A world that understands stuttering

Today is International Stuttering Awareness Day, a day to raise awareness of stuttering across the world. Stuttering is incredibly common across the globe with over 70 million people worldwide having a stutter. Whether this is for several weeks or several years, there is a high number of the population that suffer from a stammer. In fact, many famous names have experienced a stutter including Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Bruce Willis and Ed Sheeran.

So what do we know about stuttering?

Stuttering, also known as a stammer, is a speech disorder that affects the flow of words and causes them to be broken up. It is a biological and neurological condition that is caused by four possible triggers: genetics, child development, neurogenics and psychogenics. This means a stammer can develop at any stage of someone’s life; however the most common type of stammering occurs in early childhood during speech and language development. About 5% of children will develop stuttering during their childhood, and whilst most children won’t continue to stutter in adulthood, less than 1% will. Stuttering is more common in boys than girls and also tends to persist into adulthood more in males than in females.

Can a stutter be cured?

There is no instant cure for stuttering, however it can be treated with the help of a speech and language therapist. This treatment will differ for adults and children but generally will involve strategies to improve fluency and develop communication skills. There are also electronic devices and mobile phone apps which can support treatment for stuttering, along with self-help groups.

Find out more information about the day via the ISAD website and help to raise awareness online using #ISAD2017.