Commonly referred to as ‘Stuttering’ or ‘Stammering’, stuttering is a disorder affecting the sounds, syllables, causing words to be repeated or even prolonged and any other auditory effects disrupting the flow of speech. In most cases, these disruptions go hand-in-hand with other behavioral struggles, including but not limited to lip tremors and eye blinks. Of course, like most neurological disorders the symptoms of stuttering speech can range widely through the day. Moments throughout the day where one with stuttering engages with others may result in a more noticeable stutter, while moments aloud to themselves may reduce the severity if even for a short while.
Stuttering speech can be linked to 3 different forms of stuttering.
As seen above nearly 3 million of those in the US have been diagnosed with stuttering speech. Affecting those of all ages, stuttering speech often occurs during childhood as they begin to develop speech and language skills. This is referred to as developmental stuttering and is the most common form of stuttering. Most scientists, and some clinician tie stuttering back to when a child’s speech and language abilities are unable to match their verbal demands. This form of stuttering has also been found to run within families. Researchers at NIDCD were able to isolate three genes that link to the cause of stuttering in 2010.
Often seen in the later stages of life, this particular type of stuttering can be attributed to head trauma, strokes, and various other brain-related injuries. With this class of stuttering, one’s brain has difficulty coordinating and differentiating the various components involved in speaking caused by signaling issues between the brain, nerves, and muscles.
While rare, this form of stuttering was once the most heavily diagnosed until the perspective of stuttering speech transformed leading to the discovery of those mentioned above. Emotional trauma and problems with reasoning or thought tend to be the cause associated with this form of stuttering.
