STUTTERING AND CLUTTERING ARE TWO TYPES OF FLUENCY DISORDERS THAT IMPACT A PERSON ' S ABILITY TO PRODUCE FLUENT SPEECH . CLUTTERING IS A SPEECH DISORDER CHARACTERIZED BY RAPID OR IRREGULAR SPEAKING CONSISTING OF ATYPICAL PAUSES , REPETITIONS , AND DISFLUENCIES RESULTING IN A BREAKDOWN IN SPEECH CLARITY AND ORGANIZATION . IN CONTRAST , STUTTERING IS A CHARACTERIZED BY THE REPETITION OF SOUNDS OR WORDS AND DISRUPTIONS IN THE FLOW OF SPEECH . WHILE THEY SHARE SOME COMMON SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS , THE CAUSES AND TREATMENT APPROACHES FOR EACH ARE UNIQUE . ANNUALLY , ON THE 22ND OF OCTOBER IS INTERNATIONAL STUTTERING AWARENESS DAY . STUTTERING EFFECTS MORE PEOPLE THAT ONE MAY EXPECT . APPROXIMATELY , ONE PERCENT OF THE POPULATION ACROSS ALL NATIONALITIES , RACES AND RELIGION STUTTER . BOYS ARE FOUR TIMES MORE LIKELY THAN GIRLS TO STUTTER . BETWEEN THE AGES OF TWO TO FIVE YEARS , EVERY CHILD EXPERIENCES A PERIOD OF NORMAL DYSFLUENCY . MOST CHILDREN ( APPROXIMATELY 85 %) OUT-GROW THIS DYSFLUENCY , HOWEVER SOME CHILDREN DO NOT AND MAY DEVELOP A STUTTER .
STUTTERING IS AN ENIGMA WHICH HAS BEEN REPORTED FOR CENTURIES BY PEOPLE FROM ALL AREAS OF THE WORLD SPANNING ALL PERSONALITY TYPES , SOCIAL CLASSES AND ETHNIC GROUPS FROM THE BEGINNING OF TIME . IN THE BIBLE , WE ARE TAUGHT THAT MOSES STUTTERED . WINSTON CHURCHILL , ISAAC NEWTON , CARLY SIMON , JAMES EARLS JONES , BRUCE WILLIS , KING GEORGE VI , ED SHEERAN AND JO BIDEN ARE A FEW OTHER EXAMPLES OF FAMOUS PEOPLE WHO STUTTER / HAVE STUTTERED ACROSS TIME
STUTTERING IS HIGHLY VARIABLE AND USUALLY EFFECTS INDIVIDUALS IN DIFFERENT WAYS WITH VARYING DEGREES OF SEVERITY . STUTTERING IS CHARACTERIZED BY DISRUPTIONS IN THE FORWARD FLOW OF SPEECH SUCH AS REPETITIONS OF PARTS OF WORDS (“ MI-MI-MI-MISS ”), PROLONGATIONS OF SOUNDS (“ SSSSSSEVEN ”) AND / OR COMPLETE BLOCKAGES OF SOUND ( AT TIMES NO SOUND IS EMITTED OR ONLY A STRAINED / STRANGLED SOUND EMERGES ). SPEECH DYSFLUENCIES MAY BE ACCOMPANIED BY PHYSICAL TENSION OR STRUGGLE . ASSOCIATED BEHAVIOURS MAY INCLUDE BLINKING , GRIMACING , AVOIDING EYE-CONTACT , AVOIDING TALKING AND FOOT TAPPING .
ALMOST ALL PEOPLE WHO STUTTER EXPERIENCE PERIODS OF RELATIVE OR TOTAL FLUENCY , THUS STUTTERING IS CYCLICAL . MOST PEOPLE WHO STUTTER SPEAK FLUENTLY WHEN THEY ARE ALONE , WHEN THEY SPEAK IN UNISON , WHEN THEY WHISPER AND WHEN THEY SING .
ALTHOUGH RESEARCH INTO THE CAUSE AND CURE OF STUTTERING IS ON-GOING , NO DEFINITIVE ANSWERS HAVE YET BEEN ESTABLISHED . WHAT IS KNOWN IS THAT THE CAUSES , LIKE SPEECH ITSELF , ARE COMPLEX . RESEARCH SUGGESTS THAT A COMPLICATED INTERPLAY OF A COMBINATION OF FACTORS INCLUDING GENETICS ( APPROXIMATELY 60 % OF THOSE WHO STUTTER HAVE A FAMILY MEMBER WHO ALSO STUTTERS ), CHILD DEVELOPMENT , NEUROPHYSIOLOGY AND FAMILY DYNAMICS CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF STUTTERING .
STUTTERING IS NO TRIVIAL COMPLAINT AND FOR THOSE INSUFFICIENTLY EQUIPPED TO COPE , THE CONSEQUENCES CAN BE TRAGIC . AT SCHOOL , STUTTERING CAN CONCEAL A LEARNER ’ S INTELLIGENCE ,