Almost everyone has gotten tripped up over their words at some point in their life. For 1% of adults and 5% of children, stuttering is an ongoing issue. It’s also an issue that can cause a lot of harm, leading to problems communicating with others, lack of self-esteem, and the likelihood of being bullied or teased.
This is why October 22nd is recognized as International Stuttering Awareness Day. To help raise awareness about this cause, we’ll cover everything that you need to know about stuttering, including its cause and treatments.
What is Stuttering?
According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), stuttering is “a speech disorder characterized by repetition of sounds, syllables, or words; prolongation of sounds; and interruptions in speech known as blocks”. Someone who stutters knows exactly what it is that they want to say, but they have trouble producing a normal flow of speech. Along with speech disruptions, rapid eye blinks and tremors of the lips are common struggle behaviors that occur when someone who stutters tries to speak.
What Causes Stuttering?
There are three different types of stuttering: developmental stuttering, psychogenic stuttering, and neurogenic stuttering. Developmental stuttering is a speech disorder that occurs in young children that are learning how to speak. Phases of stuttering in children aged 2-6 years are common but typically don’t last longer than a few months. Sometimes, though, they can last much longer than this, persisting throughout childhood and occasionally even into adulthood. We still aren’t exactly sure what causes developmental stuttering, though it’s thought to largely be a genetic disorder.
Psychogenic stuttering is stuttering that is caused by emotional trauma. At one time, all stuttering was attributed to emotional trauma. But we now know that actual cases of psychogenic stuttering are quite rare.
Lastly, neurogenic stuttering is stuttering that occurs following a stroke, head injury, or other types of brain trauma. Brain trauma that damages areas in the brain responsible for speech can lead to a number of speech issues, including neurogenic stuttering.
How is Stuttering Treated?
There is no cure for stuttering, however, stuttering can often be improved with treatment. Speech therapy is the most common treatment for stuttering and is often able to provide individuals who stutter with effective exercises for improving their speech. Cognitive behavioral therapy may also assist with stuttering by helping resolve stress, anxiety, and self-esteem problems related to stuttering.
As evidenced by the fact that stuttering affects 5% of children and 1% of adults, as most children eventually grow out of it as they progress to adulthood. In the cases where developmental stuttering persists for more than a few months, it is recommended to seek treatment from a speech pathologist. Stuttering is a disorder that can be a major setback to a child’s social and emotional development, and it’s one that parents should work to correct as soon as possible. With that said, it’s certainly worth mentioning that there has been plenty of successful people throughout history who stutter, including British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and actor James Earl Jones.
It is also recommended to seek treatment if the onset of stuttering occurs as an adult. Neurogenic stuttering is the most common type of adult-onset stuttering, meaning that developing a stutter as an adult could be a sign of underlying brain trauma.
The Goal of International Stuttering Awareness Day
Part of the goal of International Stuttering Awareness Day is to raise awareness about the treatments that exist for those who stutter. One of the campaign’s main goals, though, is to help eliminate the stigma associated with stuttering. Stuttering is not a sign of low intelligence or mental illness but simply a speech disorder. As we’ve already mentioned, there are a number of successful people who have stuttered their entire lives, and countless others who stuttered as children.
Communicating with someone who stutters often requires a little patience and empathy, but it’s important to speak with them just like you would anyone else. Not only does communication help those who stutter overcome their disorder, you’re also sure to find that they have plenty of interesting thoughts to share.
