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Stuttering

Stammering affects the fluency of speech, not thought or intelligence. In a person who stammers, the idea is perfectly formed, but the move into speech runs into blocks: a sound that repeats, a syllable that stretches out, a silence that settles in before a word that is nonetheless known. This difficulty varies greatly from one moment to the next.

Its intensity depends on the context, the listener, fatigue and above all the perceived gaze. The same person can spend a whole evening without a hitch, then get durably stuck the next day on a simple introduction. Far from a mere sign of passing nervousness, stammering is a lasting particularity of speech, one that people learn to work with.

Alone in a room, humming a song or talking to an animal, speech flows without the slightest hitch. Then comes the moment to say one's own first name out loud, in front of someone, and the word blocks sharply. This contrast puzzles those around, who sometimes see shyness or a lack of confidence in it, when it is something else.

Stammering feeds on expectation and on others' gaze. The more the listening tenses up, the more sentences get finished in the person's place, the more the block sets in. Conversely, a listener who keeps eye contact and simply lets the time come changes everything. Setting out this way of functioning in advance, without having to explain oneself in the urgency of a block, avoids the misunderstanding before it is even born.

Understanding what is really at play

Stammering has nothing to do with the level of intelligence or command of vocabulary. It concerns the very precise motor gesture that turns an idea into sounds, a mechanism that, at times, seizes up. Variability is part of the picture: some days, some words, some situations are harder than others.

  • the phone, where gaze and gestures cannot help, is often dreaded;
  • saying one's first name, a precise number or an imposed word leaves little room to work around it;
  • fatigue, stress and time pressure heighten the blocks;
  • the effort to mask the stammer tires as much as the stammer itself.

What really helps the exchange

The listener's attitude weighs more than any technique. It is not about helping someone speak, but about creating the conditions where speech can come on its own.

  • keep calm eye contact and wait, without finishing sentences;
  • banish instructions like breathe or take your time, which add pressure;
  • react to the content of what is said, never to the way it is said;
  • offer writing or another channel when the situation requires it, without making it a constraint.
Key figures

Stuttering in a few figures

  • ~ 3 millionAmericans stutter.Source: NIDCD.
  • 5 to 10%of children stutter at some point.Source: NIDCD.
  • ~ 1%of adults have a lasting stutter.Source: NIDCD.
  • 2 to 3xas many boys as girls stutter.Source: NIDCD.

Possible accommodations

The accommodations aim to remove the pressure of time and gaze, never to avoid speech.

  • At school: do not impose reading aloud under pressure, avoid the stopwatch for oral work, arrange a PAP (a support plan for learning difficulties, in France) that allows adapted assessment methods.
  • At work: favour writing where possible, adapt speaking turns in meetings, an RQTH (official recognition of disabled worker status in France) through the MDPH (the French departmental office for people with disabilities) being able to open up these adjustments.
  • Day to day: give time without finishing sentences, keep eye contact, do not comment on the way of speaking.

Explanations based on your profile

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Stuttering explained to a Child

0–12 years old

Stammering is when words get stuck in the mouth, as if you pressed pause by accident. The person knows perfectly well what they want to say, but sometimes certain words refuse to come out, or they get repeated: "d-d-daddy" or "hhhouse".

It's a bit like when you have hiccups and you can't stop them by yourself. The person isn't doing anything wrong, their brain and their mouth just get out of sync sometimes.

To help, all you need to do is stay calm and wait patiently for them to finish their sentences. If you look at them kindly and really listen, that's enough. Don't finish their words for them or tell them to "breathe", that stresses them out even more!

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