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Stuttering is a speech disorder: interruptions in the flow of speech, called
disfluencies. They may involve repeating sounds, syllables or words,
stretching out a sound, or suddenly stopping in the middle of a
syllable or word. Sometimes there is nodding, rapid blinking or trembling
lips alongside it, and it tends to be worse when you are **stressed, excited
or tired**.
The frustration is specific: **you know exactly what you want to say and have
trouble saying it.** That is what makes it costly at school, at work and in
relationships — not the sounds themselves.
Two kinds, two causes
| Developmental stuttering | The more common type, starting in young children still learning speech and language. Many children stutter when they first start talking and most outgrow it. Where it continues, the exact cause is unknown — there are differences in the brains of people who continue to stutter, and genetics may play a role, since it can run in families |
| Neurogenic stuttering | Follows a stroke, head trauma or other brain injury. The brain has trouble coordinating the parts involved in speech |
Stuttering can affect anyone; it is much more common in boys, and younger
children are the most likely to stutter. **About 75% of children who stutter
will get better.** For the rest it can continue for life.
Diagnosis
A speech-language pathologist makes the diagnosis — a professional trained
to test and treat voice, speech and language disorders. A referral may come
from your provider, or in some cases from a child's teacher.
They will look at the case history (when the stuttering was first noticed, how
often, in what situations), listen and analyse the stuttering, evaluate speech
and language abilities including understanding and use of language, ask about
its impact on your life, ask whether it runs in the family, and — for a
child — consider how likely it is they will outgrow it.
That last item is not a formality. It changes what is recommended.
Treatment
Different treatments help different people, so the plan is worked out with the
pathologist and depends on how long the stuttering has been going on, whether
there are other speech or language problems, and for a child, their age and
the likelihood of outgrowing it.
Younger children may not need therapy right away. Instead, parents and
teachers learn strategies to help the child practise speaking, and the
pathologist evaluates the child regularly to see whether treatment is needed.
What a parent does matters here. Be calm and relaxed when your child is
speaking. If your child feels pressured, it is harder for them to talk —
which means the instinct to correct, finish the sentence or hurry things along
works against the child.
Speech therapy helps children and adults minimise stuttering, with
techniques including speaking more slowly, controlling breathing, and
gradually working up from single-syllable responses to longer words and more
complex sentences. Self-help groups help adults find resources and
support.
Two honest caveats: electronic fluency devices exist, but more research is
needed on whether they help long-term. And some people have tried medicines
that treat epilepsy, anxiety or depression — **these are not approved for
stuttering and often have side effects**.
*Source: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders,
via MedlinePlus.*
Licens: CC0 1.0 (allmän egendom) · Bearbetat efter medlineplus.gov
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