How many children stutter? Approximately 5 percent of all children go through a period of stuttering that lasts six months or more. Three-quarters of those will recover by late childhood, leaving about 1% with a long-term problem. The best prevention tool is early intervention.
Is stuttering caused by emotional or psychological problems? Children and adults who stutter are no more likely to have psychological or emotional problems than children and adults who do not. There is no reason to believe that emotional trauma causes stuttering.
I think my child is beginning to stutter. Should I wait or seek help? It is best to seek ways that you, the parents, can help as soon as possible. (click on If You Think Your Child is Stuttering for ways to help immediately) If the stuttering persists beyond three to six months or is particularly severe, you may want to seek help from a speech-language pathologist who specializes in stuttering right away. (click on speech-language pathologists for listings by state or country.)
Can stuttering be treated? Yes, there are a variety of successful approaches for treating both children and adults (click on Why Speech Therapy? for some guidelines). In general, the earlier, the better is good advice.
Are there any famous people who stutter? Emily Blunt, James Earl Jones, John Stossel, Bill Walton, Mel Tillis, Winston Churchill, Marilyn Monroe, Carly Simon, Annie Glenn, Nicholas Brendon, Ken Venturi, Bob Love, John Updike, King George VI -- all are famous people who stuttered and went on to have successful lives.
I read about a new cure for stuttering. Is there such a thing? There are no instant miracle cures for stuttering. Therapy, electronic devices, and even drugs are not an overnight process. However, a specialist in stuttering can help not only children but also teenagers, young adults and even older adults make significant progress toward fluency.