Catching Stuttering Problems Early Can Be a Life Saver

Stuttering is an example of a speech pattern that can affect the way we communicate with others. It affects speech fluency. People who do this often find themselves saying repetitions of words or parts of words. It can also involve prolongations, which is simply drawing out the first part of a word. The good news is that it is a treatable condition. If needed, a speech therapist can help those who have a severe problem or who may have a risk of developing a problem.

Being able to communicate has to do with everything in our lives: work, school, and relationships. Being self conscious about our speech can affect our self esteem and our social life. For some people, intervention is needed at a young age. Treatment can help reduce shyness in school and overall being successful at social interactions in general. Some of the other symptoms that might indicate treatment is needed include if it leads to emotional problems, lasts longer than six months, or causes a child to avoid social situations.

It is common for children between the ages of 2 and 5 to stutter, as they are just learning speech patterns and learning about the world around them. Some may need extra help at that point, but many will outgrow it. Experts agree that 50-80% of children who stutter will grow out of it as they age. By the time kids hit puberty, the issue seems to diminish.

One of the treatments for this includes behavioral therapy or controlled fluency. They are two very effective ways for helping people consciously change speech patterns. Sometimes electronic devices are used as well. It depends on the severity of the problem as well as someone's age. Usually speech therapy is a very effective form of treatment.

Stuttering begins in childhood. It often occurs in children who have a family history of stuttering. Overall it is estimated that around 55 million in the world have some form of speech difficulties due to this condition. It is important to address the issue and not to ignore it, but it is also important not to make people feel self conscious about it.