Stammering / Stuttering

Stuttering (also called stammering) usually begins at age 2–4, as children start using more words and longer sentences — onset can be sudden or gradual. Up to 12% of children will stutter by age 4.

Stutters can be sound/word/phrase repetitions, prolongations (e.g. “aaaand”), blocks (no sound comes out), or a combination. Cause is unknown, though it can run in families. Stuttering isn’t associated with other disabilities, though it can cause psychological distress for the child — and it isn’t caused by anxiety or stress, though it can become more noticeable when the child is excited.

Management

A child developing a stutter should see a speech pathologist as soon as possible — early treatment is more successful. The Lidcombe Program is the most widely used treatment in Australia and is often successful, sometimes stopping the stutter entirely.

This is a speech-pathology topic rather than a psychiatric one, included here for completeness.