Fluency and Stuttering

Stuttering affects the fluency of the rhythm of speech.

Stuttered speech often includes repetitions of words or parts of words (e.g., "W- W- W- Where are you going?"), as well as prolongations of speech sounds (e.g., "SSSSave me a seat.").  These disfluencies occur more often in persons who stutter than they do in the general population.  Some people who stutter appear very tense or "out of breath" when talking.  Speech may become completely stopped or blocked.