Instructor in Neuropathology, Tufts College Medical School, In Charge Voice
Clinic, Boston State Hospital, Psychopathic Department.
THE object of this paper is to carry the analysis of stutter phenomena
deeper than before. In my last year's paper I showed that chronologically
the diagnosis of dyslalia mounted step by step from a material external
affair, up through the nerves until we came to the basal ganglia. I showed
conclusively that it was an involvement that did not exist in any of these
places. I further took steps to demonstrate and present evidence that
indicated that dyslalia was in its essence some trouble with the
personality. I mean by this: that the trouble was located in the nervous
system beyond the lower sensory areas of the sensorium; and also above the
lower motor areas on the motor side. By the broad term "personality" I mean
the total of the activities and interrelations of mental activities that
occur above our lower sensory and motor areas. The paper of last year
clearly located the trouble vaguely in this region of the personality.
Since that time I have been interested to ascertain just what the nature of
this changed personality is. In order to do so, I have carried on an
investigation that has reached interesting conclusions. To me it is new
truth. It may not be all the truth, but as far as it goes, and as for what
it is, it surely is truth and a new finding! This research is an effort to
show not only where it is but WHAT IT IS.
The method was as follows: For the purpose of finding out some of the
activities going on in the area of collaboration during speech, I asked my
stuttering patients two simple questions. I thus found that their methods of
collaboration complied to a certain mental type.
Then I carried this same method into the study of normal individuals in the
collaboration of their ideas, just before and during speech in order to
establish a norm; and to see whether or not it differed from my preliminary
test of stuttering cases just mentioned. It did, and therefore I formulated
a series of questions in order to pin the type of collaboration down to
certain fields of mental action. To make this clear, let me present an
outline of these different steps in tabular form.
1. Orientation tests on stutterers.
2. Orientation tests on normal individuals.
3. The research, its objects and methods.
4. Final detailed results.
Let us now pass to a minuter description of each of these procedures and a
tabulation of the data that resulted.