ABC News Primetime is discussing stuttering tonight, more specifically the Speech Easy device. As usual, the media loves to show supposed miracles, and this device has been hyped on many shows to do just that. Most of the items around Speech Easy device claim it to be a cure for stuttering, and share stories of people who have been cured. The sad reality of it is that most people are not cured, but I would hope most do live better lives as a result.
The Speech Easy device is a sort of hearing aid which provides delayed auditory feedback to the person who stutters, so basically one hears themselves a few milliseconds later. The benefit is that hearing yourself will help reduce stuttering, something called the choral effect. While I don’t doubt the benefit of this device for some people, it is not the cure for all people who stutter.
Stuttering is unique to each individual, and as such the treatment must be as unique. A device or a pill will simply not cure the stutter, or at least has not thus far. This type of coverage for stuttering is both good and bad. On one hand, it continues to bring awareness of stuttering to the general public, most of whom still think that someone who stutters is nervous, stupid, or unsure of themselves, all of which are false. On the other hand, it may give false hope to those who do stutter to drop a few thousand dollars for a device that may or may not help them.
One word of advice, if you are considering the Speech Easy device, please do so with the guidance of a Speech Language Pathologist who can assist you with therapy during the entire process. The device aims to correct one aspect of a stutterers speech, the physical one. There is also the psychological aspect, for which the SLP can assist with. As an example, most people who stutter do not stutter when they are alone. Notice I said “most” and not all.
Click here to read the article online.
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