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Definition

Stuttering has no absolute definition that encompasses all the aspects of the disorder. In general, it is a condition in which a person trying to speak has difficulty in expressing words normally. Morphemes (actual individual sounds such as "mm" or the explosive "p") are not easily articulated. Two common symptoms of stuttering are the drawing out of the morpheme as in "mmmmmore" or the repetitious "l-l-l-look" of seemingly simple words.

Stuttering is not to be confused with another speech disorder called cluttering. Cluttering has a much more definitive cause and clearer symptoms. Its neurogenic link has been more thoroughly established, while the roots of stuttering have not. Cluttering involves a rapid speech pattern, while stuttering can take on a variety of levels of complexity.

Description

In the past, researchers and speech therapists assumed that stuttering was a developmental disorder....