By Rebecca Elimelech, SLP
How Does Our Brain Relearn to Speak for a Better Speaking Experience?
When we talk about stuttering, we are actually talking about a pattern our brain has become accustomed to. It is a speech pattern marked by physical tension in the vocal cords, speech organs, and respiratory system. Over time, this tension has become completely automatic, establishing a major highway in the mind: a well-paved, deep, and well-oiled neural pathway of speech effort that the brain runs without us even noticing.
To change the habit of applying excessive tension while speaking, the goal is not just to try to speak differently, but to help the brain release this tense speech pattern and form an entirely new habit. It is a bit like trying to carve out a path from scratch in the middle of a jungle.
During the learning process, the brain receives a new, relaxed physiological pattern. This includes working correctly and in a healthy way by producing a relaxed voice without unnecessary effort, alongside proper breathing and a pace suited to the body.
The moment you start setting this relaxed pattern into motion, the brain begins building brand-new neural connections. This incredible process, in which the brain physically alters its structure, is called neuroplasticity. This is exactly how the brain learns and acquires new habits.
But this is exactly where the real challenge begins.
Our brain hates wasting energy. As far as it is concerned, walking down the old, familiar path of strained speech is the easiest and most convenient option because it is already used to it. When trying to implement a new, relaxed speech habit, the biggest challenge is that the brain resists returning to autopilot. In moments of fatigue, stress, or a lack of attention, the new path can become overgrown with weeds, and the brain slips right back onto the old highway of tension and stuttering.
So, how do you make the new habit win and become muscle memory? The answer is simple (yet not so simple to execute): practice, practice, and more practice. The brain must receive field instructions, over and over again, to understand that the new, relaxed path is its new main highway.
This is exactly why our system at Novotalk was built from the ground up around this concept. In sessions with the clinician, you are not only taught the physiological technique that releases speech tension but also provided with a broad platform. Available to you from anywhere at any time, it is designed for quick and easy practice to stabilize the new habit.
Our system features advanced technology that provides immediate, real-time feedback during your practice, helping you refine your technique and guiding you hand-in-hand through the process of practicing a relaxed speech pattern. With continuous practice, your brain receives all the stimuli it needs to make relaxed speech second nature.
We walk with you step-by-step in paving this new path, until it becomes your new, permanent highway.
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The NovoTalk Team