Karthik in his 14 years of age felt that his struggle in expressing matters verbally will persist life-long and cannot be moved out of it. He had experiences attending therapy, but Karthik’s problem was persisting with not much betterment. Parents reported that Karthik fails to attain effective communication with others around him.
When he was brought to an evaluation, the speech pathologist identified the following problems in Karthik.
- Karthik experienced more difficulty when he gets excited.
- The speech sounds that repeated itself most was /k/,/t,/w/,/b/ etc. in initial and medial positions of phrases as well as sentences.
- Also he had blocks with back sounds or sounds produced with help of lips. These were more evident in spontaneous conversation than while reading.
The speech pathologist charted out sessions which included the following techniques to help Karthik improve:
• To focus mainly to build self-confidence
• Taking a deep breath before start of the speech
• Reducing the speed rate of speech
• To keep a prolonged tone pattern on tough sounds.
Client was given list of words, reading and conversation tasks also to practice at home.
After 1 month of continuous therapy, Karthik could come across a stage where he was able to manage any speaking situations with higher level of confidence along with alternate usage of therapy techniques which were taught.
His reading improved far better than conversation task. He had acquired an ability to cover his moments of stuttering and could manage many events of speaking which made him confident.
Though, a fullest level of success has not been achieved, there existed good strategies which helped him to perform with his peers, family members and others surrounding him. Karthik is now all smiles and beams with confidence ready to speak in any situation.