New Device to help with stuttering

This reminds me of watching a video where a speech therapist tells a teen to feel his throat while he is speaking.  I hope this device is available and affordable to all who need it.  This should be able to work whether in a crowded restaurant, on a noisy street, or while giving a presentation.  The auditory feedback devices are only useful for individual speaking situations with no other noises in the background.

http://news.olemiss.edu/um-researchers-create-device-to-help-stutterers/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=um-researchers-create-device-to-help-stutterers#.UH_6TkJN6Ac

Speech Easy

For those who have asked about the devices that are supposed to "cure" stuttering, this segment shows that they do sometimes create immediate fluency, but it is not lasting.  Thanks to StutterTalk for making this available!  http://stuttertalk.com/following-up-on-the-speecheasy-and-stuttering-with-mark-babcock-episode-192/

Devices for stuttering

Here is an article about DAF devices http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/20/AR2010122004203.html. I have many posts on forums about people spending money on these things hoping for a "cure" and being so terribly disappointed that they did not work for them, worked only at first, or being so annoying that the thing was put in a drawer to never be used again. One post that really pointed out the problem with using one all the time was about all of the outside noises being played back in the ear making it irritating to use. This post was about talking with someone while walking down the street and the blasted device playing back noises like a bus going past and other street noises. Another post was about how useless it is when worn while in a restaurant and trying to talk fluently while this thing in the ear is playing back all of the clinking of dishes, talking of others, and the music, too! I can see where the only place one might be used successfully is when you are the only one giving a speech and nobody else is talking.

Can't depend on those devices

Everyone who stutters wants a quick fix. One uncle said that he wished he could just bang his head on the wall and make the stuttering go away. Unfortunately, there has been no quick fix found. Some people have found that they get some relief from medications or devices, but they don't work for all stutterers. Studies that I have read about have shown that people have spent lots of money on a device that worked at first but after awhile it didn't work for them. I would think that you would want something to work for you all of the time and to know that it would not stop working for you if you spent a bunch of money on it.

People who have gone to therapy say that it didn't help them. I would wonder if they went to a speech therapist who specialized in treating stuttering. I would also wonder if the stutterer practiced the techniques they were taught. My uncles and cousins who stuttered worked through "Self Therapy for the Stutterer" with one uncle going to speech therapy at the same time. His therapist used that book in her sessions. All of them said that it was not a book to just read, but one that they had to study and work slowly through each section while practicing what they learned. None of them tried any medication nor device and all of them became much more fluent.

It seems that you can't depend on those devices, and it would be better to spend the time and effort on learning what to do to become more fluent and practice, practice, practice! If a PWS has money to spend, it is well worth putting it into paying for speech therapy from a professional who specializes in treating stuttering.