PRESENTER 1: Stammering or stuttering-- causes, signs and symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment. Stuttering or stammering is a speech disorder that is also known as difficult speech. Stuttering specifically includes the following-- 1, an uneven rate of speech; 2, halted or interrupted speech production; and 3, repeated words, syllables and sounds. Stuttering is a highly common phenomenon, affecting between 5% to 10% of all children. It mostly occurs in children between two and six years of age. While most children will not carry a stutter beyond childhood, 25% of children who don't lose their stutter will be affected by it as adults. Intervening early can help a child stop stammering and nullify all chances of them carrying it into adulthood. Let's take a deeper look into stuttering. Causes. The most common causes of stuttering or stammering include-- 1, family dynamics; 2, neurophysiology; 3, issues in development during childhood; 4, a family history of stuttering. Furthermore, injuries and trauma can also result in stuttering. Sustaining an injury to the brain from a stroke can cause stuttering. Similarly, severe emotional trauma can also cause stuttering. Stuttering is believed to run in families, as the part of the brain that governs speech and language may be abnormally developed across generations. Children of parents who have stuttered usually stutter as well. Signs and symptoms. Three different types of stuttering can affect a person. Developmental stuttering occurs when a child is developing their speech. Their mouth may take time to build up their language abilities. The development type goes away without treatment. Neurogenic stuttering occurs when there are abnormalities between the brain signals and the nerves or muscles of the body. Psychogenic stuttering originates from the brain, specifically the part that regulates speech and learning. The symptoms across all these types are the same. And they include, 1, frustration in trying to communicate; 2, occasional refusal to speak; 3, noticeable physical changes in the face, such as facial tics, extensive eye blinking, lip tremors, and increased tension in the upper face area. 4, pausing or hesitation when starting to speak; 5, interjections or extra sounds while speaking; 6, a tense voice; 7, rearranging words while speaking; 8, stretching outwards with longer sounds; 9, repetition while speaking. Often, children are not aware that they are stuttering and may get used to how they speak. Diagnosis. There is no invasive test to diagnose stuttering. The diagnosis can be made by speech language pathologist based on the symptoms exhibited by a person. Treatment. Most stuttering does not require treatment, as children grow past the developmental stage and stop stuttering with time. Speech therapy is the most common treatment for other kinds of stuttering. Speech therapy can help with intonation and also reduce interruptions while speaking. It gives a person the push they need to stop stuttering. It helps increase self-esteem and helps with pronunciation and enunciation. Beyond speech therapy, electronic devices such as voice recorders and hearing aids can also help. The former helps repeat what has been said and learn where the mistakes lie. While hearing aids can help reduce background noise and increase focus. Beyond this, no specific medication is known to help with stuttering. PRESENTER 2: Thank you for watching our video. Please do not forget to and share the video. Also, please subscribe to the channel to stay updated on our latest videos.