Stuttering

Stuttering — also called stammering or childhood-onset fluency disorder — is a speech disorder that involves frequent and significant problems with normal fluency and flow of speech. People who stutter know what they want to say, but have difficulty saying it. For example, they may repeat or prolong a word, a syllable, or a consonant or vowel sound. Or they may pause during speech because they have reached a problematic word or sound.

Stuttering is common among young children as a normal part of learning to speak. Young children may stutter when their speech and language abilities are not developed enough to keep up with what they want to say. Most children outgrow this developmental stuttering.

Sometimes, however, stuttering is a chronic condition that persists into adulthood. This type of stuttering can have an impact on self-esteem and interactions with other people.

Stuttering signs and symptoms may include difficulty starting a word, phrase or sentence; prolonging a word or sounds within a word; repetition of a sound, syllable or word; brief silence for certain syllables or words, or pauses within a word (broken word); addition of extra words such as "um" if difficulty moving to the next word is anticipated; excess tension, tightness, or movement of the face or upper body to produce a word; anxiety about talking; and limited ability to effectively communicate.

The speech difficulties of stuttering may be accompanied by rapid eye blinks, tremors of the lips or jaw, facial tics, head jerks, and clenching fists.

Stuttering may be worse when the person is excited, tired or under stress, or when feeling self-conscious, hurried or pressured. Situations such as speaking in front of a group or talking on the phone can be particularly difficult for people who stutter. However, most people who stutter can speak without stuttering when they talk to themselves and when they sing or speak in unison with someone else.

It is common for children between the ages of 2 and 5 years to go through periods when they may stutter. For most children, this is part of learning to speak, and it gets better on its own. However, stuttering that persists may require treatment to improve speech fluency.

Call your doctor for a referral or contact a speech-language pathologist directly for an appointment if stuttering lasts more than six months; occurs with other speech or language problems; becomes more frequent or continues as the child grows older; occurs with muscle tightening or visibly struggling to speak; affects the ability to effectively communicate at school, at work or in social interactions; causes anxiety or emotional problems, such as fear or avoidance of situations where speaking is required; or begins as an adult.

Males are much more likely to stutter than females are. Factors that increase the risk of stuttering include delayed childhood development — children who have developmental delays or other speech problems may be more likely to stutter; having relatives who stutter, as stuttering tends to run in families; and stress — stress in the family, high parental expectations or other types of pressure can worsen existing stuttering.

Stuttering can lead to problems communicating with others, being anxious about speaking, not speaking or avoiding situations that require speaking, loss of social, school, or work participation and success, being bullied or teased, and low self-esteem.