Fluency Enhancement in Stutterers

Abstract

Stuttering is a uniquely human communications disorder that occurs in about 1% of the general population (Bloodstein, 1981). It is found approximately four times more often in males than in females (Andrews & Harris, 1964; Bloodstein, 1981). The median age of stuttering onset is 4 years, and approximately 95% of those who stutter will do so by the age of 7 years (Andrews & Harris, 1964). Most children who stutter (in the vicinity of 75%) “outgrow” the problem by the onset of puberty (Andrews & Harris, 1964; Bloodstein, 1981). Stuttering tends to run in families, with first-degree relatives of stutterers being over three times more likely to stutter than persons in the general population (Andrews, Craig, Feyer, Hoddinot, and Neilson, 1983). Observed familial patterns of stuttering can be accounted for by single major locus and multifactorial genetic models (Kidd, 1980). There is no evidence from the controlled study of unselected populations that stutterers are different from non-stutterers on measures of anxiety or neuroticism (Andrews et al., 1983). Some evidence exists suggesting that stutterers exhibit more problems with social adjustment than nonstutterers (Andrews et al., 1983); however, it seems likely that these results can best be explained by viewing stuttering as the antecedent factor (Prins, 1972).