What is stuttering?

  Speech is an important means of communication and information transfer for human beings, and it is also the most basic characteristic of intelligence and an important characteristic of mental activity. The processing of speech is complex and many causes can result in different forms of verbal communication disorders and language and speech disorders.  Stuttering is a common disorder of verbal fluency. The World Health Organization defines stuttering as “a developmental disorder of speech rhythm in which the individual knows exactly what he wishes to say during speech, but sometimes has difficulty in expressing his thoughts due to involuntary repetition, prolongation or pauses in pronunciation”. While stuttering is commonly referred to as beginning between the ages of 2 and 5, individuals can begin to stutter for the first time at other times than during childhood. The first speech disfluency (dysfluency) that occurs in adolescence or adulthood is called late-onset stuttering, or acquired stuttering, and according to VanRiper, stuttering can only occur in adults when they are frightened or have a brain injury. The stuttering that occurs in childhood is called developmental-stuttering. Young children stutter because they are developing internal language and speaking skills, and their articulation or vocabulary to express meaning is still not mature enough to speak fluently.