This research reviews the speech disorder of stuttering. In this research, the emphasis is placed on theories concerning the causes of stuttering.
Stuttering is the word most frequently used in the United States to describe the disorder, while stammering is the word used most frequently in the United Kingdom (Byrne, 1989). There is no difference between stuttering and stammering (Byrne, 1989).
Stuttering is ôspeech which is hesitant, stumbling, tense or jerky to the extent that it causes anxiety to the speaker and/or the listenerö (Byrne, 1989, p. 1). There is no single speech behavior which may be designated as the definition of a stutter (Byrne, 1989). Rather, there are ômany different ways in which people speak with a marked lack of fluencyö (Byrne, 1989, p. 1). One person may
à get blocked or stuck on a certain sound or sounds, another may repeat sounds, another may go back and take a run at the difficult word, and yet another may do all these things and many more (Byrne, 1989, p. 1).
In a sense, discussing a stutter is similar to discussing a broken leg (Byrne, 1989). With a broken leg, one must know (1) where it is broken, (2) in how many places it is broken, and (3) and how severe the injury is (Byrne, 1989). The term ôbroken legö is insufficient as a description of the problem (Byrne, 1989, p. 1). Similarly, the term ôstutteringö is insufficient as a description of the speech fluency problem experienced by a specific individual. It is necessary to define the exact nature of the stuttering behavior of each individual.
As there is no single speech behavior that may be designated as the definition of a stutter, there is no ôparticular physical or psychological factor which distinguishes a person who stammers from someone who is fluentö (Byrne, 1989, pp. 1-2). Thus, no specific physical or psychological factor may be used as a means of identifying all stutters. To state that some stutters says ...