Events

To mark Stammering Awareness Day on 22 October, Professor Peter Howell (UCL Psychology and Language Sciences) gave a Lunch Hour Lecture. He looked at how much we currently know about the condition known as ‘stammering’ or ‘stuttering’ following an increase in awareness due to the Oscar-winning film The King’s Speech.

Having (along with the rest of the nation) seen the film, I went along to Professor Howell’s lecture to find out more.

Image: retro microphone by alangrlane from Flickr

Professor Howell made it clear at the start of the lecture that he was neither a stutterer himself, nor a therapist. His interest lies in what causes the condition and the information and data that have been collected so far.

One of the main points to come out of the lecture was that there is a lot of disagreement between researchers as to what actually constitutes a stutter. In Professor Howell’s view the repetition of whole words is not a symptom of stuttering, but other researchers disagree. Treatment of the condition also differs hugely depending on the location. In the west, stuttering is thought of as a speech disorder and treated as such. In some areas of Africa however, the condition is thought to be a sign of possession by the devil, and treatment usually involves an exorcism of some kind.

It seems like one of the key difficulties when dealing with children who stutter is trying to decide which of them will continue to stutter as adults, and which will grow out of the condition. There is also a big question mark over how early to treat the condition. Some experts feel that it should be caught early; others feel that treating it too early in life has no use when the stutterer is an adult – as they often can’t remember the treatment.

Interestingly, there are some prosthetic (artificial) devices that can be used by stutterers to help slow the speech down and talk more clearly, but they have no longer-term benefit and as soon as the device is removed, the stutter returns. As I understand it, the device literally performs a series of taps on the body to ensure a slow steady speed of speaking.

Professor Howell explained that what we know about the condition has vastly improved since the period during which the film was set. For example, we now know that more men stutter than women, and that there seems to be a deficit in the left hand side of the brain in sufferers. There is also a strong link to anxiety in some stutterers. Tragically, one of the most depressing statistics is that children who stutter are more likely to be victims of bullying.

However, there is much that remains to be discovered. Professor Howell made the point that the film has raised public awareness at an unlucky time. In his view, the current economic policy and health service provision means that researchers in this field can’t ‘cash in’ on this awareness. Without more research, the health service provision for stutterers cannot improve.

I have to confess to getting a little lost among some of the more scientific data and analysis used in the lecture, but I left the event in no doubt about how frustrating the condition must be for those who have it. I feel comforted by the fact that Professor Howell and other experts like him are working hard to improve understanding in this area.

Neil Rodger is Communications Manager at UCL.

Watch the lecture online here: