Learning to talk, like learning to walk, is never completely smooth and does not happen straight away. About five in every hundred children stammer for a time when they are learning to talkYoung children often stop, pause, start again and stumble over words when they are learning to talk. Speech and Language Therapists refer to this as dysfluency, commonly known as stammering.
Between the ages of two and five years, it is normal for a child to repeat words and phrases, and hesitate with ‘um’s and ‘er’s, when s/he is planning what to say next.
However, about five in every hundred children stammer for a time when they are learning to talk. Many find it easy to talk fluently as they get older. Others continue to find talking difficult and often get stuck. Stammering and stuttering mean the same thing.
If a child is dysfluent for more than 3 months, a referral to Speech and Language Therapy should be considered. Where there is a family history of stammering, the child has additional speech and language difficulties, or if the parents are particularly concerned a referral should be made promptly.
The following table indicates the different types of dysfluencies:
Repeats parts of words several times (“mu-mu-mu-mu-mummy”)
Repeats whole single syllable words several times (I I I I want to go”)
Stretches sounds in a word (“sssstory”)
Cannot seem to get started, no sound comes out for several seconds (“… dog”)
Adds sounds before certain words (“n, n, n, Jackie”)
Uses other non-speech sounds before getting started (e.g. coughing, throat clearing, sniffing)
Shows struggle when trying to say a word
Has unusual associated body movements when speaking (e.g. fiddling with an object, clenching hands, jerking the head, changing posture frequently, tapping a foot)