The truth behind stuttering: Causes and solutions

Stuttering is an often-misunderstood disorder. An estimated 80 million people around the world stutter, and about 5% of children go through a period of stuttering lasting six months or more. Some of the most recognizable voices in American pop culture stuttered during childhood, including the late James Earl Jones, the voice of Darth Vader in Star Wars.

What is stuttering?

Stuttering is a speech impediment or communication disorder where the flow of speech becomes disrupted. It is characterized by four main disruptions (or dysfluencies):

• repetition of sounds, whole words, phrases (r-r-r-ran) 
• prolongations (raaaaaan) 
• stoppages in the airflow used for speech 
• interjections of additional words or sounds.

Did you know stammering is just another word for stuttering?

Stammering over the occasional word is a normal part of communication. However, when the disruption occurs more than 10% of the time, it may qualify for a stuttering diagnosis. Stuttering can impact more than the fluency of speech alone. Many individuals who stutter may also experience muscle tenseness, aversion of eye gaze, fidgeting, and/or noisy breathing.

The causes of stuttering

We do not know the exact cause of stuttering. There is a working theory that it has a neurological basis.

• Brain injuries can lead to stuttering.
• Stuttering can occur as young children develop and learn how to speak and use language.
• Environmental factors such as stress and anxiety can contribute to what may seem like a sudden onset of stuttering in adults.
• Neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and dementia can cause stuttering in adults.

Social emotional impact

How a person believes they are seen or perceived socially impacts how they feel. In short, when you feel like people cannot understand you because it takes you longer to finish a sentence, it can change how you behave in social settings.

• Stuttering can cause high anxiety in children and adults.
• Children who stutter may become withdrawn and isolate themselves to escape bullying. (The late James Earl Jones told the Today show he stopped talking because of embarrassment.)
• Adults who stutter may avoid speaking situations that they fear will lead to stuttering.
• People who stutter may become victims of bullying and/or experience mental health conditions, like depression. 

How to be supportive of someone who stutters

• Give the person the time they need to share their thoughts and ideas. 
• Try not to step in and “help” someone by supplying the words they are having difficulty producing. This can be frustrating for the person who stutters. 
• Avoid increasing communicative pressure by asking the person to “slow down” or “speak more clearly.” Feelings of communication pressure arise when an individual feels there is an expectation to perform when talking.

How speech therapy can help

Stuttering cannot be permanently fixed or “cured,” but it can be managed.

• Speech therapists partner with people who stutter and their families to decrease the frequency (how often) the individual is stuttering and duration (how long) the stuttering moment is lasting of the disruption (dysfluency) in speech.
• Speech therapists can also support in addressing the social-emotional impact of stuttering on communication. 
• Speech therapists will teach ways to modify speech production, decrease tenseness in the body and increase communication confidence to promote fluent speech. 

If you have concerns about stuttering and would like to see a speech therapist reach out to your doctor for an evaluation for speech therapy.