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 Stuttering is a speech disorder where the flow of normal speech is interrupted by the repetition of sounds and syllables. It is also known as stammering or disfluent speech and is often accompanied by physical symptoms such as rapid eye blinking and facial twitching, making it very difficult for the individual to communicate effectively.

Stuttering is much more common in the case of toddlers and children, usually affecting them between the ages of 2 to 5. This form of stuttering is referred to as developmental stuttering (DS) since it occurs when the child’s speech and language skills are still developing. The onset of stuttering is gradual and usually resolves by the time the child attains puberty. Developmental stuttering that does not resolve on its own or does not respond to treatment over time is referred to as persistent developmental stuttering (PDS).

What causes children to stutter remains a mystery, but scientists and health-care professionals have noticed certain risk factors that increase the chances of a child developing a stutter. These risk factors include:

• Children with a family history of stuttering are more likely to develop a stutter. In some cases, up to 74% of people with a stutter have some family member who stutters. NIDCD researchers have identified 3 genes they believe causes developmental stuttering.
• Boys are 3 times more likely to develop a stutter than girls.
• The age of a child is also a factor with children between the ages of 2 and 5 being at a higher risk of developing a stutter.
• Children who have a mental illness have a greater chance of developing a stutter.
• Children who have suffered a head injury or some emotional trauma may develop a stutter. This type of stuttering is known as neurogenic stuttering.

So why do kids stutter?

Stuttering is a problem involving speech coordination. The co-ordination involves muscles that control the throat, larynx, tongue, palate and lips. For the smooth flow of speech or fluent speech, a very specific sequence of coordinated movements is required. Stuttering involves the interruption of this sequence.

Usually, all children experience some degree of disfluent speech during the early stages of their speech and language development. The coordination of muscles required needs to be learned and during this process there will by a certain amount of disfluent speech. Researchers think that developmental stuttering starts when the child’s linguistic and speech abilities are unable to meet the verbal demands. The problem can also be exacerbated by psychological factors such as stress or fear.

The degree of stuttering can vary with certain situations aggravating the problem. There are also situations where the child with a stutter will speak more fluently. These include:

• Speaking when alone
• Speaking while feeling relaxed
• Speaking or reading along with another
• Speaking to an animal
• While acting
• While writing and talking at the same time

Differentiating between the normal disfluencies that occur during childhood and the signs of developmental stuttering can be difficult for the layman. Signs of normal disfluency include:

• Fewer than 10 disfluencies for 100 words that are spoken
• Repetition of the complete word such as “mom-mom”
• Repetition of a part of a word such as “m-mom”
• Repetition of phrases
• Frequent interjections such as “ah” or “uh”

According to The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), the characteristics that differentiate stuttering from normal childhood disfluencies include:

• Sound and syllable repetitions
• Prolonging sounds
• Interjections
• Words that are broken by pauses such as “mo” followed by a long pause and “ther”
• Substituting words that are difficult to pronounce
• Words produced with excessive physical tension
• Monosyllabic repetitions of whole words such as “I-I-I-I want to go”.

If you suspect that your child is developing a stutter, you should consult a speech-language pathologist. Bear in mind that the earlier this is done the better is the prognosis.

References:

1. http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/voice/pages/stutter.aspx
2. http://www.latrobe.edu.au/istutter/?q=node/27

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