Developmental stuttering is a term used by speech-language pathologists to describe a specific type of stuttering. In general, speech disorders are categorized by whether they emerged as a part of the individual’s development (prior to adulthood), or whether they were acquired later in life. 

If a person begins stuttering in childhood, they are considered to have a developmental stutter. Most people who stutter will fall into this category!

However, if a person can attribute their stuttering to a specific event (such as a traumatic event, or a head injury), their stuttering is considered to be an acquired disorder. 

People who begin to stutter after speaking fluently for their entire life should consult their family doctors. Some neurological conditions can cause an acquired stutter, and an assessment to rule these conditions out may be needed.

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Apraxia of speech (AOS) is a sequencing disorder making it difficult for individuals to say a string of sounds. While a speaker with AOS  may have no problem saying a word like “paw”, there would be difficulty in saying “popular” due to the several syllables it contains. Individuals who have apraxia of speech know what they want to say, but the tongue movements to create the appropriate sounds become difficult to coordinate. Those who stutter have a similar difficulty of not being able to get out the sounds they want to say, but the trouble is less about coordination and sequencing, and more about tension and airflow. For individuals with AOS, longer words and sentences are more difficult than shorter ones; for those who stutter, the length of the word or phrase is mostly irrelevant-- is it more so the sounds, and particularly the initial ones.

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Cluttering is a fluency disorder “characterized by a perceived rapid and/or irregular speech rate, which results in breakdowns in speech clarity and/or fluency.” (ASHA, https://www.asha.org/Practice-Portal/Clinical-Topics/Childhood-Fluency-Disorders/). While stuttering is also a fluency disorder, there are several ways in which stuttering and cluttering often differ from each other.

• People who stutter are typically painfully aware of their difficulty speaking, whereas people who clutter are often unaware that their speech is meaningfully different from that of other people (and may also feel frustrated that people do not understand them).

• Cluttering tends to present as rapid bursts of speech that causes their words to blur together. In comparison, stuttering may be relatively stable despite the person’s rate of speech. As a result, cluttering breaks the general rhythm of a sentence, whereas stuttering breaks the rhythm of a sentence only during moments of stuttering, preserving the general rhythm of the sentence.

• Stuttering is typically made up of three types of disfluencies: sound/syllable repetitions, prolongations, and blocks. These types of disfluencies are very rarely ever observed in fluent speakers. Cluttering is typically made up of non-stuttering disfluencies, the types of errors that a non-stutterer might make while nervous during a presentation (e.g. mispronunciations of words, repeating words and sentences, pauses in awkward moments to find the right word to use).

A speech-language pathologist (or speech-language therapist, depending on your jurisdiction) can help determine whether a fluency disorder is stuttering or cluttering, and assist in the construction of an appropriate treatment plan for you or your loved one.

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You may hear some people use the term “stammering” to describe their speech characteristics. These people may be from the UK or other places where British English is used, such as India or second-language English speakers in Europe who are primarily exposed to British English.

The term “stammering” is a synonym for “stuttering” in the same way that “pavement” describes a sidewalk or “lift” an elevator. They are simply two different words, used by British and American speakers respectively, to describe the same phenomenon. However, it is always helpful to use the same term as the person that you are speaking with. If someone self-identifies as a person with a stammer, or describes their speech as stammering, use the term back to them.

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Stuttering is characterized by two types of behaviours: primary behaviours and secondary behaviours. 

Primary stuttering behaviours include three types of speech disruptions:

• Repetitions: A word or sound is repeated several times, in quick succession, before the person continues on. This could sound like: “Can-can-can-can you pass that pen?” or “C-c-c-c-can you pass that pen?”

• Prolongations: A person holds onto a sound for some time before moving on. This could sound like “Lllllllllllllook at that huge dog!” or “She asked me to pick up sssssome bread on the way home.”

• Blocks: A person’s air is blocked, and their speech has completely stopped. They may be visibly articulating a sound, or have their mouth open. This could sound like “......I don’t know,” or “We…..can’t do that.”

Secondary behaviours comprise all of the other behaviours that people may develop as a result of their stutter. These can very significantly, but include avoiding words that are likely to cause stuttering, deciding not to speak to avoid stuttering, using physical movements of the limbs, face, head, or torso, using filler words like “um” or “like,” blinking the eyes, repeating phrases to “gain momentum” to push through a stuttered word, or others! They are used to escape a potential, imminent, or ongoing moment of stuttering, and the discomfort associated with it.

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As speech therapists, we of course have recommendations! While we work primarily with teens and adults, we can help direct people towards books written with a variety of target audiences.

For children:

• Ben Has Something To Say, by Laurie Lears, follows a little boy who stutters as he learns to speak confidently (not necessarily fluently!).

• When Oliver Speaks, by Saadiq Wicks (who stutters!) and Kimberly Garvin, is about a boy who is afraid to give a presentation because of his stutter.

• Steggie’s Stutter, by Jack Hughes, is about a dinosaur who is always interrupted before he can finish speaking.

• A Boy and His Stutter, by Alan Rabinowitz, is a memoir of the author’s experience as a boy who stuttered severely, except when he spoke to animals.

• Sometimes I just Stutter, by Eelco de Geus and translated into English by Elisabeth Versteegh-Vermeij, is a self-help book for older children who struggle emotionally with their stuttering. It includes letters from children who stutter and letters that the child can give to the people in their life, to explain how they feel and what will help them.

For teens and adults:

• Self-Therapy for the Stutterer, by Malcolm Fraser (a guidebook on how to manage a stutter - by a stutterer!)

• Out With It: How Stuttering Helped Me Find My Voice, by Katharine Preston (a memoir)

• Stuttering: A Life Bound Up In Words, by Marty Jezer (a memoir)

• Stuttering: Inspiring Stories and Professional Wisdom, by Taro Alexander, Joel Korte, and Phil Schneider (a compilation of essays about stuttering by stutterers, disability activists and stuttering treatment professionals)

• Who Do You See? The Struggles of a Teenager Who Stutters, by Sean George (informative, normalizing the experiences of teens who stutter)

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If you have not stuttered in childhood but are suddenly beginning to stutter, it may be due to environmental changes affecting your emotional wellness. Stress in professional and social settings may cause this. Moreover, if you are challenging yourself to speak quicker than you typically do, you may be tripping up on your sounds. If those around you are speaking at a fast pace, or you feel under pressure to get your message out at once, you may find yourself having trouble with sounds.

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It is important for parents to create an environment where the child can get out their words comfortably. This means giving the child your full attention as they are speaking, and respecting their speaking turn by not interrupting them. It is of crucial importance to let children finish their own sentences. Even when the adult understands what the child is trying to relay, resist the temptation to “finish their thought” so that the speaker can finish it themselves.

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Parents who are interested in exposing their children to other children who stutter may have a couple of different options, depending on where they live. Stuttering is a relatively low-incidence disorder, and suburban or rural areas may not have the population density to have others in the right age range with a similar lived experience to your child. In general, you have three options:

1. Some speech therapy clinics may offer group treatment sessions for stuttering, as they recognize how important it can be to a child to meet others who can normalize their experiences of stuttering. To get involved in group therapy, you can search “slp clinic [city name]” or “speech therapy [city name]” to find nearby clinicians, and browse their website or call their clinic directly to find out if they offer these types of sessions.

2. Some places, especially larger cities, may have an active stuttering support group. These groups may have resources for younger people who stutter, or may be able to advertise to start a support group for younger members (note that this is typically just a meet-up, and would not be stuttering therapy).

3. For the brave and tech-savvy parent, social media such as Facebook may help them connect with other families of children who stutter in their area. Again, this is more likely in densely populated urban centers rather than rural areas. However, if you can find a trusted and interested party on the internet, it is possible to set up Skype or Zoom calls.

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Just as one’s speech may fluctuate between clear to unclear, good to bad, fluency can come and go. The better days may be those where the speaker is well rested, calm and feeling generally confident. On days when the speaker is feeling tired, restless and anxious, disfluency may be more common in their speech. Fluency can also depend on the individuals the speaker is speaking with. A stutterer may have no trouble speaking with family members and friends, but in conversations with strangers or in interviews, they may have difficulty getting their words out.

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