All About Stuttering

Your go-to for everything about stuttering

Did you know?

1% of people stutter – that’s about 50,000 Kiwis

3-4x more males than females stutter

Stuttering usually develops in the preschool years

Stuttering is not linked to intelligence

Stuttering isn’t good or bad – it’s just different

Mā te huruhuru ka rere te manu

Fill the basket of knowledge

What is Stuttering?

Stuttering is a difference in the way someone talks. It’s not just about what you hear and see on the outside – it’s also about what’s happening on the inside.

People who stutter might feel stuck or feel a loss of control when talking. They might do one or all of these:

Repeat a sound (“p-p-p-please”), a syllable (“to-to-to-tomorrow”) or a word (“my-my-my-my name is”)
Stretch out a sound, eg, “ssssss-sometimes”
Get completely stuck at the start of a word, and no sound comes out
Do something to avoid the stutter, like avoid or change words

Sometimes, stuttering comes with physical signs of tension or struggle, like closing their eyes, tensing up their face, moving their head or clenching their fists.

Stuttering can also bring up negative thoughts and feelings. Some people who stutter might try to hide it by not talking or avoiding certain situations.

What causes Stuttering?

We don’t know exactly what causes stuttering, but there are some things we do know that may help explain what causes stuttering:

Gender: Stuttering tends to affect more boys than girls
Genetics: Stuttering often runs in families and within whānau, although not everyone who stutters will have a family member who stutters
Brain development: Research suggests that individuals who stutter may have subtle differences in how their brain looks and works compared to those who do not stutter
Language and speech motor skills: Stuttering often emerges when children start combining words into sentences, placing increased demand on their language and speech motor skills.

It’s important to emphasise that stuttering isn’t anybody’s fault and isn’t caused by anything parents or whānau do or don’t do. Additionally, while stuttering may lead to feelings of anxiety, it’s not caused by anxiety itself.

Stuttering Iceberg

It can be helpful to think of stuttering like an iceberg, where often what you see or hear is the smallest part, and how someone experiences it on the inside is the biggest part. Everyone’s iceberg will look different because stuttering varies from person to person.

Stuttering can change over time and can vary depending on the situation, the person they’re talking to and how they’re feeling. Stuttering often increases in situations when a person is excited, tired or stressed.