he said: "At one time, when I was talking particularly bad, I was
out with some other fellows driving our car. I started to talk,
found it almost impossible and noticed a sharp twitching of the
muscles of face, arms and limbs. Try as I might, I found I could
not control these movements and in another minute I had steered
the car into the ditch and wrecked it. And now," adds the young
man, "although father has a new car, I am never allowed to drive
it!"

Here was a case where the spasmodic action of the muscles had
gotten so far beyond control as to make the ordinary pursuits of
life dangerous to the young man who stammered. These spasmodic
movements were always present--he told of one occasion when he was
in a barber's chair being shaved. He attempted to say a word or
two while the barber was at work upon him, with the result that he
lost control of the muscles of face and neck, causing the barber
to cut a long gash in his neck.

This was, of course, an abnormal case of spasmodic stammering,
evidencing extraordinary muscular contractions of the worst type.
In practically every case of stammering some such peculiarity is
evident, resulting from the inability of the stammerer's brain to
control physical actions.





CHAPTER IV