Stammering in Children
Stuttering or stammering is a speech disorder classified under the broader term speech disfluencies.
Symptoms of stuttering may differ according to persons and situations. Rushed or disordered breathing, phonation or vocal fold vibration and over-tensing of the muscles around the lips, jaw and tongue making speech difficult or nearly impossible, are core stuttering behaviors.
econdary stuttering behaviors include physical movements like head-jerks and rapid blinking of eyes.
Stress, fatigue and excitement can aggravate stuttering. Addressing a group or talking on the telephone may increase a person’s stuttering, whereas, singing, reading aloud or speaking in chorus may temporarily check stuttering. Stuttering generally decreases when a person is relaxed.
Social Discrimination
Many people who stutter carry a double burden of personal feelings of frustration, anxiety or shame along with discrimination and sometimes, even ridicule from society. Many have reported experiences of being bullied and harassed –especially in their younger years, by peers and adults who failed to understand their suffering.
Stuttering does not affect intelligence. People generally assume stutterers are less intelligent because they take a longer time to respond or answer question. Truth is, it takes them longer to get words out and they are constantly searching for simple and easy words that they are confident they won’t trip on.
It is encouraging to observe that the list of famous people who experienced a stuttering disorder from mild to severe degree of intensity includes all time greats such as Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin, film stars like Marilyn Monroe, Bruce Willis, Julia Roberts, Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) Hrithik Roshan, Sylvester Stallone, politicians like Winston Churchill, Joe Biden, Demosthenes and sport person Tiger Woods.
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