The movie "King's Speech" draws attention to the problem of Stuttering/Stammering. The movie is centered around King George VI, timid, awkward and stuttered, who must face his fears and limitations in his ability to convey credibility to his future subjects.
HEALTH: OSCAR-WORTHY STUTTERING – 1.5 MILLION ITALIANS ARE LIKE KING GEORGE VI
Milan, Jan. 31, 2011 (Adnkronos Health) - A film that is already being talked about for an Oscar, having just won 12 nominations for the 83rd edition of the Academy Awards, and at the same time a "fine message of hope for all those who are afflicted with stuttering: 2-4% of the earth’s population according to the World Health Organization" with over one and a half million cases in Italy alone. The King’s Speech, the film by British director Tom Hooper, which debuted this weekend in Italian movie theaters, also appeals to psychotherapists Renzo Rocca and Giorgio Stendoro, founders of the Imaginative Procedure and creators of the 'Stendoro-Rocca' Technique. A method that promises to cure those who stutter regardless of age: from 8 year olds to 80 years old and over.
The two specialists – who divide their time between the United States and Italy, and who will soon be 'exporting' their technique to the United Arab Emirates and India – applaud The King's Speech, released in Italy as Il discorso del re, and featuring Colin Firth in the role of King George VI, father of Queen Elizabeth II. In it the Duke of York, his real name Albert Windsor, or Bertie as he was called, tries to cure his stammering with the help of an eccentric Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). Albert goes on to become king, after the abdication of his older brother Edward following the scandalous affair with Wallis Simpson, and eventually gives the 'perfect speech' that will rouse the nation and inspire her to declare war on Nazi Germany.
"By showing that even a king is a human being with problems and vulnerabilities – Rocca and Stendoro explain to Adnkronos Health – this film reinstates the rightful importance of the role of verbal communication. Very often the issue is trivialized – the two specialists go on – or rather there is a tendency to think that if the words won’t come out, then it’s best to keep quiet. That’s not how it should be, because not being able to communicate a feeling, whether it's love or anger, is a tragedy, on both a personal and social level." Not speaking means not making yourself understood. And as a result of a lack of understanding, a family can be broken up forever, a couple may split up or maybe never come to be.
With two books on stuttering to their credit –'Vincere la balbuzie' (Overcoming Stuttering) and 'La balbuzie. Una tecnica per sconfiggerla' (Stuttering: A Technique to Conquer It) – Rocca and Stendoro have treated over 2 thousand cases since 1989 in the course of their career. They have many stories to tell, some of them quite amusing – like the one about a woman who having stuttered from birth, at age 78 decided she wanted to be cured and succeeded at age 86, thereby being able to argue with her nine daughters-in-law like any good mother-in-law. Other experiences are moving: "The only time I cried – Stendoro confides – was when an 11 year old boy, stuttering as well as seriously ill and physically disabled, having learning to speak fluently said 'thank you, now I'm just like all the others'."
To treat the problem that afflicted even Winston Churchill and Marilyn Monroe, to name just a few of the many familiar faces in the 'gallery' of stutterers, Rocca and Stendoro were called to Dubai. "We were invited twice in 2009 and 2010 – they tell us – We treated some patients there and stipulated an agreement with the Rach Charity Foundation to organize training courses on our technique, aimed at staff in both India and the Emirates." A cadre of anti-stuttering personnel to be trained to treat numerous people in their countries.
The two psychotherapists report "an increase in the number of female stutterers, who in the past did not come to the attention of specialists because society relegated the female gender to a more marginal role. At times, in fact, faced with two siblings who stuttered, a male and a female, only the male would be treated". The two specialists also refer to "young people who had given up their studies because of stuttering, working as truck drivers or stockroom boys; but once they were cured they enrolled in university and were able to leave a job that did not fulfill them". Rocca and Stendoro start from the assumption that "the origin of stuttering is not psychological, but neurological. When the patient tries to articulate a word, it is the brain that determines the total or partial obstruction of the larynx through closure of the vocal cords. As a result, air cannot get through" and the verbal flow is impeded.
Hence the method to bypass the obstacle: "With special physiological exercises – Rocca and Stendoro assure us – one can learn to fool the brain. In this way the vocal cords open up, air gets through" and the words come out smoothly and effortlessly. "All it takes is 17 sessions in two months – the experts claim – The work is done with small groups of patients trained by qualified specialists under the direction of a psychotherapist". The sessions are aimed at overcoming the self-esteem and relationship issues that stuttering triggers, as well as 'reprogramming' the brain, because "when you are treated the brain has to 'reprogram' itself. As if it were thinking in a new language".
But though it is true that stuttering does not stem from a problematic psyche, but rather from the 'tilt' of the neurological circuits that transmit the impulse to speak to the relevant physiological structures, it is also true that "stuttering involves a great deal of distress. First of all one’s self-esteem crumples – the psychotherapists continue – Those who suffer from stuttering stop believing in themselves and develop a strong dependency on the opinions of others. The result is a tendency toward isolation and impulsiveness, anxiety and aggression. Children develop difficulties in learning and sometimes even in motor skills. They are almost always overly indulged and hyper-protected, within the family and also at school where often they are not even called upon to answer questions." The upshot is that, in some cases, "the stuttering becomes a somewhat convenient choice."
The minimum age at which one should consult a specialist is 8, Rocca and Stendoro suggest, because "before that the child would be too young and would not be able to follow the exercises correctly." In over 20 years of combating stuttering in the field, the two specialists have also collected the drawings of many of their child-patients. On a blank sheet of paper the children used crayons to depict their perception of stuttering, past or present. The examples are numerous and some may be viewed online at www.vincerelabalbuzie.com: "There is one little boy who as a stutterer drew a gray, bare tree, while as a former patient he decorated it with foliage and fruit – the two psychotherapists confirm – There are some children who portray stuttering as a cry coming out of the mouth like a flame. And some who, once cured, draw themselves like a smiling blue angel".
This article was published in:
- www.adnkronos.com/Salute/TutteLeNotizie/
- http://it.notizie.yahoo.com/
- www.sassarinotizie.com/24ore
- www.spettacoli.tiscali.it/
- www.lasaluteinpillole.it/
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