What Is Stuttering?

  Stuttering is not a sign of a lack of intelligence nor is it a sign of incompetence. Stuttering is a fluency disorder in which a person speaks with disfluencies. According to the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) , people who stutter may “repeat parts of words (repetitions), stretch a sound in a word out for a long time (prolongations), and/or may have a hard time getting a word out (blocks)”. 

• Part-word repetitions – "Nice to m-m-m-meet you."

• One-syllable word repetitions – "Time to go-go-go home."

• Prolonged sounds – "This is my favorite sssssssong!"

• Blocks or stops – "I need an (pause) umbrella."

  The National Stuttering Association reports, “In addition to producing disfluencies, people who stutter often experience physical tension” in the parts of their body used to produce speech,  “as well as embarrassment, anxiety, and fear about speaking”. People who stutter may also demonstrate secondary behaviors such as head nodding or eye blinking. ASHA reports, “Sometimes people who stutter use these behaviors to stop or keep from stuttering. They may also avoid using certain words or use different words to keep from stuttering”.  

  There is a genetic component to stuttering. “Family histories of stuttering demonstrate that stuttering runs in families and is influenced by genetic factors. Children who stutter, for example, often have relatives who stutter. Identical twins sharing the exact same genetic makeup have more similar patterns of stuttering than fraternal twins. We also know that stuttering affects males more than females and that females are less likely to continue stuttering as adults” (Dean & Medina, 2020).

   The National Stuttering Association estimates there are  “almost three million people who stutter in the United States alone”. When someone jokes about stuttering or criticizes Joe Biden for stuttering, they are being ableist and are making fun of and criticizing 2,999,999 other people in the US by proxy.