Stammering: Its Nature, History, Causes and Cures

Stammering is mysterious and (at the very least) an embarrassment to all concerned. It tends to be ignored whenever possible or treated with pity, mockery and irritation. Yet it's been around a long time - Moses stammered, so did the Greeks Battos and Demosthenes, Erasmus, Charles I and Darwin - and has been taken sufficiently seriously for "cures" to abound over the centuries: treatments such as bleeding, exile, filling the mouth with pebbles, removing the uvular and/or tonsils, whipping and confinement in dark cupboards. Even today, the plight of the stammerer is generally misunderstood and under-rated, and although there are now many therapies available that can help, none is reliably effective. Waiting lists on the NHS are long, and seeking private treatment can mean spending a lot of money on suitable, even fraudulent procedures. Written by a novelist and lifelong stammerer who takes a thoughtful, historical and often witty look at the affliction itself and at the experiences of his fellow sufferers.

His book offers a detailed survey of current therapies, plus helpful practical advice for parents who are anxious about a child's speech - both the 4% of British parents whose anxiety turns out to be justified, and the many more who simply need reassurance. "Stammering" will also aid self-understanding in adult stammerers and aims to appeal to readers interested in the wider issues of identity, linguistics, brain function and the nature of speech.