Adolescents are particularly vulnerable to stuttering. Care adapted to this age group makes it possible to avoid risky behavior and depression.
Shame, frustration, exclusion… It is in these very pejorative terms that Christian Boisard speaks of his stuttering. In a calm and composed voice, he recounts the sufferings he endured for forty years, and the difficulties he had in building relationships with others, when he was almost silenced by this disease. Today, Christian Boisard has managed to overcome these problems, and leads internships for the young and old who still suffer from it.
Christian Boisard, former stutterer and organizer of courses to fight against stuttering: “For us stutterers it’s not easy, even if we are supported, that does not exclude mockery. I was a very big stutterer, I got hit at recess … “
In France, it is estimated that around 1% of the population suffers from stuttering, a real pathology, which alters the fluency of speech, and complicates all communication with others. On the occasion of World Day this Thursday, the associations hope to raise awareness among the rest of the French about this problem.
A fragile age group
Stuttering often starts in childhood and, in three out of four cases, may go away in adulthood. There are many methods, from speech therapy to cognitive-behavioral theories, including hypnosis. They are applied according to the needs, history and age of the individual.
But in adolescence, things usually get complicated. If stuttering has not gone away, it can cause real psychological distress, at a time that is not in itself easy to handle. Adolescents are therefore a particularly fragile age group, which can prove to be much more complex to support than children.
Do not force the teenager
Adolescents may first encounter a major problem: few rehabilitation and speech therapists today deal with stuttering at this age, due to the challenge it presents.
In addition, Dr Marie-Claude Monfrais-Pfauwadel, doctor specializing in stuttering, author of Stuttering Manual, believes that no therapy will be successful if the adolescent is not himself convinced of its merits. The key, therefore, is to empower the young patient, to ensure that he or she adheres to the very idea of treatment. This can be difficult if the youngster spent his childhood following different therapies without necessarily seeing much progress.
For adolescents who wish, specialists particularly insist on therapy through theater, art, work with video in order to find other means of expressing themselves than language, and to learn to master the image. that we send back.
Avoid social phobia
The management of stuttering in adolescence supposes accompanying the young person at a particularly difficult time, when the feeling of shame, and the importance of the gaze of others weigh heavily. Dr Monfrais-Pfauwadel explains that doctors must ensure that their patient does not develop “social phobia”. Indeed, the fear of speaking in public and mockery can lead some young people to withdraw into themselves, and to refuse to approach others.
Marie-Claude Monfrais-Pfauwadel, doctor specializing in stuttering: “On the technical level of stuttering there are plenty of methods. In adolescents, what is important is to avoid clinging to reactionary methods, social phobias … “
In some extreme cases, the stigma that accompanies stuttering can lead the adolescent to risky behavior. “Parents are very afraid of being teased for their children, but there isn’t much of it in the early grades. On the other hand, in adolescence we work a lot on shame. At this age there is the fear of being excluded, and stuttering is a bit of a mess. There are many teenagers who compensate for their discomfort by using drugs and cannabis, ”underlines Dr Monfrais-Pfauwadel.
Signs of addiction and depression should therefore be particularly monitored, especially if the young person was a victim of anxiety in childhood, or if he was particularly emotional.
These risks can also exist in adulthood, but it is in adolescence that they must be followed in a detailed manner, in particular by establishing a real dialogue between the patient, his family and the practitioner.
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