The Ministry of Health (MOH) has participated in activating the awareness-raising activities for the International Stuttering Awareness Day (ISAD). Through an awareness Infographic published on its Twitter page and its awareness platform: #Live_Well, MOH has defined stuttering, its symptoms, and when to see a doctor.
“Stuttering is a speech disorder that involves frequent and significant problems with normal fluency and flow of speech. It may be worse when the person is excited, tired or under stress. Stuttering has two types: developmental Stuttering, which is the most common type and occurs while the child is still learning speech and language skills, and acquired stuttering, which is caused by a stroke, head trauma, or any other type of brain injury,” MOH stated.
MOH added that stuttering risk factors feature family history, gender (as males are more likely to stutter than females), stress, and other speech and language problems or delayed growth. Starts between the ages of 2 and 5 years, however, stuttering that persists may require intervention.
Although no drugs have been proved yet to treat the disease, there are a variety of treatments and skills to help patients, depending on the patient's age, communication goals and other factors, which aim to improve speech fluency and communicate successfully. There is no way to prevent stuttering, but being aware of natural changes and abnormal signs is the most important element to address the problem in its early stages.