THE PROGRESSIVE TENDENCY
The spell of intense recurrence of either stammering or stuttering
which follows a period of improvement, often marks the period of
transition from one stage of the disorder into the next and more
serious stage. This transition, however, may not be a conscious
process--that is, the sufferer may not in any way be informed of the
fact that he is passing into a more serious stage of his trouble save
that after the transition has taken place, he may find himself a
chronic or constant stammerer and in a nervous and mental condition
much more acute than ever before.
Dr. Alexander Melville Bell (father of Alexander Graham Bell, inventor
of the telephone), who, before his death, was a speech expert of
unquestioned repute, discovered this condition many years ago and in
his work PRINCIPLES OF SPEECH speaks of it as follows (page 234):
"Often the transition from simple to more complicated forms of
difficulty is so rapid, that it cannot be traced or anticipated.
Perhaps some slight ailment may imperceptibly introduce the higher
impediment or some evil example may draw the ill-mastered utterance at
once into the vortex of the difficulty."
This Progressive Tendency, which we shall hereafter call the
Progressive Character of the trouble in order to distinguish it from
the Intermittent Tendency, is present in more than 98 per cent, of the
cases of stammering and stuttering which I have examined and diagnosed.
True, there are many cases, the apparent or manifest tendencies of
which do not indicate that the disorder is becoming more serious, but
nevertheless this condition is no indication that the trouble is not
busily at work tearing out the foundation of mental and bodily
perfection.
SUCCESSIVE STAGES: Stuttering may be conveniently divided into four
stages, by which its progress may be measured. These may be designated
in their order as:
1--Simple Phase
2--Advanced Phase
3--Mental Phase
4--Compound Phase
The progress of the disorder is sure. Take the case of a child eight
years of age who has a case of simple stuttering. Permit the child to
go without attention for some time and the trouble will have progressed
into the Advanced Phase, usually without the knowledge of the child or
his parents or without any especially noticeable surface change in his
condition.
Stuttering in its first phase--Simple Stuttering--can justly be called
a physical and not a mental trouble. In this stage, the disorder should
be easily eradicated. The duration of cases of Simple Stuttering is
very slight, for the reason that Simple Stuttering soon passes into the
Advanced Phase, which is of a physical-mental nature, exhibiting the
symptoms of a mental disturbance as well as of a physical difficulty.
From the Advanced Phase stuttering then passes into the Mental Phase,
where the mental strain is found to be greatly intensified and the
disorder a distinct mental type instead of a physical or
physical-mental trouble.
When stuttering in this stage is permitted to continue its hold upon
the sufferer, the continued strain, worry and fear bring about a
condition of extraordinary malignancy, in which the trouble develops
into the Chronic Mental Stage. This is a condition bordering upon
mental breakdown and even though the complete breakdown never occurs,
the one afflicted finds himself a chronic stutterer, without surcease
from his trouble. He further finds that he has increasing difficulty in
thinking of the things which he wishes to say. He seems to know, but
his mind refuses to frame the thought. In other words, he is unable to
recall the mental image of the word in mind, and is therefore unable to
speak the word. This is a condition known as Aphasia or Thought Lapse
and represents a most serious stage of the difficulty, in many cases
totally beyond the possibility of relief--a condition in which no
stutterer should allow himself to get.
Stammering, being a kindred condition to stuttering, progresses from
bad to worse in a manner very similar. The progress of stammering may
be classified into successive stages as follows:
1--Elementary Stage
2--Spasmodic Stage
3--Primary Mental Stage
4--Chronic Mental Stage
5--Compound Stage
Stammering in the Elementary Stage, like Stuttering, is a Physical
Trouble. The Stammerer has often been known to remain in the Elementary
Stage only a few days or a few weeks, passing almost immediately into
either the Spasmodic or the Primary Mental Stage. Not all stammerers
pass into the Spasmodic Stage of the disorder, however, some passing
directly into Primary Mental Stage.
The Spasmodic Stage, however, is a form of difficulty somewhat akin to
the Advanced Phase of Stuttering, for in this stage the trouble can be
said to be of Physical-Mental nature instead of the purely physical
disorder found in Elementary Stammering.
Stammering, in the Primary Mental Stage, takes on a distinct Mental
form as differentiated from the Mental-Physical form and becomes
therefore more difficult to eradicate. If allowed to continue, this
form of Stammering (like Stuttering) passes into the Chronic Mental
Stage, in which case the Stammerer usually exhibits pronounced signs of
Thought Lapse and finds himself a Chronic or Constant Stammerer, often
unable to utter a sound-and further at times unable to THINK of what he
wishes to say.
The progress of both Stuttering and Stammering from one stage to
another is very certain. These speech disorders do not differ
materially from other human afflictions in this respect--they do not
remain constant. There is an axiom in Nature, that "Nothing is static,"
which, being interpreted, means, that nothing stands still. And this
applies with full force to the stutterer or stammerer. If no steps are
taken to remedy the malady, he may be very sure that the disorder is
getting worse--not standing still or remaining the same.