TRANSCRIPT OF A PRESENTATION, BY ALAN BADMINGTON, TO ...

image, perceptions, beliefs and emotions are positively influenced by the
relationship with the therapist.
But that is not enough, if you do not make efforts to address other matters
relating to your life (such as the limited way you see yourself; your longheld,
self-defeating negative beliefs; your unwillingness to take risks, etc),
the other points on the stuttering hexagon are likely to pull your speech back
into balance with the rest of the system. Eventually, you will find yourself
slipping back into the same old patterns.
Let us now take a more in-depth look at the individual components that
make up the stuttering hexagon.
PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES
These are the physiological characteristics we inherit.
A statistically significant number of people within the stuttering community
appear to show a higher level of sensitivity than persons who do not stutter.
Thus, when the shop assistant has a look of impatience, or is abrupt, then
we might be more liable to react.
Our bodies have been genetically programmed to initiate a fight-or-flight
reaction whenever our physical survival is threatened. Your heartbeat
increases, your blood pressure soars, blood rushes from your stomach
towards your muscles as you prepare for the danger. You experience a
stress reaction in order to meet the threat, but fear of talking is not generally
a physical danger, as the body is being led to believe by these physiological
changes.
It is a social danger, but your body cannot differentiate, therefore the
physiological response is creating additional insecurity and discomfort.
There is not a great deal you can do about the physiological system you
were born with. However, by exercising control over the other parts of the