Stuttering takes a lifetime of control

Colin Firth in The King's Speech. Photo / Supplied

The King's Speech might have many critics applauding the performance of British actor Colin Firth, but it has also prompted plenty of talk about a common problem.

Ian Grant is wary of the telephone. Sure, it's a handy device, allowing him to provide parenting advice remotely to some of the dozen radio stations on which he features every week, but such convenience comes with an ever-present threat.

You see, Grant stutters. He has done since the age of 8. Although he employs various techniques to alleviate the problem, there are still times when the words stick.

Asked his age, he struggles, pausing: "You've got me stuttering now because I'm talking about myself ... I'm ... suh, suh, suh ... 71."

Clearly, stuttering is a problem he continues to battle.

"You are working on it all the time. I find when I'm a bit below par, say when I've flown home from Heathrow, then I have trouble asking for coffee on the plane, so I'll go for tea - that sort of thing.

"I think stuttering is so devastating because you look normal. Suddenly, you have to go into a cafe and ask for a t-t-t-tomato sandwich and because your face gets contorted the person serving gets nervous and laughs. They are not mocking, but are just caught out. I think a lot of stutterers wish they had an arm that was crippled so people could see.

"That's where stutterers struggle - it's the surprise. Everything looks normal and, suddenly, they're stuck."

In The King's Speech, Colin Firth plays the future King George VI, a man afflicted by a stutter so crippling he cannot speak publicly. Though the film suggests the King's stuttering is a result of a repressed upbringing, there is no evidence stuttering is caused by an emotional disorder or a traumatic event.

Janelle Forman, a speech-language therapist who works for Auckland-based Stuttering Treatment and Research Trust (START), says current research is that stuttering is caused by a problem in the neural processing involved in speech production.

"That is a physiological thing, not an emotional thing. Most people, when told I'm a speech therapist who works with stutters, say 'that's a nervous thing, isn't it?' That certainly exacerbates the problem but it's not the cause."

The Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children, named after the British actor following his role in A Fish Called Wanda, in which he portrayed a stuttering character called Ken (Palin based the role on his father) offers the following explanation: "Scientific advances, using brain scanning techniques, are beginning to offer us a greater understanding about the way in which the brain is organised for speech and language.

Recent research has investigated possible differences in cerebral dominance (being 'right or left-brained') between adults who stammer and those who don't. Early results appear to show that there may be subtle variations which might impact upon speaking skills."

Grant puts it another way: "Imagine that most people have 10 little men working on their speech computer; guys like me only have five. So if you get drunk or tired, they drop out on you and the computer gets blocked up."

It also appears a genetic pre-disposition may be involved in the development of the disorder, as it often runs in families. Exactly how genetics are involved, however, remains unclear, Forman says.

Grant confirms his two sons stuttered when they were younger, as did three of his grandsons.

"One of those grandsons, at the age of 8, when questioned by a psychiatrist in the United States where he lives, said it didn't matter because 'grandad stuttered and he was on television and radio all the time'," Grant laughs.

Indeed, Grant has made a living from speaking. With his wife Mary, he set up Parents Inc, a not-for-profit organisation whose operations include public parenting seminars around the country. Previously, the couple established Youth for Christ, had their own TV show, The Herd, and ran Campus Life clubs throughout New Zealand.

Grant also successfully auditioned for a job on TVNZ's Plain Speaking show in the 1970s.

Contrary to research, Grant is able to turn nervousness to his advantage when addressing a crowd or the cameras.

"You know there are 800 people in the audience and you can't muck it up.

"Now and again, when I get pally with an audience, when I relax a bit, I get caught out. It's not clear-cut. If I'm in an emergency, I'm fluent, but if I'm a bit underpowered it will climb up a bit."

THE SEVERITY and type of stuttering varies from person to person.

Interruptions to the flow of speech may be accompanied by signs of tension and struggle as well as fear, embarrassment and anxiety. It can affect a person's self-esteem and their social and work relationships.

A method designed to deal with these problems is part of a treatment known as the Lidcombe (CRRT) Programme. Developed by Australian Mark Onslow, regarded as a world leader in stuttering research, it is used widely in New Zealand, Australia and elsewhere and has been shown to eliminate or reduce stuttering to very low levels.

"It is a behavioural treatment approach," Forman explains. "We praise children for using 'smooth' talking and discuss 'smooth' versus 'bumpy' talking. The major focus is on positive reinforcement of the smooth talking and the occasional correction of the bumpy talking.

"It might sound a bit too simple - and some parents think it is - but it has a really high success rate."

By rewarding the good talking, the methodology attempts to make a new circuit in the brain, re-routing aspects of our language processing faculties.

Imagine a well-worn path through long grass, a track that traverses rough terrain; forge a new path over smoother ground and the problematic one will become overgrown, disused.

The key, Forman says, is dealing with the problem when a child is young.

"Our biggest message is early intervention. About 5 per cent of preschoolers, those between the ages of 2 and 4, will go through a period of stuttering, maybe for weeks or months, and about 75 per cent to 85 per cent of those will naturally recover."

Forman says that recovery rate can mask the very real problems faced by some.

"There are a lot of well-meaning people out there, family members, even some doctors, nurses or teachers who say, 'don't worry about it; my child did that and they'll grow out of it'. That is true to a point, but there are a percentage of children who won't grow out of it and they are the ones we want to identify and treat so they won't go on to be an adult who stutters.

"Research shows that if we can catch children early enough and treat them then we can get rid of the stuttering. As children get older and become more aware, perhaps towards the ages of 9, 10 and 11, then they become more anxious.

"You don't tend to get a lot of bullying and teasing with preschoolers but, certainly, once children reach school-age, that kicks in. There is a lot of research to show that children who stutter are at much more risk of teasing and bullying."

With 15 years' experience in dealing with stuttering, Forman has witnessed its impact on children and their families.

"A bright, verbal child can go from being chatty to getting stuck on every word in a sentence. That makes for huge anxiety and huge frustration.

"When we get to the end of the treatment where it has been successful, the parents are incredibly grateful."

- OTAGO DAILY TIMES