Fluency Disorder  (Stuttering)

A child with a fluency disorder, or stuttering, has difficulty with maintaining an appropriate flow of speech. Patterns of stuttering that are typically seen are repetitions, prolongations, or halting (blocks) in speech. Extraneous face and body movements, referred to as secondary characteristics, may or may not occur during these moments of dysfluency. It is not uncommon for young children to experience dysfluency as they are learning language; however, if a pattern persists longer than six months or should the child exhibit significant difficulty in expressing themselves due to the stuttering pattern, a referral for a speech evaluation may be warranted.