1—­Simple Phase 2—­Advanced Phase 3—­Mental Phase 4—­Compound Phase

The progress of the disorder is sure.  Take the case of a child eight years of age who has a case of simple stuttering.  Permit the child to go without attention for some time and the trouble will have progressed into the Advanced Phase, usually without the knowledge of the child or his parents or without any especially noticeable surface change in his condition.

Stuttering in its first phase—­Simple Stuttering—­can justly be called a physical and not a mental trouble.  In this stage, the disorder should be easily eradicated.  The duration of cases of Simple Stuttering is very slight, for the reason that Simple Stuttering soon passes into the Advanced Phase, which is of a physical-mental nature, exhibiting the symptoms of a mental disturbance as well as of a physical difficulty.

From the Advanced Phase stuttering then passes into the Mental Phase, where the mental strain is found to be greatly intensified and the disorder a distinct mental type instead of a physical or physical-mental trouble.

When stuttering in this stage is permitted to continue its hold upon the sufferer, the continued strain, worry and fear bring about a condition of extraordinary malignancy, in which the trouble develops into the Chronic Mental Stage.  This is a condition bordering upon mental breakdown and even though the complete breakdown never occurs, the one afflicted finds himself a chronic stutterer, without surcease from his trouble.  He further finds that he has increasing difficulty in thinking of the things which he wishes to say.  He seems to know, but his mind refuses to frame the thought.  In other words, he is unable to recall the mental image of the word in mind, and is therefore unable to speak the word.  This is a condition known as Aphasia or Thought Lapse and represents a most serious stage of the difficulty, in many cases totally beyond the possibility of relief—­a condition in which no stutterer should allow himself to get.

Stammering, being a kindred condition to stuttering, progresses from bad to worse in a manner very similar.  The progress of stammering may be classified into successive stages as follows: 

1—­Elementary Stage 2—­Spasmodic Stage 3—­Primary Mental Stage 4—­Chronic Mental Stage 5—­Compound Stage

Stammering in the Elementary Stage, like Stuttering, is a Physical Trouble.  The Stammerer has often been known to remain in the Elementary Stage only a few days or a few weeks, passing almost immediately into either the Spasmodic or the Primary Mental Stage.  Not all stammerers pass into the Spasmodic Stage of the disorder, however, some passing directly into Primary Mental Stage.

The Spasmodic Stage, however, is a form of difficulty somewhat akin to the Advanced Phase of Stuttering, for in this stage the trouble can be said to be of Physical-Mental nature instead of the purely physical disorder found in Elementary Stammering.