What Is Stammering?
Stammering occurs in all parts of the world, across all cultures,
religions and socio-economic groups. It is a highly complicated
problem that has mystified researchers, academics and those who
stammer throughout history. Even the name creates confusion; it
may be referred to as stammering, stuttering or dysfluency.
Individuality and variability
Stammering can take many different forms, and each person who
has a stammer shows slightly different features.
One common feature is its unpredictability and variability. This
makes it a deeply frustrating problem to the person who stammers
and to the family. Many parents describe how phases of stammering
are followed by a fluent period which may last for weeks - naturally
this adds to the dilemma of when or whether to ask for help.
Often parents report that there is no obvious pattern to the problem,
for example, sometimes it's bad when the child is tired, but not
always, sometimes it's better in the holidays, but not consistently.
There are no hard and fast rules.
Characteristics of stammering
Although the quantity and type of the stammering differs for each
individual, the following features are more usual:
- Repetition of whole words, e.g. "and, and, and, then I
left"
- Repetition of single sounds, e.g. "c-c-come h-h-here"
- Prolonging of sounds, e.g. "sssssssometimes I go out"
- Blocking of sounds, where the mouth is in position, but no sound
comes out
- Facial tension - in the muscles around the eyes, nose, lips
or neck
- Extra body movements may occur as the child attempts to 'push'
the word out: stamping the feet, shifting body position or tapping
with the fingers
- The breathing pattern may be disrupted, for example, the child
may hold his breath while speaking or take an exaggerated breath
before speaking
- Generally the flow of speech is interrupted and this may cause
distress to the speaker and the listener
Sometimes the child adopts strategies to try and minimise or hide
the problem, for example:
- Avoiding or changing words - the child may say "I've forgotten
what I was going to say', or may switch to another word when he
begins to stammer, e.g. "I played with my br- br- br... my
sister on Saturday".
- Avoiding certain situations - for instance, speaking in assembly
or asking questions in class.
Some children become so adept at hiding their problem in this
manner that they may appear fluent, or just become very quiet.
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