Abstract:
Speech and language development problems are very common among children. Among them, stammering occupies a central position in the sphere of fluency disorders. The term stammering is most commonly associated with involuntary sound repetition and blocks, and the prolongation of certain sounds; usually vowels and semi vowels. It can become an obstacle to personal career and social growth and can corrode the one's self-confidence and negatively influence his normal personality. It occurs most often in children between the ages of 2 and 5 as they are developing their languages skills. Stammering has been hitherto left to be treated almost exclusively by elocutionists while the scientific investigations of its pathology, its causes and treatments have been rarely glanced at, and certainly never hitherto embodied in a practical treatise in Sri Lanka. The aim of this paper is to point out physical and psychological factors related to stammering. The methodology deals with the case study based on 50 stammering individuals in the North Central province. In addition, the qualitative interview and structured questionnaire were also employed. In conclusion, physical and psychological factors related to stuttering were revealed. In the case of physical factors, it was revealed that the breathing pattern of the stammering individuals was different from that of others. Further, it was also revealed that the pitch of their voice is higher than that of others. In psychological terms, a mental lock is mostly existent in them, which makes the situation worse. In this sense, bringing the pitch to a lower and natural level causes to stabilize the abnormality of the breathing pattern and it can be considered as practical remedy for stammering.
