Because I posted these from step 1 to 12, step 1 is at the bottom. Scroll down and start with step one, then work your way up the page. You can spend as long as you need to on each step. Some things may be harder for you than others. Then, start over again. Make it an exercise that you do every day for the rest of your life and you will slowly see a change in your speech.
More information on each step can be found in the book "Self Therapy for the Stutterer" by Malcolm Fraser.
Step 12 to conquering stuttering
Talk as much and as often as you can. Practice all of the steps over and over. If you have something to say, contribute to a conversation. Don't sit and be afraid that you "might stutter." Make chances where you talk even if it is asking a question at a store.
Step 11 to conquering stuttering
Instead of being aware of how you are talking when you stutter, concentrate on how it feels when you are fluent. "Mentally replay successful speaking situations and feel your fluency to build your confidence." (Fraser) "Practice monitoring your speech while speaking slightly ore slowly and deliberately, even when you are perfectly fluent." (Ramig)
Step 10 to conquering stuttering
Talk with inflection and melody in a firm voice. Using natural expression with variations in tone and rate will make your talking more relaxing and pleasant.
Step 9 to conquering stuttering
Think about moving forward as you speak. When you anticipate trouble on a sound, use a prolonged, easy onset to get past it and keep going into the next sound. Don't go back and start over.
Step 8 to conquering stuttering- Cancellation
After you have studied and identified what you are doing abnormally with your speech mechanism when you stutter, take advantage of pre-block, in-block, and post-block corrections to modify or eliminate your abnormal speech muscle behavior.
"The stutterer must come to know just what he does when he approaches a feared word or situation." (Van Riper)
Malcolm Fraser states in his book "Self Therapy for the Stutterer" that the post-block procedures should be learned and practiced first.
Post-Block Correction is called "Cancellation."
"Do this right after a block and before continuing speaking. That is when you should feel what went wrong. After you stutter on a word, you are to pause momentarily to allow time for you to think back and figure out what you did wrong which caused the stutter and plan how to correct it. Relax the tension in your speech mechanism, particularly in your throat. Get the feeling of your tongue lying limp in the bottom of your mouth. Let your jaw drop slightly open and feel the tension draining out as your breathing returns to normal. As you pause and relax, think back and ask yourself what caused you to get stuck on that sound - what did you do wrong - what did you do that was abnormal?"
"When the word is completed, stop completely and analyze all of the errors you made while all of the tensions and pressures are still fresh." (Starbuck)
After analyzing what you did wrong, repeat the word while making the corrections. Do the sound on which you blocked in a smooth, prolonged manner. Keep your voice flowing in order to make the transition to the next sound. Over-correct what you did wrong. If it was a sound that requires a light contact, press your lips together so lightly that there is little or no contact.
Doing this the first time may seem like it interrupts your conversation too long, but it will get easier the more often you do it. The delay and corrections will show others that you are determined to control your difficulty. This will help you gain confidence and control of your speech.
Practice this for a long time before trying the next step In-Block Corrections.
"The stutterer must come to know just what he does when he approaches a feared word or situation." (Van Riper)
Malcolm Fraser states in his book "Self Therapy for the Stutterer" that the post-block procedures should be learned and practiced first.
Post-Block Correction is called "Cancellation."
"Do this right after a block and before continuing speaking. That is when you should feel what went wrong. After you stutter on a word, you are to pause momentarily to allow time for you to think back and figure out what you did wrong which caused the stutter and plan how to correct it. Relax the tension in your speech mechanism, particularly in your throat. Get the feeling of your tongue lying limp in the bottom of your mouth. Let your jaw drop slightly open and feel the tension draining out as your breathing returns to normal. As you pause and relax, think back and ask yourself what caused you to get stuck on that sound - what did you do wrong - what did you do that was abnormal?"
"When the word is completed, stop completely and analyze all of the errors you made while all of the tensions and pressures are still fresh." (Starbuck)
After analyzing what you did wrong, repeat the word while making the corrections. Do the sound on which you blocked in a smooth, prolonged manner. Keep your voice flowing in order to make the transition to the next sound. Over-correct what you did wrong. If it was a sound that requires a light contact, press your lips together so lightly that there is little or no contact.
Doing this the first time may seem like it interrupts your conversation too long, but it will get easier the more often you do it. The delay and corrections will show others that you are determined to control your difficulty. This will help you gain confidence and control of your speech.
Practice this for a long time before trying the next step In-Block Corrections.
step 7 to conquering stuttering
Try to identify what you are doing wrong with your speech mechanism when you stutter. "For some stutterers simply identifying stutterings as they are being produced is sufficient to enable them to start modifying these very same instances of stuttering." (Conture) "The stutterer must come to know just what he does when he approaches a feared word or situation." (Van Riper) Study your speech using a mirror, tape recorder, video, hold onto a block long enough to determine what you are doing, and/or stutter slowly enough to get the feel of what is happening. "Self Therapy for the Stutterer" published by The Stuttering Foundation of America goes into detail about finding out what you do when you stutter.It helps you analyze the pattern of your blocks and how to analyze in detail what you do with your speech mechanism. A speech therapist trained to work with people who stutter can be a great asset with this step. A list of therapists who have gone for extra training to work with stutterers is available under "referrals" at www.stutteringhelp.org.
Step 6 to conquering stuttering
Maintain eye contact with the people you talk to. Do not look away when you stutter or expect to. This helps reduce feelings of shame and embarrassment. "Maintaining eye contact will help reduce feelings of shyness and tend to build self-confidence." (Fraser)
"You must acquire the ability to keep good eye contact with your listener throughout your moment of stuttering." (Van Riper)
"You must acquire the ability to keep good eye contact with your listener throughout your moment of stuttering." (Van Riper)
Step 5 to Conquering Stuttering
Stop avoidance, postponement, or substitution habits. These give temporary relief, but increase your fears and cause more trouble later. Do not dodge speaking situations. Look for opportunities to speak as the more you do, the easier it will become.
"Every time you substitute one word for another, use a sound or some trick to get speech started, postpone or give up an attempt at talking, you make it harder for yourself." - Emerick
"Every time you substitute one word for another, use a sound or some trick to get speech started, postpone or give up an attempt at talking, you make it harder for yourself." - Emerick
Step 4 to conquering stuttering
Identify and eliminate any gestures, facial contortions, or body movements that you have developed such as jerking your head, blinking your eyes, swinging your arms, tapping your foot, slapping your knee, or similar things. First you will have to identify the habits you have developed by asking family members or friends or by watching yourself in the mirror. You may not realize some of the things that you are doing. "When these reactions are recobnized as secondary symptoms, they can gradually be minimized and controlled and the stammerer is then in a better position to contend with the primary speech disorder." (Bluemel)
Step 3 to conquering stuttering - Don't hide!
Do not try to hide the fact that you stutter. Telling people up front that you are a stutterer usually makes speaking easier and lessens the stuttering. Trying not to stutter usually makes speaking harder, makes the stuttering worse, and often leads to more blocks.
Step 2 to conquering stuttering
Start your words "easily, gently, and smoothly" with "light loose movements of your lips, tongue, and jaw." (Sheehan) Prolonging the first sound of any feared word and prolonging the transition to the next sound or sounds of that word will help your stuttering come easier and with less tension. There are some sounds that can't be prolonged such as "k," "p," and "t." You can ease into these sounds with light contacts on them followed by slowly shifting into the vowel sound that follows.
Step 1 to conquering stuttering
The first step is to make a habit of slowing down and talking deliberately. It is easier to control your speech while talking slowly. A relaxed manner of speaking makes it easier to keep from having tension that causes stuttering and blocking. Pauses every so often help, too.
Motivation
To help yourself if you stutter, the first thing you need is a strong motivation, the determination to succeed, and the attitude that you can do it. A positive attitude and the belief that you can make a difference will make all the difference in you and the person who stutters who says and thinks they were handed a sad lot in life and nothing can be done about, who has gone to speech therapy and says "it didn't help," or who wants a quick fix rather than having to work at their speech.
"Stuttering is what you do trying not to stutter again." (Johnson) If you tense up and fear stuttering, your speech mechanism can't work smoothly. If you panic because you are afraid of what others think, you will find yourself stuttering more and the cycle goes on while your stuttering gets worse. The more frustrated you get, the more you stutter.
Concentrating on what you are saying while maintaing a calm, relaxed attitude will help you speak smoothly, slowly, and in an easy manner. A speech therapist can help you learn to identify where you are tensing and how to relax those muscles while you speak
With the motivation to learn and use speech techniques, you can become more fluent and you will appreciate your ability to talk to others.
"Stuttering is what you do trying not to stutter again." (Johnson) If you tense up and fear stuttering, your speech mechanism can't work smoothly. If you panic because you are afraid of what others think, you will find yourself stuttering more and the cycle goes on while your stuttering gets worse. The more frustrated you get, the more you stutter.
Concentrating on what you are saying while maintaing a calm, relaxed attitude will help you speak smoothly, slowly, and in an easy manner. A speech therapist can help you learn to identify where you are tensing and how to relax those muscles while you speak
With the motivation to learn and use speech techniques, you can become more fluent and you will appreciate your ability to talk to others.
Knowing why you stutter helps
Just knowing why you stutter and when your worst times are will help you overcome it. Read the page in the links list on "Explaining Stuttering" and you will understand it a little better. It is easier for young children to be prevented from a lifelong stuttering problem than it is for an adult to unlearn poor speech patterns, but it can be done.
Help others help you if you stutter
People who come upon someone who is stuttering don't usually know how to react or what to do or say. They are confused by the lack of ability to converse and don't know what to do. Some try to help by saying what they think the stutterer is trying to say; others just give up and walk away. The page will help: http://www.stutteringhelp.org/Default.aspx?tabid=538
You can help yourself if you stutter
There are so many routes to go for help with stuttering, but most of them mean time away from home, traveling, taking a vacation from work, and/or paying fees for a program plus the cost of getting there and staying there. If these don't work for you, check out The Stuttering Foundation of America and the options they have to help you. From online videos and books, downloadable brochures, loads of information online at www.stutteringhelp.org to books available from their estore for a very minimal charge, The Stuttering Foundation of America is there to help. Their book "Self Therapy for the Stutterer" is one that any mature teen or adult with the dedication to studying and working through the steps will find great improvement plus the satisfaction of having helped themselves.
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