Editing Stuttering (section)

==Characteristics==

===Audible disfluencies===
Common stuttering behaviors are observable signs of speech disfluencies, for example: repeating sounds, syllables, words or phrases, silent blocks and prolongation of sounds.   
*Repeated movements
** Syllable repetition—a single syllable word is repeated (for example: "on-on-on a chair") or a part of a word which is still a full syllable such as "un-un-under the&nbsp;..." and "o-o-open".
** Incomplete syllable repetition—an incomplete syllable is repeated, such as a consonant without a vowel, for example, "c-c-c-cold".
** Multi-syllable repetition—more than one syllable such as a whole word, or more than one word is repeated, such as "I know-I know-I know a lot of information."
* Prolongations
** With audible airflow—prolongation of a sound occurs such as "mmmmmmmmmom".
** Without audible airflow—such as a block of speech or a tense pause where no airflow occurs and no phonation occurs.
The disorder is ''variable'', which means that in certain situations the stuttering might be more or less noticeable, such as speaking on the phone or in large groups. People who stutter often find that their stuttering fluctuates, sometimes at random.<ref>{{cite web |last=Bowen |first=Caroline |title=Information for Families: Stuttering- What can be done about it? |url=http://speech-language-therapy.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=101:stuttering&catid=11:admin&Itemid=101 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402150955/http://speech-language-therapy.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=101:stuttering&catid=11:admin&Itemid=101 |archive-date=April 2, 2015 |access-date=June 19, 2013 |work=speech-language-therapy dot com}}</ref>

The moment of stuttering often begins before the disfluency is produced, described as a moment of "anticipation"—where the person who stutters knows which word they are going to stutter on. The sensation of losing control and anticipation of a stutter can lead people who stutter to react in different ways including behavioral and cognitive reactions. Some behavioral reactions can manifest outwardly and be observed as physical tension or struggle anywhere in the body.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal |last1=Tichenor |first1=Seth E. |last2=Yaruss |first2=J. Scott |title=Stuttering as Defined by Adults Who Stutter |journal=Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research |date=18 December 2019 |volume=62 |issue=12 |pages=4356–4369 |doi=10.1044/2019_JSLHR-19-00137 |pmid=31830837 }}</ref>

=== Outward physical behaviors ===
People who stutter may have reactions, avoidance behaviors, or secondary behaviors related to their stuttering that may look like struggle and tension in the body. These could range anywhere from tension in the head and neck, behaviors such as snapping or tapping, or facial grimacing.{{fact|date=February 2025}}

=== Behavioral reactions ===
These behavioral reactions are those that might not be apparent to listeners and only be perceptible to people who stutter. Some people who stutter exhibit covert behaviors such as avoiding speaking situations, substituting words or phrases when they know they are going to stutter, or use other methods to hide their stutter.<ref name=":0" />

===Feelings and attitudes===
Stuttering could have a significant negative cognitive and affective impact on the person who stutters. [[Joseph Sheehan]] described this in terms of an [[analogy]] to an iceberg, with the immediately visible and audible symptoms of stuttering above the [[waterline]] and a broader set of symptoms such as negative [[emotion]]s hidden below the surface.<ref>{{harvnb|Kalinowski|Saltuklaroglu|2006| p=17}}</ref> Feelings of [[embarrassment]], [[shame]], [[frustration]], [[fear]], [[anger]], and [[guilt (emotion)|guilt]] are frequent in people who stutter, and may increase tension and effort.<ref name="Guitar16–7">{{harvnb|Guitar|2005|pp=16–7}}</ref> With time, continued negative experiences may crystallize into a negative self-concept and self-image. People who stutter may project their own attitudes onto others, believing that the others think them nervous or stupid. Such negative feelings and attitudes may need to be a major focus of a treatment program.<ref name="Guitar16–7"/>

The impact of discrimination against stuttering can be severe. This may result in fears of stuttering in social situations, self-imposed isolation, anxiety, stress, shame, low self-esteem, being a possible target of bullying or discrimination, or feeling pressured to hide stuttering. In popular media, stuttering is sometimes seen as a symptom of anxiety, but there is no direct correlation in that direction.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Constantino |first1=Christopher |last2=Campbell |first2=Patrick |last3=Simpson |first3=Sam |title=Stuttering and the social model |journal=Journal of Communication Disorders |date=March 2022 |volume=96 |pages=106200 |doi=10.1016/j.jcomdis.2022.106200 |pmid=35248920 }}</ref>

Alternatively, there are those who embrace [[stuttering pride]] and encourage other stutterers to take pride in their stutter and to find how it has been beneficial for them.{{fact|date=February 2025}}

According to adults who stutter, however, stuttering is defined as a "constellation of experiences" expanding beyond the external disfluencies that are apparent to the listener. Much of the experience of stuttering is internal and encompasses experiences beyond the external speech disfluencies, which are not observable by the listener.<ref name=":0" />

=== Associated conditions ===
Stuttering can co-occur with other disabilities. These associated disabilities include:
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
*[[attention deficit hyperactivity disorder]] (ADHD);<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sroubek |first1=Ariane |last2=Kelly |first2=Mary |last3=Li |first3=Xiaobo |title=Inattentiveness in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder |journal=Neuroscience Bulletin |date=February 2013 |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=103–110 |doi=10.1007/s12264-012-1295-6 |pmid=23299717 |pmc=4440572 }}</ref> the prevalence of ADHD in school-aged children who stutter is {{clarify span|text=around 4–50%|explain=4% to 50%, or 40% to 50%?|date=August 2022}}.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Druker |first1=Kerianne |last2=Hennessey |first2=Neville |last3=Mazzucchelli |first3=Trevor |last4=Beilby |first4=Janet |title=Elevated attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms in children who stutter |journal=Journal of Fluency Disorders |date=March 2019 |volume=59 |pages=80–90 |doi=10.1016/j.jfludis.2018.11.002 |pmid=30477807 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Donaher |first1=Joseph |last2=Richels |first2=Corrin |title=Traits of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder in school-age children who stutter |journal=Journal of Fluency Disorders |date=December 2012 |volume=37 |issue=4 |pages=242–252 |doi=10.1016/j.jfludis.2012.08.002 |pmid=23218208 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Arndt |first1=Jennifer |last2=Healey |first2=E. Charles |title=Concomitant Disorders in School-Age Children Who Stutter |journal=Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools |date=April 2001 |volume=32 |issue=2 |pages=68–78 |doi=10.1044/0161-1461(2001/006) |pmid=27764357 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Riley |first1=Jeanna |last2=Riley |first2=Johnetta G. |title=A Revised Component Model for diagnosing and Treating Children Who Stutter |journal=Contemporary Issues in Communication Science and Disorders |date=October 2000 |volume=27 |issue=Fall |pages=188–199 |doi=10.1044/cicsd_27_F_188 }}</ref>
*[[dyslexia]];<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Peterson |first1=Robin L |last2=Pennington |first2=Bruce F |title=Developmental dyslexia |journal=The Lancet |date=May 2012 |volume=379 |issue=9830 |pages=1997–2007 |doi=10.1016/s0140-6736(12)60198-6 |pmc=3465717 |pmid=22513218 }}</ref> the prevalence rate of childhood stuttering in dyslexia is around 30–40%, while in adults the prevalence of dyslexia in adults who stutter is around 30–50%.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Blood |first1=Gordon W |last2=Ridenour |first2=Victor J |last3=Qualls |first3=Constance Dean |last4=Hammer |first4=Carol Scheffner |title=Co-occurring disorders in children who stutter |journal=Journal of Communication Disorders |date=November 2003 |volume=36 |issue=6 |pages=427–448 |doi=10.1016/S0021-9924(03)00023-6 |pmid=12967738 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Arndt |first1=Jennifer |last2=Healey |first2=E. Charles |title=Concomitant Disorders in School-Age Children Who Stutter |journal=Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools |date=April 2001 |volume=32 |issue=2 |pages=68–78 |doi=10.1044/0161-1461(2001/006) |pmid=27764357 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Elsherif |first1=Mahmoud M. |last2=Wheeldon |first2=Linda R. |last3=Frisson |first3=Steven |title=Do dyslexia and stuttering share a processing deficit? |journal=Journal of Fluency Disorders |date=March 2021 |volume=67 |pages=105827 |doi=10.1016/j.jfludis.2020.105827 |pmid=33444937 |url=https://osf.io/grb54 }}</ref>
*[[autism]]<ref name="briley">{{cite journal |last1=Briley |first1=Patrick M. |last2=Ellis |first2=Charles |title=The Coexistence of Disabling Conditions in Children Who Stutter: Evidence From the National Health Interview Survey |journal=Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research |date=10 December 2018 |volume=61 |issue=12 |pages=2895–2905 |doi=10.1044/2018_JSLHR-S-17-0378 |pmid=30458520 }}</ref> 
* intellectual disability<ref name="Healey">{{cite book |last1=Healey |first1=E Charles |last2=Reid |first2=Robert |last3=Donaher |first3=Joe |chapter=Treatment of the child who stutters with co-existing learning, behavioral, and cognitive challenges |pages=178–196 |chapter-url={{GBurl|drCkEAAAQBAJ|p=178}} |editor1-last=Lees |editor1-first=Roberta |editor2-last=Stark |editor2-first=Cameron |title=The Treatment of Stuttering in the Young School Aged Child |date=2005 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-86156-486-3 |oclc=1072950273 }}</ref>
* language or learning disability<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ntourou |first1=Katerina |last2=Conture |first2=Edward G. |last3=Lipsey |first3=Mark W. |title=Language Abilities of Children Who Stutter: A Meta-Analytical Review |journal=American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology |date=August 2011 |volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=163–179 |doi=10.1044/1058-0360(2011/09-0102) |pmid=21478281 |pmc=3738062 }}</ref>
* seizure disorders<ref name="briley" />
* [[social anxiety disorder]]<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Iverach |first1=Lisa |last2=Rapee |first2=Ronald M. |date=June 2014 |title=Social anxiety disorder and stuttering: Current status and future directions |journal=Journal of Fluency Disorders |language=en |volume=40 |pages=69–82 |doi=10.1016/j.jfludis.2013.08.003|pmid=24929468 |doi-access=free }}</ref> 
* [[speech sound disorder]]s<ref>{{cite journal |last1=St. Louis |first1=Kenneth O. |last2=Hinzman |first2=Audrey R. |title=A descriptive study of speech, language, and hearing characteristics of school-aged stutterers |journal=Journal of Fluency Disorders |date=October 1988 |volume=13 |issue=5 |pages=331–355 |doi=10.1016/0094-730X(88)90003-4 }}</ref>
* other developmental disorders<ref name="briley" />
{{div col end}}