Some things about stuttering that you might not know.
- ingahspeech
- Sep 8, 2024
- 3 min read
There are more than 80 million people worldwide who stutter. And there are several factors that likely contribute to stuttering such as childhood development (kids with speech and language delays are more likely to stutter), neurophysiologic factors (those who stutter may process speech and language differently than those who do not stutter), and genetics (around 60% of those that stutter have family members who stutter as well).
1. Just about everyone experiences moments of dysfluency.
When it’s an increase of the use of filler words such as ‘um’, ‘you know’, or ‘like’. We call that a ‘typical dysfluency’. It’s not what would be classified as a stutter and it could be chalked up to increased anxiety, maybe a fast rate of speech when put under pressure to speak. Believe it or not, a speech language pathologist CAN help reduce those, but it’s not considered a stutter.
2. Stuttering usually starts in childhood.
Around 5% of all children go through a period of stuttering that lasts 6 months or more. As a child’s speech is emerging, they tend to want to get everything out very quickly! This can lead to stuttering which might sound like repetition of words or initial sounds. It’s important to address this early on, and with the help of a speech language pathologist, for many children, this will not carry into adulthood, in fact only about 1% of children who stutter have long-term stuttering given intervention.
3. There are many types of stuttering moments and it doesn’t always sound the same.
It might sound like a sound gets repeated over and over such as “B-b-b-b bring me the glass”. Or you might hear part of a word such as “Ma-ma-ma-ma many people are going to the concert”. For some it might sound like a pause, when in reality it is what we call an inaudible block when no sound will come out at all.
4. Cluttering can happen independently or with a stutter
What is cluttering? It often sounds like the rate of speech speeds up and all the words are squished together, like a fast burst of speaking. Parts of words might be dropped and then there might be a long pause after the burst. The rate of speech might be over what is considered a typical rate of speech in conversation, which is 120 – 150 words per minute.
5. Stuttering is not caused by anxiety
There is a lot of research happening in the world of stuttering. It is a neurological condition and there is evidence emerging that it can be identified as a marker on DNA. Many stutterers will be able to identify other members of the family that stutter, whether it be a parent, their uncle. Anxiety related to stuttering definitely does not help. But it is not the cause.
6. There is no cure for stuttering but there is help!
Speech therapy is there to help people with stuttering to build their confidence when speaking. For children, this typically means relaxing the muscles, and introducing techniques to regulate the rate of speech.
For adults, this can be a more intense process. Many adults who stutter or clutter may have never sought speech therapy before and feel isolated and never even talk about it, but rather try to hide their stutter. They’ve built up years of trauma associated with speaking. There may be a genuine fear of introducing themselves or ordering the food they want in a restaurant.
Dysfluency of any kind can often feel like a huge weight that prevents a person from pursuing a new job, a relationship, and the simple task of introducing one’s self can feel like the most difficult task.
In speech therapy, it’s important to identify those fears, develop individualized strategies to work through those moments, and become confident speakers. A speech language pathologist will work with you to identify the types of stuttering and the best methods to increase fluency. It’s not about ‘curing’ stuttering or cluttering, but personally conquering it. Everyone has the right to speak and be heard.
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