True/False
Stuttering is caused by nervousness or anxiety.
FALSE. While anxiety may worsen stuttering, it is not the root cause. Stuttering is a neurodevelopmental fluency disorder.
What percentage of children experience a period of stuttering lasting 6 months or more?
Approximately 5% of children. This is called the incidence of stuttering.
List and explain the three core behaviors of stuttering (i.e., the three types of stutter).
Repetitions (repeating sounds or single syllables), prolongations (stretching out a sound or syllable), and blocks (a pause in which the speaker is trying to produce sound but cannot, usually involves visible struggle to speak).
Stuttering is more likely to occur at the beginning of utterances and stressed syllables.
TRUE. These are common loci of stuttering (or places in speech where stuttering occurs).
What is the ratio of males to females who stutter in older children or adults?
The ratio is 4:1 or higher. In other words, there are 4 males who stutter for every 1 female who stutters. You could also say that stuttering affects 4 times as many males as females.
Eye blinking or closing
Head jerks or facial grimacing
Body movements (e.g., tapping a foot, shifting posture)
Jaw or lip tremors
Throat clearing
Inserting interjections (e.g., “uh,” “like,” “you know”)
Rapid blinking or eye rolls
Nose flaring or unusual breathing
Using filler words or starting over mid-sentence
Stuttering modification therapy focuses on eliminating stuttering behaviors entirely.
FALSE. It aims to modify stuttering moments to make them easier and reduce stuttering avoidance.
Approximately how many Americans stutter?
3 million, or 1% of the population at any given time. This is called the prevalence of stuttering.
List five famous people who stutter.
Winston Churchill, Joe Biden, King George VI, Thomas Edison, Marilyn Monroe, James Earl Jones, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, Ed Sheeran, Samuel L. Jackson, Tiger Woods, Trevor Noah, Nicole Kidman, Elvis Presley, Barbra Streisand, Charles Darwin, Kendrick Lamar, Darren Sproles, Kenyon Martin, Bob Love, Bill Walton, etc.