Fluency: Normally, speech is fluid with words flowing smoothly as your child speaks. Normal dysfluency, also called pseudostuttering, is the occasional repeating of sounds or syllables that children make when they are learning to speak between 18 months and 5 years of age. It occurs in many children. Normal dysfluency occurs because the mind is able to think of words faster than the tongue.

As children learn to speak they may naturally have some difficulty. Usually these problems are transient and part of your child’s normal development. However, sometimes children will develop a more serious problem such as true stuttering. About 75 out of 100 children who stutter get better without treatment

In true stuttering (stammering) occurs in only 1% of children. Stuttering is 4 times more likely in boys than in girls. In most cases, true stuttering is an inherited problem. It can also occur when a child with normal dysfluency .child may begin to anticipate speaking poorly and struggle to correct it. The child becomes tense when he speaks, and the more he attempts to control his speech, the worse it becomes. True stuttering will become worse and persist into adulthood, without treatment.

Some characteristics of true stuttering include:

• frequent repetitions of sounds, syllables, or short words
• frequent hesitations and pauses in speech
• absence of smooth speech flow
• tense facial expressions or facial tics
• a fear of talking