- Stammering most commonly starts between the ages of two and five years old as this is when children tend to experience a period of rapid language development. They may begin to use more complex vocabulary and longer sentences which places a higher ‘demand’ on their developing speech motor system.
- Stammering, also known as stuttering or dysfluency, can present in different ways. You may hear your child using one, or all of them.
- You might hear repetitions of initial sounds (e.g. “l-l-look”) or whole words (e.g. “on, on, on”).
- Some sounds might be held on for longer, sounding stretched (e.g. “ffffffish” or “ssssssun”), this is known as prolongation.
- Sometimes sounds or words can get stuck altogether and no sound comes out even though the child is clearly attempting to speak, this is known as blocking.
- Stammering may include additional features of struggle or tension such as extra body or facial movements or running out of breath whilst talking.
- Stammering can vary over time and in different situations. You may notice your child stammer more often when they are excited, tired or upset, or if they are using more complex language.
- Some children do not show any responses to their stammer, some are completely unaware that they are stammering Others may find it frustrating and may choose to ‘opt out’ of saying specific words, or talking altogether because for them, talking isn’t comfortable.
- For most children who stammer, stammering will fade away naturally, usually within a year or so of it starting. For a smaller proportion of children, stammering will continue on into adulthood (around 3% of adults stammer). It is not easy to identify which children will continue to stammer but how to respond, in order for them to be comfortable with their talking, is the same either way.