It is fair to say that we, as human beings, do not always have smooth speech. That is something reasonable people can agree on. As a speech pathologist I will also say that there is a difference between stuttering and natural disfluencies. What is stuttering? If you ask a random person they may say; "It's when someone can't get their words out." Then they may tell you that they had a classmate who stuttered or that they themselves used to stutter. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (asha.org) : People who stutter may have more disfluencies and different types of disfluencies. They may repeat parts of words (repetitions), stretch a sound out for a long time (prolongations), or have a hard time getting a word out (blocks). The site goes on to describe behaviors that may accompany stuttering such as tension, negative feelings about speaking and avoiding certain words or situations, for fear that it might make their stuttering worse. Stuttering begins between the ages of 2 and 6. If a child persists in stuttering for more than 6 months an evaluation and treatment may be needed (asha.org). What about stuttering in adults? It’s estimated about one percent of the adult population stutters, which equates to almost three million people who stutter in the United States (westutter.org). There is no 'cure' for stuttering. Interventions focus on using researched based strategies to help increase fluency for smooth speech. What causes stuttering? There is no one particular cause. A family history of stuttering and how the small differences in how the brain works in individuals who stutter may play a role (asha.org). Communication can be improved with interventions and use of speech strategies to improve the fluency of speech. Please reach out to my office if you have additional questions about stuttering or would like to schedule an evaluation.
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