Stammering and stuttering mean the same thing, a difficulty with the co-ordination and flow of speech.
Signs of stammering include:
Around 8 per cent of children will stammer at some point. For many children it is a brief phase lasting a few weeks or months, but for others it can last longer. Stammering often starts between the ages of 2 and 5 years - around the time when children are learning lots of new words and sounds. It can appear very gradually or suddenly, almost overnight.
For many children there is no pattern - sometimes they stammer more, sometimes they stammer much less. Around 2 per cent of children will continue to stammer into adulthood. Stammering affects people of all ages and backgrounds.
Stammering is a condition related to the nervous system. Research is ongoing to understand it better but stammering appears to be caused by differences in the way the brain processes and produces speech. Around 60% of children who stammer have a family history of stammering. The gene for stammering was found in 2011.
Everyone’s stammer is slightly different and is affected by different factors, such as:
Their speech and language skills
Their thoughts and feelings
Different speaking situations
Illness, tiredness, stress, excitement and changes in routine can also lead to temporary changes in stammering, but are not the underlying cause. Stammering can often start around a period of change like starting nursery or a new sibling arriving, but these things are not the cause. Parents, families and teachers do not cause stammering, but there are lots of ways you can help - see the Get Help With Stammering section below.
A simple video explaining the effects of stammering from a child's point of view.
Supporting Stammering is a course for adults supporting children of all ages who stammer.
It provides an introduction to causes, presentation and the impact of stammering. We discuss ways you can support children who stammer and when to seek further support.
The following pages provide advice and resources to help children and young people who stammer.
You can contact the Norfolk & Waveney Speech & Language Therapy Service by calling Just One Number on 0300 300 0123. Our opening hours are 8am-6pm Monday-Friday (excluding bank holidays).
You can speak to other Norfolk parents and carers by clicking our online community forum below.
