There are many reasons why a person may develop a stammer, and I am going to explain a few of them in this article.
We learn to talk by observing the people around us. This happens from birth and when our vocal chords are fully formed we start to speak. If a member of our close family has a stammering problem, there is a good chance that we could pick up their bad habits and also start to stammer. I have met many people who stammer, who inform me that somebody in their family also suffers with stammering and for some reason it is normally their father.
Many parents have stated to me, that even though they do have a stammer, that they have always been able to speak fluently to and around their child. Unfortunately children listen to conversations when we least expect it (when we think they are in bed, for example) and are likely to hear the stammer at various time, like during a phone call.
How a parent reacts when their child first starts to stammer is very important. If they are calm and patient and do not over-react, there is a good chance the child won't panic and worry. If the parent reacts shocked and responds sharply, with words to the effect of, get your words out boy, this can have a very damaging effect. The child is likely to panic and is more than likely to stammer again out of nerves and tension.
The third reason people start to stammer is a response to a shock reaction. I have in the past number of years come into contact with people who have started stammering after a serious car crash, after being mugged and even after giving birth.
The fourth reason is copying someone else who has a stammer. I have heard in a number of cases where children have started to stammer after copying a friend at school. This friend had a stammer, and they copied them as if it was some kind of game. In one story I heard, a fluent man joined the navy, accompanying him on the ship was a man who had a stammer. During one trip overseas, the fluent person constantly mocked and mimicked the stammerer, and to his horror, by the end of the trip could not stop stammering himself. He eventually ended up killing himself, so the story goes.
Stephen Hill is somebody who has overcome a stutter. He now helps other people to achieve fluency and has a couple of websites at:
http://www.stutter-stuttering.com
http://www.stuttering-help.co.uk
http://www.stammering-stuttering.co.uk
