Stammering: What you need to know
Stammering, also called stuttering, is relatively common in childhood, with around 1 in 20 young children going through a stammering phase.
It can also persist into adulthood, affecting around 1 in 100 adults, with men four times more likely than women to be affected.
Stammering is most common in boys, which is thought to be due to the differences in brain development which make them more vulnerable to it.
Types of stammer
There are lots of different types of stammering:
- repeated sounds or syllables
- the sound is made longer
- a word gets stuck or does not come out at all
What causes stammering?
It is thought that both developmental and inherited factors, alongside the speech areas of the brain working with slight differences, both play their part in causing stammering. It is certainly not because of anything you have or haven’t done as a parent or carer.
If you and your child would like more support, contact your GP or public health nurse to discuss referral to the speech and language therapy team.
