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Stammering: Types and Treatment

We all stammer from time to time. Sometimes our minds move too fast for our mouths to catch up, or sometimes we’re not really sure what to say. So we use filler words to buy time to put our ideas into speech.

But when these natural tendencies occur frequently and can’t be controlled, they could be signs of stammering.

Stammering is a speech difficulty where individuals struggle to speak with ease and fluency. The causes of stammering are still unknown. We are, however, unearthing possible causes, including biological, psychological, environmental and neurological factors.

Stammering affects 70 million people worldwide, with the lion’s share of cases being children between 3 and 8 years of age. Many children have a period of naturally occurring stammering between the ages of 2 and 4, when they make their biggest strides in language learning (not unlike learning how to walk). However, if this period of dysfluency lasts longer than 6 months, it might be time to take them to a speech therapist.

There are three main types of stammers:

• The most common type, is the repetition of sounds or syllables.
• Stretching or prolonging words.
• An individual’s words getting completely stuck, wherein their mouth muscles are ready to say the word, but airflow stops and the pressure builds, leading to the word exploding out of the individual once released.

Alongside these common manifestations, individuals can show additional behaviours such as body tension and excessive blinking.

Stammering can cause frustration while interacting with people and lead to deep social anxiety, forcing the individual to avoid social interactions altogether.

Bearing this in mind, here are some things that you can do while talking to a person with a stutter:

• Patiently wait for them to finish their sentence. Resist the impulse to finish their sentences for them.
• Be a good listener – let the person who stammers know (using your words and body language) that you’re paying attention to what they are saying.
• Remember that it's perfectly alright to stammer – Refrain from saying things like, ‘just relax’. Maintain reassuring eye contact and let them continue talking.
• Ask them if there is anything you can do to help them deal with their stutter.

No cure exists for stammering. However, accessing therapy early on in childhood can help in limiting the stutter to barely detectable levels. Older children and adults, too, can benefit from therapy to get their stammer under control.

Our speech-language pathologists are experienced in dealing with various kinds of stammering. Contact us to book a consultation.