How do people usually react when they hear someone stutter? They most likely make fun of the stuttering person. And how do people usually perceive someone who stutters? Stupid, dumb, or even good for nothing. A persons competence or personality is always judged based on how good a speaker he is. That is a sad reality for many people who tend to stutter. Whether you are among the 1 percent of the worlds population that stutters or not, it helps to know and understand the basic facts about this speech condition to put things in a better perspective. This is especially helpful for parents with children who stutter.
The following are some of the essential and interesting facts about stammering that people should know:
Individuals who stutter are normal, as they lack only the ability to express words fluently. They are not mentally incapacitated as what others perceive them to be. Stutterers can be as smart as non-stutterers are.
Speech disfluency typically begins at the age of two to five.
Boys are four times more likely to stutter than girls.
The real cause of stammering has not yet been determined.
Speech disfluency runs in families, leading scientists to believe that this condition can be hereditary.
A lot of well-known people in the field of politics and entertainment stuttered and were able to cope with their speech difficulties. The worlds famous stutterers include actress Marilyn Monroe, British politician Winston Churchill, King George VI, author Lewis Carroll, musician Carly Simon, and former U.S. president George W. Bush.
For many people, stammering gives them a feeling that their speech is way beyond their control. Such a feeling makes them worry and disturbed about their self-image, causing them to feel ashamed of themselves and to be extremely anxious every time they speak. Their tendency to stutter also makes them fear talking in front of others.
The anxiety that a person feels boosts the intensity and frequency of stammering. This creates a cycle that only escalates the condition.
Stammering behaviors develop and change in a persons entire lifespan. Most people who stutter experience variations in the level of their speech problem. There are times when they stutter frequently, while at other times, they stutter just a bit.
In children, there are times when stammering seem to disappear on its own, but it goes back later on a more severe level.
About 80 percent of toddlers who stutter will eventually outgrow their speech disfluency. The remaining 20 percent of these children continue the speech condition for the rest of their lives. These children tend to talk very fast and struggle to say words that seem to stuck. This behavior increases the likelihood of stammering in later years.
People with stuttering problems are often misunderstood, and this make the problem worse for them. It is important that you know how to deal with and help your family members or friends who stutter so that they will be able to cope better with their condition.
