Crazy Stuttering Phenomenon Part 2: The Adaptation Effect

[@AliVanSickle]

My dad always told me to keep talking. And that no matter what, don’t stop. Because the more I talk, the more practice I’ll get. And I think that kind of fits in with this video because it truly has helped!

[@AliVanSickle]

I love your personality!! Awesome video 🖤🖤

[@redrockasrama7215]

Very interesting. I was young and uneducated but put in a position of working with and testing students for reading fluency. I rarely worked with the speech therapist so I never learned any thing about this. Thanks for sharing.

[@findingvoices9935]

Adaptation you talk about is a “physical” attempt to rewrite neurological patterns. For that to become effective we should rewrite psychological aspects and patterns of our stuttering as well. Mostly that, actually. Love your videos, thx for sharing. Bgst fan, Alex.

[@JonFrumTheFirst]

Here's a few thoughts. First, read Per Alm on the basal ganglia and stuttering. The BG is involved in initiating movement. Stuttering can be thought of as a failure to properly initiate the production of a word (or better, syllable). This is especially true if the initiation signal is focused on the core of the syllable, the vowel nucleus. So 'st-t-t-t-tutter' is a transient failure to produce the core phoneme 'u' in the first syllable of the world. But note that eventually, the nucleus of the syllable does come - the inhibition of the initiation signal doesn't last all that long. Now stop and think of this analogy - the difference between short- and long-term memory. They are two separate processes, with separate wiring in the brain. If I gave you a 5-digit number to remember you could do so as long as you repeated it every ten seconds or so (you keep refreshing it in short-term memory). But if you stopped thinking about it for an hour, you may not be able to recall it (because it's gone from short term memory, and you didn't lock it into long-term memory. Moving to what is called adaptation (though I would argue that it's mis-named), that is, the process by which a stutter block goes away after the word is repeated. Think of it as similar to breaking out of a stutter block (as mentioned above). The inhibition only lasts so long, and then the motor initiation pathway opens up, and the word comes out properly. And once the pathway is open, then for this particular syllable, there's nothing stopping you from speaking normally. But just as in memory, if you stop repeating the word and go on to other things, the open pathway for that particular word is no longer open - if you say the word again later, you'll probably have to start all over again - block, repeat until the word comes clear, etc. I think the phenomenon is better understood if you just talk until you block on a word, and then repeat that word alone until it comes out clearly. The change from stuttering to fluid speaking doesn't happen within paragraphs - it happens in a single word/syllable. And there's no adaptation going on - it's more like inhitition-demise. Once a short period of stuttering ends (and it always does) it stays gone as long as the word is repeated. You could say that by repeating the word over and over, you keep the pathway for coarticulating the phonemes of the syllable open. Once you stop - like short term memory - you reset the possibliity of initiation failure and you're back to stuttering.

[@tiffanikittilstved1340]

Very interesting and insightful, thanks for explaining that! I'll definitely re-read that paper (I know I read it once at the beginning of grad school but it's definitely been a while).

[@StutteringMind]

very interesting perspective, do you still stutter?

[@JonFrumTheFirst]

Yes I do, at 63. But far less than in the past. Either social anxiety lessened, allowing me to be more confident, or else I became more confident, and my social anxiety - and stuttering - lessened. Good luck figuring out which comes first. ;-)

[@VIVEKYADAV-qe7tf]

Can this effect be more permanent if we do reading/other fluency exercises for several years ?

[@natmad2968]

That's amazing!! Do you know any tips and tricks for stuttering? I've stuttered since I started talking and it's very depressing. Thank you

[@tiffanikittilstved1340]

There are some techniques (which I'll probably talk about in future videos), however, I think the best thing you can do is learn to accept it and feel good about yourself and your communication while still stuttering. Seeing a speech therapist really helped me do this (as well as learn some ways to control my speech). If you're in the US, here is a list of board certified stuttering specialists: www.stutteringspecialists.org/search/custom.asp?id=1972

[@darnellbarnetted.s.3649]

Excellent video presentation Tiffany! Yes it is true that automatically does work based on the learning processing theory. I have difficulty saying disability. If l say disability 10 times then l don't stutter when l come to the word. Good video!

[@StutteringMind]

check out my blog thestutteringmind.com/

[@roy1701d]

I wonder if this is related to the way I'll block on a word, and then immediately afterwards I'll be able to say the same word with no difficulty. This has always flummoxed me...and caused some people to accuse me of faking my stutter. Thanks for these, Tiffani!

[@walterbullis9662]

You always seem so upbeat. Are there times when you have a lot of difficulty in public like DMV lines or in therapy sessions

[@tiffanikittilstved1340]

Oh definitely! There are lots of situations and times where stuttering is really hard for me.

[@lsachs07]

Not sure if you noticed but the more times you read it not only did you read more fluent but you aslo read and talked faster evern during your postreadng explaination.

[@darnellbarnetted.s.3649]

Great video! Have you ever thought about getting your masters degree and doctorate in speech. You would make an excellent professor.

[@tiffanikittilstved1340]

Darnell Barnett thank you so much! I would love to teach college classes one day. I appreciate your encouragement about that! :)

[@KristianMischke]

Interesting video! I was wondering if reading phonetic symbols would be any different from reading text like English?

[@tiffanikittilstved1340]

Interesting questions! I think I'd probably stutter less because the extra effort required to read actually may make me stutter a bit less. Interesting thought - I may have to try it!

[@StutteringMind]

Well done on getting on KZbin, do you stutter when you are alone or talking to a pet ?

[@tiffanikittilstved1340]

Sometimes but not usually as much. Especially when talking to a pet because I try my voice to talk to them. I do stutter when talking alone while recording a video though! lol.

[@StutteringMind]

Thats interesting. I could speak to my cat without stuttering at all and when alone with no recording I am perfect. Do check out my blog and free chapters of my book - thestutteringmind.com/ and let me know what you think

[@ziberiian5818]

U are great ♡♡ i love u * - *

[@Titanium308]

OMG thank you for sharing, has made my day, you are sooooooo funny bbaahhaaaaaa

[@enriquee.k3329]

Your so beautiful 😍 All my life stuttering 🙋‍♂️

[@giulianomoschetti7060]

:) :) hello girl you are super :)

[@darnellbarnetted.s.3649]

Hello Tiffany, Check out my video presentation on choosing the best college or university for students with disabilities. I'm working on my doctorate in special education after deciding to leave the general education classroom. I feel that l can be more of an inspiration to students like myself who stutter as well as having a auditory processing disability. Good luck and continue to make a positive impact!