A CURE FOR STAMMERERS

Hokitika Guardian, 4 October 1923, Page 4

A CURE FOR STAMMERERS

dlv Rufus 11. .Mallinsnn in Daily Mailt. Stammering' is truly a terrible ailment. and only those who -tammer can realise the 'tillering undergone Ly those men and women whose impedi-j inent drives them to become almost j outcasts and wlni'c one aim in life ito escape the notice of their fellows. Hut similarly only those who have cured themselves of the ailment can reali-e how easy it i' to do this. Stammering cannot be cured by the repetition ul pl’Oseri he<l excrei-e, at mid moments. It is a di-ease which has gained a stranglehold on the entire breathing apparatus of the stiflerer and has also all’eeted his nervous sy-.tem and hodilv health in varying degrees. It i- therefore not to be cured in an offhand manner hy simple j exercises m speech. It demands that j the whole mind and hodv he devoted j to the ta-k- of toiling up the distressed organ.- ami trying to eliminate the root causes of the trouble.

Hie most necessary factor in the cure is eontiilenee. bet the sulfcrcr reflect on how lie probably began to stammer years ago. in a very slight and half-jocular fashion, and on how. as the mahuiv gained ground, he lost confidence in hi- ability to Mem it = progress. ; ,t la-t pitifully and tamely submitting to become the wreck ho is. bet him reflect on the fact that there is nothing organically wrong with his speech organs, and that it is merely his lark of command of breathing that is causing the trouble, and the battle

is already going decidedly in his favour. lie can. cure himself. He can breathe properly. And he can speak smoothly. Stammerers mutt often have remarked mi their ability to sing without ;t trace of impediment ; and this is a convincing argument in favour of ilia patient's imminent cure, since strong and correct breathing, as in singing, eliminates the trouble. Urief staccato passages cause a singing-stammer, or at any rate a sort of breath-panic, and it is these staccato passages in talking that the sulTercr must avoid. In a. word, then, there are three essential' for the cure. Confidence must lie established first of all, the breathing organs toned up by frequent deep breathing in fresh air, and the minimum amount of talking attempted until the breathing is easier. If the patient can lav aside a mouth for his citre and say, ‘ln this month I will leant to speak smoothly, and will devote my whole mind to the task, never for a moment forgetting that' 1 must breathe deeply before speaking, even wlien speaking hut one word.” he nil! again he a hapiiv man.