The Washington herald., 1921-09-12
STUDY sTUTTERING
OF FORMER SERVICE MEN.

sTDDr sTtTTEhING
OF FORMER SERVICE MEN.
Much light has been thrown on
the causes and cure Of suffering
by investigations that have been
made by Federal physicians while
helping former service men over
come speech defects that developed
during the stress OF service
DR.. Smiley Blanton, associate pro-
fessor Of speech hygiene and asso-
ciate in neuropsychiatry at the Unit
versity OF wisconsin Medical School
and attending specialist at the
speech clinic Of the L. s. Public
Health Service, tells Of the expert
ence gained in this work in an
article in the Journal Of the Ameri-
can Medical Association.
Il is believed that disorders Of
speech are due TO the lack OF ability
to adapt emotionally to social sit
uations. or to a faulty motor mech
anism. either hereditary or acquired.
and that the most worth while re-
suits which are obtained at present
are those which aim at the Underly-
ing cause and general hygiene. and
muscle training. Training aimed at
the alieviation OF the symptom
alone is pernicious because IL OBJ
scures the issue and in hysteriel
cases actually sets" the disorder.
The physicians feel that this
problem, for so many years left in
the hands of Quacks and chsrlstsns
-
tinctly a medical problem, and that
neuropsychiatric training is neces-
sary for the diagnosis and treat
ment Of these patients. DR.. Blanton
strongly urged the necessity for
training medical students in the
value OF speech disorders as a sig
nifcant symptom.
DR.. Blanton calls attention TO the
fact that at birth the speech area
has not yet been demonstrated in
the brain, and therefore the devel-
opment OF speech is not inevitable
An intact auditory apparatus. the
presence OF intelligence, and an in
tact nervous and muscular system
are required for its proper develop
ment, plus certain emotional and
social demands and situations under
the stimulus OF which il is organ
lied.
In the study Of the cases Of war
veterans at the Public Health Serv-
ice Hospital 81 speech clinic il was
found that a large portion OF the
Sufferers were suffering from hys-
terra, neurosis or other similar dis
orders.
A group Of 200 school children
were similarly studied and interest
ing facts were brought to light. Dr..
Blanton says:
of the children. twenty-five were
worse at school than at home; two
were worse in town than in the
country, one was worse on vacs-
tions, sixteen were given to com
pIete remIssions in stutteCinr. one
shutters only in school. one shutters
in Polish, one shutters only IN
speaking TO his father. one never
shutters while at play, one never
suffers with members Of his own
sex, one gets worse at intervals OF
three or four days, one is worse
after an operation for adenoids and
tonsilitis Undertaken 90 cure the
stutter), one suffered for three
weeks only. and so on, with such
variations for virtually the entire
group.
Another factor which contributes
to our belief that there is an IN
derlying weakness of the motor syS-
TEN is the relatively high percent
age OF Sufferers who have been
changed from left to right handed
ness. Ballard gays that the gen
orally conceded percentage Of left
handed people in the population is
about 3 per cent. In the 200 school
children we found 1875 per cent who
were left handed. l15 per cent %
whom were changed for writing.
and among the soldiers la per
cent. all of whom were changed for
| writing.
There is also The problem o.
! hereditary tendency. In IN. fam
lies Of 12.5 per cent Of children
cases there were defects Of speech.
In 50 per cent OF the families th'r
was suffering. and in - PS~ cont
| there were both suffering an"
other defects
There is very little relationship
between poor health aud the 80
verify Of suffering. hut an exact
and surprising correlation between
social adaptation and the severity
| of the Svmntom"