Stuttering is a speech disorder characterized by repetition of parts of words, repetition of monosyllabic words, arrhythmic phonation – prolongations, blocks and broken words –, and also the emotions of a person who stutters. The connection between the dysfluencies and emotions is bidirectional – certain emotions can promote stuttering, and stuttering can trigger the emergence of certain emotions. Research demonstrates the impact that stuttering and emotions related to it have on triggering a stress response in people who stutter. If the stress response is triggered continuously in social situations that require verbal communication, it can significantly endanger a person’s health and also pose a threat to the development of an anxiety disorder, strongly represented in adults who stutter. Yoga is one of the most commonly used complementary or alternative methods of treatment that doctors recommend to patients in order to cope with stress and anxiety.
In the theoretical part of the thesis we define stuttering and focus on the emotional, cognitive and social dimentions of advanced stuttering in adults who stutter. We describe the link between stuttering, stress and anxiety, as well as explain the stress response and occurence of (social) anxiety in people who stutter. Next, using a review of relaxation techniques in stuttering therapy by Yaruss and Gilman (2000), we present methods for relieving physical and emotional tension in treatment of people who stutter and focus on yoga as a method of reducing stress and anxiety. By reviewing studies available in the literature on the usefulness of yoga (asana, pranayama, mindfulness meditation) in therapy for people who stutter, we present the potential mechanisms of action and benefits of yoga for this population.
In the empirical part of the thesis, using a singular case study, we explore the impact of a 6-week integrated yoga program on: stuttering severity, subjective perception of the impact of stuttering on a person's life, subjective perception of stress, anxiety, social anxiety, and midfulness in an adult who stutters. According to the results, we find that after a 6-week yoga program, there is progress in all quantitative measures except mindfulness. The greatest progress has been shown in anxiety and social anxiety, to which we also attribute the decline of stuttering severity. The results showed less subjective perception of stress and less perception of the impact of stuttering on the participant's life. In addition, after completing the yoga program, the participant showed a more positive attitude towards stuttering and himself as a person who stutters. We conclude that yoga can be a valuable contribution in stuttering therapy – not only for relaxation purposes but also its holistic effect and the benefits it brings to several areas of life.
|
