Stammering, Its Cause and Cure by Benjamin Nathaniel Bogue
page 65 of 195 (33%)
page 65 of 195 (33%)
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THE INTERMITTENT TENDENCY
Paradoxical as the statement may seem, it is nevertheless true that one of the symptoms of least seeming importance marks one of the most dangerous aspects of both stuttering and stammering. This is the alternating good-and-bad condition known as the Intermittent Tendency or the tendency of the stutterer or stammerer to show marked improvement at times. This seeming improvement brings about a feeling of relief, the unreasoning fear of failure seems for the time to have left almost entirely; the mental strain under which the sufferer ordinarily labors seems to be no longer present; there is but little worry about either present condition or future prospects; the nervous condition seems to have very materially improved, self-confidence returns quickly and with it the hope that the trouble is gone forever or is at least rapidly disappearing. With these manifestations of improvement come also a greater ease in concentration, a greater and more facile power-of-will and an ambition that shows signs of rekindling, with worth-while accomplishments in prospect. Hope now burns high in the breast of the stutterer or stammerer. They go about smiling inwardly if not outwardly, happy as the proud father of a new boy, at peace with the world. The sun shines brighter than it has for months or years. Every one seems much more pleasant and agreeable. Things which the day before seemed totally impossible seem now to come within their range of |
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