Stuttering is a type of dysfluency in the flow of speech that can make the person repeat certain syllables, words, phrases, or even drag out part of a word. Children and even adults who stammer know what they have to say but the words just don’t come out easily. But the vital question is: What causes this stuttering amongst us?

So far, researchers aren’t entirely sure why some people stutter, but most believe that certain factors contribute to it, such as, a problem with the way the brain’s message interacts with the muscles and body parts needed for speaking. You see, humans have a remarkable ability to share their thoughts through speech and language, and to make this talking process smooth, two parts of the brain called Wernicke’s area and Broca’s area play a crucial role in it. The Wernicke’s area is said to be located in the temporal lobe on the left side of the brain region. Although the exact location of this region is still debatable, but what we surely know that this area is essential for language, development, and helps us choose the right words while expressing our views.

Once thought is coded into language, the Broca’s area in the frontal lobe of the dominant hemisphere of the brain gets activated. This region then sends the message to the muscles, telling them to move and make the right sounds come out, then the mouth, face, neck, tongue, and throat muscles, move to form words, and that it how we can smoothly communicate.

But in some cases, this process doesn’t work perfectly. If, for example, a brain stroke or injury either damages the Broca’s area or reduces the blood flow in this part of the brain. Due to this, the brain will find it hard to send the required signal to the speech muscles which might cause a person to stammer while speaking.

The first signs of stuttering tend to appear when a child is about 18 – 24 months old as the brain is still developing, and in most cases it goes away on its own by the age of 5. But if someone continues to stutter after the age of 5, it is recommended to talk to your doctor or a speech language therapist.