already works and build on these things during therapy.
Do you need to let your therapist know about any extra support you might need to access therapy and get the best out of it?
The most important thing to think about is mobilising your support network. Who do you know amongst your friends and family who can be there to support you through the therapy process? Who can you bounce ideas off, celebrate big wins with and practice new techniques with in between therapy sessions?
How we work
We assess each person’s needs holistically and design our treatment plans around the unique needs of each client. At the centre of everything we do are the goals, aspirations and expectations of the individual. We use evidence based approaches and techniques that we have been specially trained to use, including:
Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT)
Motivational Interviewing Techniques
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy
CBT techniques
Block Modification
How can we help you?
If you interested in how our expert speech and language therapy can help you, click below to request a free telephone consultation with one of our therapists or to book an initial assessment appointment.
