Stuttering

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Stuttering is a disorder that involves hesitation, repetition, or stumbling while speaking.

Young children often go through a short period of stuttering, but this phase is very brief. For a small percentage (less than 1%), the stuttering progresses from simple repetition of consonants to repetition of words and phrases. Later, vocal spasms develop with a forced, almost explosive sound to the speech.

Stuttering tends to run in families, but it is unclear to what extent genetic factors are important. There is also evidence that stuttering may be associated with some neurological deficits. Psychological components tend to make the symptoms worse or better within each case. Surprisingly, people with significant speech difficulty often don't stutter when singing or when they are alone talking to themselves. Stuttering tends to persist into adulthood more frequently in males than females.

Review Date: 06/13/2006
Reviewed By: Benjamin W. Van Voorhees, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.