Question
A six-year-old boy once had severe stuttering issues, characterized by difficulty in pronouncing the first word accompanied by foot-tapping behavior. However, it seemed to improve naturally later on. Recently, the stuttering situation has worsened again, with the first word or the first few words needing to be repeated two or three times. Will this condition naturally heal with age growth?
Answer
Stuttering is a complex speech disorder that not only involves abnormal speech behaviors but is often accompanied by emotional distress and attitude changes. Each stutterer’s presentation is unique, and therefore, treatment methods vary widely, mainly focusing on non-pharmacological treatments such as speech therapy, psychological therapy, biofeedback pacing devices, voice modification techniques, delayed auditory feedback methods, and sound masking techniques. The choice of treatment methods should be considered individually based on factors such as the characteristics of the stuttering, personality, emotions, and behavior.