Stuttering, or stammering, is a disorder related to the verbal expression of words and their sound and syllables. When stuttering is present, the natural flowing of speech is broken. This is known as disfluency.
Unfortunately, 1 of 20 children under the age of five develops some degree of stammering. One percent of those children will hold on to this disorder as a lifelong struggle. When this occurs, an individual suffering from stuttering, or stammering, beyond their earlier years has a developmental stuttering disorder. This is the most common of this speech disorder and requires speech pathology treatment.
A speech disorder involving stuttering, or stammering, will have a great effect on a child which will continue throughout adulthood. More often than not, the general public will look upon a stuttering individual as a negative personality character. However, because of the effects of stuttering, there is a common ground of personality traits among those with this disorder. One of these traits is that those who stutter or stammer are not as gregarious. Their fears of being looked down upon, made fun of, or laughed at will keep most from being as outgoing. People with a stuttering disorder may find it more difficult to express their emotional feelings. With such aspects of this disorder, these folks may commonly experience depressionsimply because of how they live without normal verbal expression for any emotions, whether happy or sad.
Stuttering and stammering may cause fear of speaking in public
Some individuals whose speech is expressed in a stammering way may also feel somewhat guilty. At times, they may feel that there was not enough effort on their part to speak in a normal, flowing way. Anxiety to speak openly in public, whether at school, job, church, or any other public setting, is most common for those with speech disorders. The stammering individual will not offer ideas or share in conversation for fear of being looked upon as less intelligent.
A speech disorder involving a life long struggle with stammering is surely an emotional barrier. However, more education of how this disorder truly affects those suffering from the disorder can shed fresh light on how these individuals are looked upon. Any individual who stammers when speaking surely is not choosing such a way of communication as such a disorder is well beyond anyone’s control.
Support and understanding are essential to help individuals suffering from a speech disorder like stuttering to overcome their communication problems. Institutions like the NSA (National Stuttering Association) can be of great help because they offer information for affected individuals and their families as to where they can find qualified therapists and support groups.