f you ask a person on the street what they know about speech problems or speech therapy, the first thing they will probably reply with is ‘stammering’ or ‘stuttering’. For a communication difficulty that is so well-known to the general public, stammering/stuttering is actually relatively rare. Only an estimated 5% of children under the age of 5-6 years will have a stammer (Yairi et al, 2005).

Here are some answers to a few questions that many speech therapists are asked by parents who suspect their child has a stammer –

Q. Is a stammer different to a stutter?
A. No, stammers and stutters are the same thing – in the UK we use the term ‘stammer’ and in the USA they prefer to use ‘stutter’.

Q. What is a stammer?!
A. A stammer is a speech difficulty that speech therapists know as ‘dysfluency’ – a problem with the fluency of a person’s speech. Individuals may find that they ‘get stuck’ on a particular speech sound or word, which can cause serious anxiety and stress.

Q. Is there such a thing as perfectly fluent speech?
A. No. There is no such thing as perfect, fluent speech. Everyone, every day, makes speech errors when they talk – it’s completely natural. Things like accidentally missing out sounds (e.g. saying ‘sip’ instead of ‘ship’) happen all the time. And we’ve all got fond memories of swapping sounds accidentally – like saying ‘par cark’ instead of ‘car park’. Children under the age of 5 are particularly likely to have lots of ‘normal non-fluency’ as they practice and learn to use speech sounds while they learn to talk.

Q. So normal non-fluency is different to stammering?
A. Yes. Many children will pass through a phase of normal non-fluency and their speech will be unaffected afterwards. However for some children, this normal non-fluency can become more of a problem, and may progress into a stammer/dysfluency. Different children are affected in different ways – they may struggle with particular speech sounds or may be particularly anxious about speaking in certain situations. There are many different reasons why children (and adults) stammer, and it is a speech therapist’s job to try and establish why, so that they can decide on an appropriate course of action.

Q. So what is the Speech Therapist (SLT) likely to do?
A. Stammering is a communication difficulty associated with high levels of anxiety, so SLTs will prioritise seeing suspected stammerers as soon as possible. They will want to take a very detailed case history to look for clues as to why the stammer may be occurring. They will also want to rule out the possibility that the individual/your child is simply in a phase of normal non-fluency. Assessment can take quite a while as dysfluency is a complicated condition and there are a number of risk factors for stammering that the SLT will need to investigate and take into consideration.

If the SLT feels that the individual has developed a stammer then there are a range of different therapy options available. The choice will depend on the individual – if they are stammering because of anxiety about speaking then helping to desensitise them can be of great benefit. Some individuals find that high-intensity therapy programmes suit them best, while others find that gentler approaches involving praise and feedback about their speech are more appropriate.

Q. Do adults get stammers too?
A. Some adults develop a stammer in childhood and find that – without intervention from an SLT – it continues into adolescence and adulthood. This can have an enormous impact on confidence, self-esteem, building relationships and even choosing a career. Speech therapy can still be of great help to adults and can make an enormous difference to their life.

I.T.S. has several specialist SLTs who can help if you think your child, a relative or friend has a stammer – or if you yourself would like some support with your speech. Feel free to contact I.T.S for an informal chat: https://integratedtreatmentservices.co.uk/contact-us/