The History of Stuttering

By jn13long
  • 1400 BCE

    Moses

    Moses was reported to be a stutterer. His stuttering was caused by putting a hot coal in his mouth as an infant.
  • 350 BCE

    Demosthenes

    Greek statesman and orator Demosthenes stuttered and required the assistance of Satyrus. He recommended that Demosthenes put pebbles in his mouth and walk uphill to treat his stuttering.
  • 150

    Galen

    Galen attributed stuttering to an imbalance of the four bodily humors – yellow bile, black bile, blood, and phlegm.
  • 550

    Aetius

    Royal physician Aetius of Amida recommended to cut the frenulum of individuals who stuttered.

  • Dieffenbach

    Johann Frederick Dieffenbach recommended using surgical interventions to target stuttering. Interventions included cutting the tongue, removing part of the tongue, and cutting nerves and muscles in the face.

  • Hard

    J.M.G. Hard thought stuttering was caused by muscular weakness and created an apparatus to go into the roof of the mouth.

  • Chegoin

    H. de Chegoin thought stuttering was due to an enlarged tongue and began cutting tongues to stop stuttering.

  • Kingsley

    Charles Canon Kingsley reported stuttering was due to an overbite and that therapy should happen in adults, not in children. He also thought that stutterers should participate in boxing as a form of treatment.

  • Sandow

    L. Sandow thought that psychoanalysis was an effective treatment for stuttering. He also thought that stuttering could be avoided if children had feelings of being relaxed and calm when they spoke.

  • Steckel

    L. Steckel said stuttering was a psychological issue that must be cured in order to help the patient.

  • National Society for the Study and Correction of Speech Disorders

    A group of teachers formed the National Society for the Study and Correction of Speech Disorders to target stuttering. The group became self-proclaimed speech correctionists and employed a wide variety of behavioral techniques that were not evidenced based.

  • AASC

    The American Academy of Speech Correction (AASC) was formed by 25 founding members including doctors, researchers, and school administrators. The AASC established university programs and standards of practice for speech therapy. The group created texts, assessments, evidenced based practices. This organization in currently known as the American Speech Language and Hearing Association (ASHA).

  • Charles Van Riper

    Chares Van Riper forms the speech clinic at the University of Iowa. He used indirect therapy for children and stuttering modification for adults.

  • Speech Clinicians

    Many school districts began employing speech clinicians to provide therapy to children who stuttered.

  • Tranquilizers

    Physicians across the country recommended using tranquilizers to treat stuttering.

  • Goldiamond

    Israel Goldiamond used delayed auditory feedback to naturally cue a person who stutters to slow down their rate of speech and become more fluent.

  • Neurological Intervention

    Researchers examined the brains of adult stutterers and indicated the need for neurological treatments. This therapeutic approach continues to be studied.

  • ASHA

    The American Speech-Language and Hearing Association (ASHA) has over 204,000 members who are focused on the diagnosis and treatment of speech and language disorders in children and adults.