- About 1% of the world's population stutters.
- Stuttering is more common among boys than girls; about 4 times more males stutter than females.
- Stuttering usually begins in childhood, between the ages of 2 and 5 years.
- Stuttering behaviors will develop and vary throughout the lifespan.
- Sometimes, children will have periods in which the stuttering will appear to "go away", only to return in a more severe pattern.
- As many as 80% of preschool children who begin to stutter appear to develop out of their stuttering. For those who continue to stutter into the school-age years and adolescence, however, there is a much greater likelihood that stuttering will become an issue that the individual will deal with throughout his or her life.
- Many people who stutter report that they experience significant variability in their stuttering--sometimes they stutter a lot, and sometimes they may stutter just a little.
- For most, stuttering feels like their speech is out of their control. This is a very disconcerting feeling and commonly causes significant embarrassment, anxiety about speaking, and fear of stuttering again.
- These feelings may result in the child who stutters trying to speak quickly or trying to force his way through disfluent moments. These behaviors usually increase the likelihood that more stuttering will result.
- From one perspective it can be said that stuttering and feeling out of control lead to anxieties about speaking and a series of nervous behaviors that increase the frequency and severity of stuttering -- a cycle which perpetuates the stuttering.
Note: Original material provided by Larry Molt, PhD, CCC-SLP (Auburn University). |
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