Stammering and its treatment / by Dr Chervin.

  • Chervin, Arthur, 1850-1921.
Date:
[between 1880 and 1889]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Stammering and its treatment / by Dr Chervin. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    tain; these are a violent emotion, a foil, a fright or ill treatment. Sometimes indeed, and this is of great- est moment for my argument, stammering is brought on instantaneously. Should a child receive a violent blow on the head, should he be suddenly frightened, or should he be startled by any occurrence what- soever, he may be afflicted with stammering forth- with, on the spot. I must confess that these cases are not the most frequent; but a certain number of carefully observed facts suffice to allow one to affirm that a violent brain-shock can cause stammering. In most cases, after one of these frights, one of these falls, the child hesitates a httle, and this hesitation is attributed to the agitation under which the child now stands. But this hesitation continues; it grows; it asserts itself; and doubt is no longer possible, the child stammers. You may be perhaps somewhat astonished to hear me, when speaking of the causes of stammering, always take instances of children : the reason is, that stam- mering never by any chance develops itself in adults. The latest age at which I have seen it appear is 14 or 15. Generally it is between 3 and 6 that a child begins to stammer. Some authors have endeavoured to localize stammer- ing, and to study the anatomical disorders introduced by this infirmity. Before following our learned colleagues into their anatomo-pathological researches, it seems to me that one ma}' be allowed to ask oneself whether a priori, these studies are called for, whether, in short, there are any reasons that can lead one to believe in the existence of a lesion. I must confess that a lesion which would show itsell' at times and vanish entirely at others, which