Symptomatology of stuttering: external symptoms and internal-personal symptoms

By Cristiano Antonino On Sep 28, 2022

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The symptomatology of stuttering should not be interpreted univocally but opens the way to at least two possible interpretations: external symptomatology and internal-personal symptomatology

Complex and varied, the external symptomatology of stuttering concerns alterations of segmental and suprasegmental speech traits such as

verbal substitutions and interrupted pronunciation
abrupt and explosive attack of the sentence;
forced accentuation;
forced attack in vowel production;
their excessive duration (prolongation);
forced production of consonants in both intensity and production;
repetition of words or syntagmas (several words), syllables or single sounds;
use of fillers (embolophrases, periphrases, interjections, i.e., then, etc.);
vocalised pauses (i.e. …, right …?, so …, etc.);
pauses within words or syntagmas.

… and again:

fixations of the articulatory posture of the mouth, both silent (tonic block) and sonorous (prolongation of sounds)

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And in particular:

on explosive consonants where typical is the repetition (pppppronto..);
on sibilant consonants (ssssono stato…), or on vowels (aaaaandrò al mare…);
with more or less long or marked pauses are accompanied by “BLOCKS” of phonation either at the beginning of the sentence (..good morning…), or in the middle (I..my name…), or in the middle of the word (when…you came…),

Both repetitions (clonic) and blocks (tonic) occur preferably at the beginning of the sentence or word, extending, however, to other parts of the sentence as the subject’s anxiety and internal tension worsen.

Internal-personal symptomatology of stuttering

The secondary internal symptomatology of stuttering concerns, instead, alterations in behaviour and attitudes that condition his or her life within frustrations and limitations that guide professional choices (work), study, and sometimes affective life.

The fear of stuttering ‘self-produces’ and keeps the stutterer in a constant situation of ‘relational defence’.

The negative feeling that accompanies the blocks and hesitations, the renunciation to “communicate” is experienced as an unjustified “punishment”, a defeat that is linked to traumatic internal experiences.

The negative circle (feedback) of self-listening fuels negative experiences, ‘obscuring’ the basic self and trust.

The repetition, in the continuous aspiration to change, of repeated relapses into the same difficulties (repetition compulsion) drive him to continuous masquerades with others, and to verbal ‘avoidance’ (use of synonyms), paraphrasing in an attempt to avoid word blockage. By not meeting reality in a satisfactory manner, the subject finds himself in constant personal dissatisfaction.

‘Trapped in the conflict’ of wanting to speak (sustained by a more than good ability) but not being able to, or knowing how to, do so, his every existential choice risks being made in relation to the lesser need to speak or to face situations of verbal commitment, which he cannot sustain.