postr/StutterNovember 12, 2024

Verbal & Emotional abuse (a cause of stuttering?)

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Verbal & Emotional abuse (a cause of stuttering?) Hello, When i (58m) was in 3rd grade i developed a debilitating stutter. Was so bad at one point that i could not even spreak when i would answer the phone. This stutter lasted until around 20 yrs old - but it lingers to this day. I have no memory of it, but my parents tell me that in third grade a had a mean and impatient teacher. For all these years i had always assumed that her "meanness" was classwide. Recently, due to another issue - which I'll cover below - my mother told me that one day when i came home from 3rd grade my school bag had other student's pages mixed in with mine own. When she asked me how that happened, i told her that this mean teacher purposefully knocked a bunch of kid's papers on the floor and made me pick them all up. Again, no recollection - but does suggest that the poor treatment was directed at me... not class wide. Without going deep into the "how" - a very long story... i found out about 8 months ago that i have dyslexia. I always knew i read slowly - just never knew how slowly... apparently about 140 words a min (typical adult is 250). And this is at the age of 58! Am baffled and mad at myself for not figuring this all out sooner, but i just assumed EVERYONE reread sentences multiple times before getting it right! (I omit words, add words, change the order of words). :( It now occurs to me that the poor treatment towards me by this 3rd grade teacher was most probably linked to my inability to properly read... quickly and smoothly like other children. The pieces sadly kinda fit. I've looked in things only a little and it seems as though there are 2 types of stuttering. Aquired and Developmental It would seem that my stuttering (if caused by mean teacher) would be "aquired," yet what i have read on it says that "verbal" or "emotional" abuse cannot cause stuttering... So... I'm kinda confused. Any guidance/info/feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thx.

Themes

Anticipation & AvoidanceCauses & VariabilityIdentity & Disability

Subthemes

Experiential AssociationTrauma & PsychologicalMedicalization / Neurodiversity