Fluency in speech and language is often appreciated, however, sometimes, we come across people, who are unable to speak fluently and may stammer. This speech disorder, if not corrected during childhood, can be problematic in the later stages of life. Therefore, every year to create public awareness about the same, International Stammering Awareness Day is observed on 22nd October. This year, the theme of the day is ‘A World That Understands stuttering’.
There are more than 70 million people worldwide who stammer. But why does stammering occur and how can it be corrected? We talked to Dr. K. Nagender, Audiologist and Speech Language Pathologist (SPL), as well as founder of Telangana Audiologist and Speech Language Pathologist Association, Hyderabad and here is what he explains.
What Is Stammering And Its Causes?
Dr. Nagender explains that stammering, also known as stuttering, is nothing but disfluency in normal flow of speech. People with such a condition are unable to speak as fluently as other people. Also, sometimes people who stammer while speaking, do not face problems while singing. Therefore, it is to be understood if stammering occurs while speaking or singing. 98% of people face stammering in speech.
Stammering is a highly variable disorder and can vary from person-to-person and place-to-place. Some of its causes include:
- Genetics
Sometimes, the stammering problem may be passed on from a parent to their child through their genes. - Imitation
Imitating other people can also cause the problem of stuttering in children. If a child tries to imitate or mimic a person who stutters, chances are that he/she too may develop the same problem over time. - Stress
Psychological stress can also cause speech disorder and affect the way a person speaks in stressful situations such as interviews. - NeurologicalProblems
Sometimes, accidents can cause brain injuries, as a result of which, the specific part of the brain responsible for the speech is damaged and speech disorders may develop. - InferiorityComplex
Sometimes, inferiority complexes can also cause such a disorder. If a child is looked at differently or mocked by his/her classmates or if he/she is scolded often by parents or teachers, they are likely to develop a fear and face inability to speak fluently.
At What Age It May Occur?
The disorder mostly develops during childhood or adolescence. Our expert says “Sometimes, during the language acquisition process, children from 2.5 to 4 years of age may stutter, which is called normal non-fluency. Parents must understand that at this age, the child should not be stressed or corrected forcefully and the stammering will go away by itself. However, if the problem persists after 4 years of age, parents should not delay in consulting an expert and qualified speech language pathologist (SLP)”.