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Fact or Myth: People stutter because they are nervous.
Myth!
Because fluent speakers occasionally become more disfluent when they are nervous or under stress, some people assume that people who stutter do so for the same reason. While people who stutter may be nervous because they stutter, nervousness is not the cause.
Fact or Myth: Stuttering is a genetically-influenced condition.
Fact!
Most of the time, if there is one person in a family who stutters, there will be another person in the family who also stutters.
Facto or Myth: Bilingualism causes stuttering.
Myth!
There is not enough scientific evidence to support the relationship between bilingualism and the development or persistence of stuttering; however, research indicates that learning more than one language provides children with various benefits such as socioemotional well-being, cognitive skills, and development of cultural identities.
Fact or Myth: Stuttering usually begins in childhood.
Fact!
Stuttering usually begins between the ages of 2 and 5 years old.
Fact or Myth: People who stutter are less intelligent or capable.
Myth!
People who stutter disprove this every day. The stuttering community has its share of scientists, writers, and college professors. People who stutter have achieved success in every profession imaginable.
Fact or Myth: People who stutter can be effective communicators regardless of how much they stutter.
Fact!
They may require additional time to speak compared to speakers who do not stutter.
Fact or Myth: The way a person stutters or their types of disfluencies may change over time.
Fact!
The way a person stutters or their types of disfluencies may vary and change over time. A person who stutters who primarily displays blocks may begin to demonstrate repetitions later on. This variability is normal!
Fact or Myth: People who stutter are shy and self-conscious.
Myth!
Adults and children who stutter may sometimes be hesitant to speak up, even if they are not otherwise shy by nature. People who stutter can be assertive and outspoken, and many succeed in leadership positions that require talking.
Fact or Myth: Stuttering is caused by emotional trauma.
Myth!
Some have suggested that a traumatic episode may trigger stuttering in a child who already is predisposed to it, but the general scientific consensus is that this is not usually the root cause of stuttering.
Fact or Myth: Stuttering is caused by bad parenting.
Myth!
When a child stutters, it is not the parents’ fault. Stress in a child’s environment can increase stuttering, but is not the cause.
Fact or Myth: Stuttering is more common among males than females.
Fact!
In adults, the male-to-female ratio is about 4 to 1; in children, it is closer to 2 to 1.
Fact or Myth: People should avoid talking to children about stuttering.
Myth!
Parents and clinicians report feeling uncomfortable talking to children about stuttering, or fear that talking about stuttering may cause it to persist. Providing children with education about what stuttering is and can feel like helps them self-advocate and describe their experiences to others. Talking with children about stuttering in a neutral way can help reinforce that it is okay to stutter.
Fact or Myth: Stuttering also varies across situations.
Fact!
Sometimes people stutter a lot, and sometimes they stutter a little. Variability is normal.
Fact or Myth: Citizens of every nation and speakers of every language across the world stutter.
Fact!
Multilingual speakers who stutter will stutter in every language that they speak; however, stuttering may present differently in each language.
Fact or Myth: Stuttering- like disfluencies can include echo stuttering, freeze stuttering, bounce stuttering and flip flop stuttering.
Myth!
Stuttering-like disfluencies include sound/syllable repetitions, whole word repetitions, audible sound prolongations, and inaudible sound prolongations (i.e., blocks). Typical disfluencies produced by speakers who do and do not stutter include phrase repetitions, phrase revisions, whole word repetitions, and interjections (e.g., um).