The History Of Stuttering: An Overview
Author: Roselyn Mathew, Reg. CASLPO, Speech-Language Pathologist
Date: Wednesday, November 13, 2024
Table of Contents
Egyptian and Babylonian civilization
Ancient Greece
Ancient Rome
Introduction
Stuttering or stammering is a fluency disorder where there are repetitions, blocks or prolongations during speech. There is no difference between the terms stuttering and stammering. Stammering is the term used in the United Kingdom whereas the word stuttering is used in North America and many other parts of the world. Stuttering is known to be the oldest recorded speech disorder in history. We will go through how stuttering was perceived and treated during different eras and periods.
The BCE period
Egyptian and Babylonian civilization
There have been writings and records about stuttering among the ancient Egyptians around 2000 BCE. Stuttering was considered as a speech disorder. Hieroglyphs have been found that depict people struggling with speech which is speculated to be stuttering. There are also some historical records that suggest that pharaohs have stuttered. However, these records are anecdotal and there is no concrete evidence to fully support this. Babylonian inscriptions have also been found that describe stuttering as a speech impediment.
Ancient Greece
There are records stating that philosophers Plato and Aristotle have acknowledged stuttering. Plato thought that stuttering was a punishment from the ancient gods while Aristotle proposed that stuttering is caused by issues in the tongue and mouth. The father of medicine, Hippocrates, thought stuttering was caused due to imbalances in the bodily fluids.
Ancient Rome
The physicians in Rome associated stuttering with anatomical issues and believed that stuttering was caused due to problems in the tongue and mouth. They tried to treat stuttering with physical therapies and herbal medicines.
Middle Ages
During this period in Europe, stuttering was often thought to be due to witchcraft and demonic possessions. Exorcisms and rituals used to be performed on people who stuttered. Some of these rituals were violent and caused serious injuries.
In the later part of this era, stuttering was seen as a reflection of a person’s character which brought shame and embarrassment to people who had stuttering. There were a lot of stigmas associated with stuttering. People with stuttering were often seen as unfit to have leadership or public roles as they had difficulties with public speaking.
The treatment of stuttering was done by harsh practices where parts of the tongues of people who stuttered were burnt. They were also made to chew on hard substances.
Age of Renaissance (14th-17th century)
From the start of the 14th century, which is the era of Renaissance, there was an emergence of a more compassionate and humanitarian approach for treating stuttering instead of having violent or painful treatments. This was the time when people took an interest in advancements in medicine, science and technology. During this time few scholars started researching more about stuttering. However, many scholars still held on to their previous beliefs.
Physician John Locke proposed that improved education in language could treat stuttering. Giovanni Battista Morgagni, who was an influential figure, was one of the first scholars who proposed that the cause of stuttering could be neurological. His work influenced others to further study and understand the anatomical and physiological aspects of speech disorders.
John Thelwall, a British elocutionist, proposed to have more positive reinforcement in the treatment of stuttering. He emphasized that encouragement is more important and should be given as feedback instead of punishment.
Modern period
During the 19th century, advances in modern medicine took place and stuttering was studied more scientifically. Few researchers proposed that stuttering was caused due to psychological and neurological issues and not due to supernatural reasons. Surgical methods to cure stuttering like cutting off parts of the tongue was experimented but was discontinued shortly as no improvements in speech were noted. The profession, Speech and Language Pathology first emerged during the late 19th century. Formal training courses were started and this resulted in the systematic study of stuttering and its cause and treatment. Speech therapy techniques for treating stuttering emerged during this time.
A French educator, Charles Michel de l’Epee, made significant contributions in understanding speech disorders. He pointed out that people who have severe hearing impairment and people who have stuttering have quite similar speech patterns. He was able to understand this while teaching people who had severe hearing impairment. This finding later led to the theory that stuttering was caused due to faulty auditory feedback, which resulted in the invention of auditory feedback devices.
A well-known person known to have stuttering during this period was King George VI of England. The movie," The King’s Speech” portrays the struggle that he underwent at a personal and political level. The movie also depicts how a person with stuttering could face societal pressures and the stigma associated with it at that time.
During the 20th century, intensive research was done regarding neurological and psychological base of stuttering. Sigmund Freud, who did a lot of research in stuttering, firmly believed that the cause of stuttering is purely psychological and proposed that stuttering is caused due to experiences of trauma and repressed emotions. He used various psychological approaches to treat stuttering.
There were other researchers who believed stuttering is behavioural and introduced therapy techniques like desensitization and fluency shaping.
More neurological research regarding stuttering was done during the late 20th century. Neuroimaging techniques developed during this time were quite beneficial in conducting extensive research regarding neurological basis in stuttering. Significant neurological research was done during this period where researchers compared brains and brain activities of people who had stuttering and people who did not have stuttering. This led to certain theories that the brain structure of people who had stuttering were different than the brain structure of people who did not stutter. There were also researchers who pointed out that electrical activity in the brain during speech were different in people who had stuttering. Reasearch regarding genetic causes of stuttering was also extensive during this period. Some researchers believed that stuttering is caused due to genetic factors and that it is inherited. They argued that if a person has stuttering, there are high chances of family members or close relatives being affected by stuttering.
During this period, stuttering was also thought to be caused due to various physiological effects in the body. Dr. C. Michael Smith and other researchers proposed that stuttering was caused due to variety of factors which include genetic, psychological, neurological and environmental factors.
In the later part of the 20th century, though there were studies that focus on the cause of stuttering, the primary focus shifted towards the treatment of stuttering. Speech Language Pathologists started using more of a holistic approach which included contemporary techniques, mindfulness, cognitive-behavioural techniques and general acceptance of stuttering. There has also been an increase in awareness as well as advocacy for the people who stutter. A number of support groups were formed which focused on supporting people with stuttering and in helping them deal with issues in different areas of their life which included professional, personal and social aspects.
Organizations like the Stuttering Foundation of America which was formed in 1947 made a lot of progress in spreading awareness of stuttering. Efforts were made to normalize stuttering and to understand how stuttering affects a person in all ways and their struggles in speaking situations. These were portrayed to the public as documentaries, movies and tv shows for people to empathize with the issue rather than sympathize with the person who stutters.
With advancements in technology, various software and devices have been developed to aid in the treatment of stuttering. These devices were developed based on theories regarding the cause and the possible treatment of stuttering. Examples of such devices are auditory feedback devices, speech masking devices etc. Studies regarding the effectiveness of these devices have been mixed with some studies showing an improvement and other studies showing no significant improvement. New therapy approaches like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and mindfulness based approaches have become popular in understanding, as well as in working on the mental and emotional aspects of stuttering. CBT and other mindfulness techniques mainly focus on improving confidence and in reducing anxiety for people with stuttering in different speaking situations.
Present day and future prospects
Currently, it can be stated that people have adequate awareness of stuttering and there is no stigma associated with it. The exact cause of stuttering is still not concretely proven and is speculated to be multifactorial. It is assumed that advancements in technology and further research in stuttering would make it easier for a person to reduce their stuttering and be more confident of their speech.
Conclusion
Stuttering is known to be the earliest recorded speech disorder and is thought to be first described in the ancient Egyptian civilization during 2000 BC. Over the centuries, the perception of stuttering has shifted from negative to more understanding and acceptance. It is thought that advancements in technology and research in stuttering would be helpful to reduce the impact of stuttering and improve the quality of life of people who stutter.
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