Why do people stutter?

Friar Tuck

There are many theories and popular beliefs about what causes stuttering. However, despite considerable scientific research during the second half of the 20th century, the cause or causes of the disorder remain a mystery. All they can say at the dawn of the 21st century is that stuttering is most likely due to some deficit or inefficiency in the neurological processing that underlies speech production. It seems to be almost entirely confined to speech production, and there are no other basic differences that distinguish clearly between people who stutter and people who do not. For example, people who stutter are not as a group less intelligent, or less well coordinated, and so on, than those who do not stutter. In short, stuttering is thought to be a physical disorder and is not thought to be caused by psychological factors such as nervousness or stress, or by parenting practices or the way parents communicate with their children. Stuttering tends to run in families, and it is generally accepted that this is because genetics is involved in the cause. However, the precise nature of the genetics of the condition is unknown at present. Mar 06 03, 10:19 PM

Gnomon

Friar Tuck says that stuttering is not thought to be caused by psychological factors such as stress. This does not fit in with my experiences: Some people stutter when talking to people who are older than them, but not when talking to people younger than them. This can only be caused by psychological factors. Many people stutter when talking but don't when reading. This shows it is not anything physical in the mouth or throat, but something in the brain. Mar 07 03, 8:42 AM

Yaarbiriah

Yes it definitely seems to be some kind of neurological fault in the path between speech and consciousness. Interestingly when the person sings or even acts with a different accent the stutter can disappear. http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/voice/stutter.asp May 05 07, 5:01 PM

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