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 :

“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.