Abstract

Developmental dysfluency is considered a normal part of childhood development. About twenty-five percent of children experience some loss in fluency.

Symptoms

Symptoms of developmental dysfluency include the repetition of sounds or pauses between words. These symptoms have generally been noted within youngsters from 18 months to 5 years of age. This may persist for weeks or months but eventually disappears due to the maturation of the child's nervous system.

ex.: "Daddy, I was, I was, um, um, I was..."

Instances like the aforementioned example indicate that the child is learning to use language. On the other hand, children with stuttering disorder, will likely repeat sounds or one-syllable words three or more times. They may also prolong sounds for two or more seconds. In comparison, stuttering can be seen as a process where a word appears to become "stuck," and the person may grimace, jerk the head or neck as he struggles to overcome the stutter.

Children with normal dysfluency tend to have stuttering difficulties that come and go. Generally this is during preschool years and the problem normally ceases altogether by the time a child starts school.