About stuttering
Scientists believe that humans utter
several thousand words during the course of a day. For most of
us, this is not a difficult task: we speak with ease at work, school,
outside, and at home. But there are people for whom speaking is
very difficult, especially in crucial situations. These are
people with speech impediments. However, the most crippling
effect of stuttering and other speech impediments is not a difficulty
with communication. Rather these people face difficulties
socializing, and they possess a lack of confidence, low self-esteem,
and expectations of failure, especially among children and
teenagers. The tricky thing about stuttering is that, although it
seems to affect only speaking, in fact, it dramatically changes a
person’s life. People feel that they must give up their hopes and
ambitions. Adults with speech impediments are forced to limit
their contact with others, which can impede not only their chances of
success at work, but also in their personal lives. Because
alcohol and drugs calm the nerves, some people with speech impediments
resort to these methods for the support they do not receive from their
families and society. This can lead to addiction. However,
the vicious cycle can be broken if treatment is begun in a timely
manner!
Approximately 3-5% of people have speech
impediments, and stuttering is found four times more often in boys than
in girls. The most vulnerable age for the onset of stuttering is
between 2 and 5 years, and it becomes the most developed during the
teenage years. The main cause of stuttering is cerebral damage,
leading to the loss of speech function and other neuroses (fear,
anxiety, and psychological trauma). Stuttering is often found in
areas affected by war.
What can we do?
Stuttering
is not a life sentence. Although the majority of modern methods
are lacking, it is possible to eliminate stuttering and improve your
quality of life. Herodotus, Plutach, Demothenes, Marilyn
Monroe, Winston Churchill, Isaac Newton are just a few of the famous
people who suffered from and overcame stuttering.
Doctor
Vasily Vorobiev knows about this problem first hand. He
experienced stuttering himself. He understands his patients’
problem like nobody else, and he knows how to help.
He
began to stutter after a serious childhood fear. Just like others
who have faced this problem, he saw many specialists, from speech
therapists to psychologists. But as we all know, traditional
treatment methods are not very effective. Spontaneous remission
during traditional treatment lasting 2-3 years rarely exceeds
10%.
Thanks to his motivation and medical intuition (Vasily
Vorobiev is a second generation doctor), and also his knowledge of
psychiatry and psychology given to him by his father, famous
psychiatrist and substance abuse therapist, Dr. Nikolai Vorobiev, he
cured himself of his affliction. Later he developed a unique
system of treatment to help speech impediment sufferers, based on
complex procedures, breathing techniques, diaphragm exercises, and
psychological training.
The treatment
Treatment takes 10 days, everyday for five hours a day. Even among the most serious cases of stuttering, progress is seen on the forth or fifth day of therapy. Effortless speech appears, as well as self-confidence, improved mood, plans for the future and unprecedented optimism. People are transformed, and they have a new outlook on life. Patients must conduct lessons on their own for 3-6 months following the completion of the course. Vorobiev’s method is 97-98% effective. It is an extremely high number for medical field, but it can be explained by the fact that in this case, “the patient is treated, not the disease” (in accordance with Hippocratic principles). Our work does not concentrate on only one speech center, but it covers all levels of speech regulation, from the cerebral cortex to the diaphragm. Hidden resources in the body are utilized to basically form new speech behavior.
Over the course of his work, Vasily Vorobiev helped hundreds of people in Russia and abroad (Serbia, Austria, Switzerland, Israel, USA, and CIS countries).
Patient's testimony
My name is Zoran Rashovich. I am 43 years old, and I live in Belgrade with my two children. I work for a company that performs electrical installations. I have stuttered since I was 5 years old. At first it was almost undetectable, but when I started going to school, my stuttering got worse. My parents took me to a speech therapist for treatment (the final treatment lasted almost 2 years, and there weren’t any results.
As the years went by, my stuttering kept getting worse and worse. I was unable to get the grades I deserved in school because I was not able to answer my teachers’ questions. I was humiliated, laughed at, and my friends shunned me. Later girls avoided me as soon as they noticed that I stuttered.
At work, I was not able to show all of my capabilities due to stuttering.
When I got married, my wife had to fulfill all the duties of communicating with the outside world: shopping, taking the kids to the doctor, and parent meetings at school. Stuttering was the cause of my divorce, which happened last year. My children stayed behind to live with me, but I have begun to burden them as well. They have had to go shopping with me, I haven’t attended parent meetings at school, and I didn’t answer the telephone. I became nervous and fearful during any form of communication, and I hid from people and entered my own little world. It was also uncomfortable for my neighbors: my jaw shook, my head quivered, facial spasms appeared, and I bit my tongue many times.
The manager of the company where I work read a newspaper article about Dr. Vorobiev’s clinic, which treats stuttering. My bosses gave me the article to read and convinced me to sign-up for the course, saying that the company would pay all my expenses. I didn’t want to go to treatment because I didn’t believe that stuttering could be cured after so many years of trying. Due to the persuasiveness of my colleagues, and especially my children, I agreed to the treatment.
I started lessons on the 16th of January of this year. At the first lesson, one woman, who came with her daughter (who had a milder case of stuttering), began to cry when she heard my level of stuttering. The procedures were far different from those speech therapists had used, and they felt quite strange at first, but I can’t believe how quickly my condition improved. I stopped stuttering by the fifth day. We continued lessons for five more days. Then the treatment was complete, but I had to continue to train in order to recover completely.
I was inexpressibly happy, and so were my children. I don’t stutter anymore. People from the neighborhood stopped me on the street and smiled. Some cried. Everyone one of them wanted to talk to me. I received numerous telephone calls and congratulations from people. A serious desire to talk appeared; people can’t even get a word in when I speak. I am a different person! I don’t feel nervousness and fear any more. I now enjoy shopping and conversations. I became a social and confident person. I go to parent meetings, call instructors and teachers, and I was even in the principal’s office when a problem arose. At work, it’s easier to arrange things with colleagues, and I am more productive than I was before. I have new friends and acquaintances. In short: I am high on life.
By writing this history, I want to tell others with the same problem or defect that, with a strong desire and persistence, they can free themselves from this problem in a matter of days. I am so thankful to the Vorobiev clinic and to everyone who supported me.