Awareness ages and situations of people who stutter

Abstract

It is commonly believed that the correct response of parents of children who stutter is to avoid making the child aware of stuttering and not discuss the issue of stuttering with the child. However, there are few detailed reports concerning the awareness ages and situations of people who stutter (PWS) and their parents. We asked 40 pairs of PWS (minimum age: 10 years) and their parents about the time they first became aware of stuttering. The average age of awareness of stuttering in PWS was 8.1 years. Only 8 percent became aware of their situation in talking with their parents, while 57 percent stated their awareness traced to preschool or school days. Moreover, most parents noticed their child's stuttering earlier than their child, and the children became aware only after they encountered situations at school where they had to speak with or before others. In order to minimize the negative ramifications of stuttering such as teasing and bullying, parents need to talk frankly to their children about their stuttering.