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Stuttering: definitions, core and secondary behaviours, and fluency-enhancing conditions
Stuttering is a type of disfluency shown by core behaviours — part-word repetitions, prolongations and blocks — accompanied by motor tension and sometimes by secondary escape and avoidance behaviours; what is heard is only a small part of the experience.
Why it matters in the exam
A large share of fluency questions test definitions: what the core behaviours are (repetitions, prolongations, blocks — not fillers), what counts as a secondary behaviour (blinking during a block, associated facial movements, word substitution), and how stuttering is told apart from normal developmental disfluency — by the type of repetition and by motor tension. According to Yairi and Ambrose, repeating a word-initial syllable about five times is a stuttering-like disfluency (SLD), and the criterion for stuttering is 3 SLD per 100 syllables.
Well-known phenomena are asked too: the adaptation effect (less stuttering on repeated reading of the same text), anticipation of where stuttering will occur, and conditions that enhance fluency — choral speech, singing, reciting, masking noise, talking to an animal and slow rate. Talking on the phone is not considered an enhancing condition. Sheehan pictured stuttering as an iceberg: the audible tip is small, and the larger mass lies out of sight.
Key points
- Core: part-word repetitions, prolongations, blocks.
- Secondary: escape (blinking, movements) and avoidance (word substitution).
- SLD versus OD; criterion of 3 SLD per 100 syllables.
- Adaptation: less stuttering on repeated reading; anticipation: expecting the stuttering moment.
- Choral speech, singing and masking noise enhance fluency; the phone does not.
Summary table
| Category | What it includes | Example | What it suggests |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stuttering-like disfluency (SLD) | Part-word repetitions, single-syllable word repetitions, prolongations and blocks | "b-b-b-boy", "mmmmummy" | 3 SLD per 100 syllables or more — a criterion for stuttering |
| Other disfluency (OD) | Fillers, revisions, whole-phrase repetitions | "I went yesterday, I went yesterday to the park" | Typical of normal disfluency and of children with word-retrieval difficulty |
| Core behaviours | Repetitions, prolongations, blocks | A silent block before a word | They define stuttering itself |
| Secondary behaviours — escape | Movements meant to get out of the stuttering moment | Eye blinking, head movement, associated facial movements | May show up soon after stuttering begins |
| Secondary behaviours — avoidance | Ways to avoid an expected moment | Word substitution, circumlocution, avoiding situations | Show an emotional component and anticipation |
| Fluency-enhancing conditions | A change in how speech is produced or in communicative load | Choral speech, singing, reciting, masking noise, slow rate, talking to an animal | The phone is not among them |
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Sources
- Guitar, Stuttering: An Integrated Approach to Its Nature and Treatment, 5th edition (2019) — The nature of stuttering: core and secondary behaviours
- Yairi & Ambrose, Early Childhood Stuttering, 2005 — Stuttering-like and other disfluencies
- ASHA Practice Portal, 2024 — Fluency Disorders
Sources are given for further reading; the text is written afresh and not copied from them.
Reviewed by the Examqo AI Professor · 2026-11-02. The text may contain errors; when in doubt, check the source.