Stammering facts and the stigma surrounding it.
Stammering is when someone repeats, prolongs or gets stuck when trying to say sounds or words. There might also be signs of visible tension as the person works hard to get the word out. But it is different from the occasional repetition that everybody experiences.
We don’t know exactly what causes stammering, but research is showing that it is neurological. This means that the way speech is produced in the brain is different for people who stammer. Stammering is the way some people talk.
STAMMERING FACTS
- About 8% of children will stammer at some point. For the majority of children this will be temporary.
- Up to 2%* of people will stammer into adulthood.
- Stammering can run in families. Around 60% of people who stammer have a relative who stammers or used to stammer.
- In the UK we largely use the term stammering. Other countries call it stuttering. But it means the same thing.
- More men than women stammer.
- People of all ethnicities can stammer.
- People do not stammer because they are less intelligent. It has nothing to do with personality types either (see the ‘Stigma’ header below).
- Like other neurological conditions, it covers a spectrum. Everyone stammers differently and to different degrees.