Dysfluency – stammering, stuttering

Dysfluency, stammering and stuttering are all ways to describe a fluency disorder in which a person has difficulty producing speech in a normal, smooth way. For example, there may be lots of pauses, or words and sounds might be repeated several times, or may sound ‘stretched out’. Sometimes, it may be hard for you to start off your words and sentences.

We can all have dysfluent speech at times, however those with an acquired or ‘neurogenic’ stammer may find their conversations can be interrupted and impacted by their speech. In most cases, acquired stammering occurs in those who have not had a stammer in the past.

If you have been told that you have a ‘neurogenic’ stammer. This means that your acquired fluency disorder has happened after damage to the brain or spinal cord, caused by:

• stroke
• head injury
• brain tumours or cysts
• degenerative conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease or multiple sclerosis
• other conditions that affect the brain, such as meningitis and Guillain-Barré
  syndrome
• drug-related causes such as side-effects of some medications

Because it can occur due to different neurological reasons, a neurogenic stammer can appear different in each individual – but there are some common characteristics:

Repetition, prolonging or blocking

• word repetitions – eg: but but but
• sound or syllable repetitions – eg: C-c-c-c-can I?
• prolonging sounds, eg:wiiiiiiiiill we, or
• blocking sounds – your mouth is in position but no sound comes out.

A mixture of some or all of these can occur.

When dysfluency occurs

Dysfluencies can occur at. the beginning, middle or end or a word, which is different to developmental stammering where dysfluencies occur at the beginning of the word. There is no difference across a variety of talking activities – eg: talking with friends, reading aloud.

Reaction and secondary symptoms

You may be annoyed rather than anxious about your stammer.  Secondary symptoms that are common in developmental stammering are almost absent with a neurogenic stammer, such as avoiding specific sounds and words if you know you are going to stammer on them, or feeling tension around the jaw.

What can I do?

Stay relaxed. Take a deep breath before starting a sentence and slow your speech down if you talk quickly. Acknowledge the breakdown and that you both share responsibility, it’s no one’s fault. Do not be discouraged. It can help to reduce distractions in the room when you’re having a conversation, such as turning off the tv or radio. It’s important to keep your sense of humour!

How can people around me help?
Ask people to give your time and not to finish your sentence for you.  You know what you want to
say and will get there eventually. Ask people to be responsive and listen carefully. It helps if they keep eye contact when talking with  you and focus on what you’re saying not your stammer. A stammer on its own does not affect intelligence!