About stammering

Some key facts
  • Stuttering and stammering are the same - the word stammering tends to be used in the UK whereas stuttering is more widely used in the U.S. Another term used mainly by speech and language therapists is dysfluency
  • Stammering or stuttering is often described as a disruption to the natural flow of speech
  • 1% of the population stammers
  • More men than women stammer - the ratio is about 4:1
  • Stammering occurs across all cultures, races and social groups
  • Stammering usually starts in early childhood
  • Approximately 5% of children stammer. Of the 5% of children who do stammer, 2% stop stammering without intervention, 2% stop stammering with help from speech therapy and 1% tend to go on to stammer in their teens and into adulthood
  • Stammering not only affects speech - it is likely to lead to feelings and emotions such as frustration, anxiety, lack of self confidence, and embarrassment
  • People who stammer often avoid problem words or difficult speaking situations - this may affect the way they come across to others
  • There is no single cause of stammering and it is often the result of a number of factors coming together in an individual during childhood
  • Stammering sometimes runs in families
  • Recent brain research has suggested that there may be an underlying neurological/physiological cause of stammering in some people
  • There is no real cure for stammering; however, therapy can lead to significant change both in terms of feelings and fluency
  • Every person who stammers is unique. Therefore there isn't one therapy approach which will suit everyone. There are a range of therapy options available

What is stammering?
Stammering is often described as a disruption to the natural flow of speech.
We see stammering in adults as multi-dimensional, where the speech difficulty is accompanied by thoughts, feelings, emotional responses and avoidance behaviours. No two people stammer in exactly the same way. The effects of stammering can impact on all aspects of an individual's life. It usually starts in early childhood. Some children stop stammering spontaneously, others may stop with therapy intervention whilst others go on to become teenagers and adults who stammer. As children grow older they usually start to develop ways of hiding their stammering. These hiding strategies are a natural coping mechanism and are called avoidance behaviours. However, as time goes by these often become part of the problem.

The stammering iceberg
Joseph Sheehan, a famous American speech and language therapist who stammered himself, likened stammering to an iceberg. We find this a very useful way of describing stammering because it acknowledges both the 'outside'/external stammering behaviours and the more internal, emotional/avoidance related aspects. The iceberg image also suggests that for most people who stammer the bigger part of the problem is often the part that others don't see i.e. the feelings, thoughts and avoidances. See the example of a stammering iceberg in the gallery below.


The stammering iceberg

The stammering iceberg

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