What causes stuttering and how common is it?

Answer 1

What causes stuttering? There are four factors most likely to contribute to the development of stuttering: genetics ( approximately 60% of those who stutter have a family member who does also); child development (children with other speech and language problems or developmental delays are more likely to stutter); neurophysiology ( recent research has shown that people who stutter process speech and language in different areas of the brain than those who do not stutter); and family dynamics ( high expectations and fast-paced lifestyles can contribute to stuttering).

Stuttering may occur when a combination of factors comes together and may have different causes in different people. It is probable that what causes stuttering differs from what makes it continue or get worse.

How many people stutter? Over three million Americans stutter or approximately 1% of the population.

What is the ratio of males to females who stutter? Stuttering affects four times as many males as females.

How many children stutter? Some 20 percent of all children go through a stage of development during which they encounter disfluencies severe enough to be a concern to their parents. The best prevention tool is early intervention.

Answer 2

CAUSE-----The precise causes of stuttering are still unknown, but most researchers now consider stuttering to be a neurological condition that interferes with the production of speech. In some people, the tendency to stutter may be inherited. Although the interference with speech is sometimes triggered by emotional or situational factors, stuttering is basically neurological and physiological – not psychological - in nature. In all other respects, persons who stutter are perfectly normal.


It has been estimated that about one percent of the general population stutters. This would amount to almost three million stutterers in the United States alone. Stuttering is about three or four times more common in males than females.

Answer 3

Possible Causes:
The exact cause of stuttering is unknown, however, stuttering results when the brain is unable to transmit messages properly. The exact cause of this failure is unknown, although genetics most likely play a role in some people. About 60% of people who stutter have other family members with the disorder.

1 Environmental factors, such as a stressful environment, or biological influences, such as a developmental delay, may trigger stuttering, especially in people who have inherited the tendency to develop the disorder.

In rare cases, stuttering develops as a result of brain damage, such as following a traumatic head injury or stroke.

How Common:
About 5% of children stutter for 6 months or more when learning to speak. Stuttering most commonly begins around age 5 but generally occurs any time between ages 2 and 7.2 Approximately 50% to 80% of children who stutter have normal disfluency, which resolves on its own by late childhood.

Those with persistent speech problems have developmental stuttering. Boys are affected 3 times more frequently than girls.2 Approximately 1% of adolescents are affected by developmental stuttering. This figure drops to approximately 0.8% by adulthood.

These answers were found on WebMD. For more information visit: http://www.webmd.com/

Answer 4

I seen a show on a young man who stuttered. It has something to do with how his brain was processing his words I believe. He ended up getting a special hearing aid/electrode thing to slow speech to brain processing so his words would come out at a regular pace... I'm sorry I don't know what it was called but if you look on the Internet you may be able to find something like what I have told you. There are however different things that cause it, heredity, traumatic event etc.. I did some research this may be it, Good luck!

Answer 5

I think it's very common, everyone stutters now and then. it just depends on the severity. My mom stutters alot and I used to too, but I found a way to deal with it. everytime I start stuttering, instead of trying to keep going, I just stop talking and take a deep breath. then I focus on the word in my head and say it aloud slowly.

Answer 6

Some people, when they're under stress, tense their vocal cords. Young children can sometimes tense them so much that the vocal cords lock up. When this happens they can't speak because no air can come out. So they begin to struggle to release the lock. This struggle quickly becomes a habit, and THAT is what the world sees, hears, and calls stuttering.

To deal with this problem, breathe in through the mouth, let some air out very calmly, and then slow the first word of the sentence: "I..., am happy to be here."

Stuttering is very common. Approximately one percent of the population across the world stutters. Because it's genetically based, stuttering runs in families. However, it also requires early childhood stress to manifest itself - a new sibling, a new school, or some other source of childhood anxiety. Stuttering usually begins between the ages of four and seven. Fortunately, it can now be effectively treated.

1 Think Before You Speak.

Don’t even open your mouth until you are exactly sure about the word or words you are about to say. People who stutter often are smarter than average. This ironically works against the stutterer because when he or she attempts to speak, his or her mind tends to think too far ahead! This causes the conscious mind to not be in line with the current immediate word being expressed. The result is a jam or a block in the flow of speech. It really is not enough to “slow down the rhythm of your speech,” as is so often recommended. This can be slightly helpful, but what really counts is to think before you verbalize each word. It may be temporarily helpful to slow down just in order to retrain yourself how to think ahead of each word spoken rather than after, but eventually, the speed of the speech can return to normal.

2 Say it in Your Mind.

Literally hear yourself successfully saying the word you want to say in your mind before you say it. This is a type of aural visualization. All people who succeed in anything admit that they practice visualizing their success, with optimism, before actually attaining their goal. Imagine the sound of each word, one by one, in your mind before you physically say it.

Answer 7

some are born with it, in some cases I think it's linked to learning disorder(s). stutterers typically recover before age 16. Stuttering has a strong biological and genetic association, with 50% of first-degree relatives affected and a boy:girl ratio of 3:1.

Answer 8

If you type in your web search engine, "what causes stuttering" there are many informative web sights there that will answer your question, with much more information than anyone else on yahoo/answers can give you.

Answer 9

not too common....some are born with it Maybe inherited