A Few Known Stuttering Therapy Choices
While much is known about speech difficulties, there is still so much to learn. For example, we know that childhood stuttering is three to four times’ more prevalent in boys than in girls, but we don’t know why. Additionally, there is a genetic propensity to either stutter at some point in life or to never stutter, but no genes have been isolated. It appears that diminishing the dopamine flow and increasing the Gaba flow in the brain reduces stuttering, but why? Stuttering therapy has come a long way in recent years, but there are so many questions yet to be answered. For now, there are several approaches for serious stutterers, depending on their age.
There is a hung jury over when to begin therapy for stuttering. Some people say that pre-k is too early and that most of these kids will simply outgrow stuttering on their own and that early intervention can undermine a child’s confidence levels. However, the tide is slowly turning toward sending kids in for stuttering control early-on. The latest research shows that the sooner a child receives treatment, the higher the chances of that child gaining lasting fluency. At the American Institute for Stuttering, kids ages 2 to 6 will arrive for weekly sessions that involve parents and caretakers.
School-aged children (7+) are in need of a different sort of stuttering therapy. By this age, they’ve began to develop their own emotions and attitudes about their stuttering problem. Perhaps their classmates have already teased them mercilessly and a feeling of blame has set in. Many kids at this age wind up with insecurities, low self-esteem and anxiety resulting from their situation. Parents should meet with a therapist to discuss the types of treatments available for their child.
Prescribed drugs are another form of stuttering therapy that has received a lot of attention in recent years. For 10 years now, dopamine-blocking stuttering medication has been used with some success. Some patients reported weight gain and blood sugar increases, although their stuttering decreased. Just this year, a revolutionary new drug called pagoclone is undergoing clinical trials to some success. Instead of blocking dopamine, this drug increases the natural neurochemical GABA, which has been hypothesized to play a role in speech problems like stuttering. In an early study of 130 adults, pagoclone was found to improve symptoms in more than 50% of the affected population. It also decreased speech anxiety in all of the patients. For more information on these trials, visit www.stutteringstudy.com.
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