Are there different 'types' of stammering? Does stammering affect everyone in the same way?

Stammering affects everyone differently and it is important to remember that every child who experiences stammering is different. 

Here are a few ways that stammering might present or affect children differently:

• A stammer can include a mix of repetitions of sounds and words, lengthening of sounds and getting stuck on words. These patterns can be different for each individual and can vary day-to-day and change as a person ages. 
• There might be particular sounds that young people find especially challenging and find they are more likely to stammer on - children vary in which sounds they find more difficult than others.
• Sometimes changes to a child's stammer happen at key moments in life such as going to school or getting a new job.
• The stammer can also vary in terms of the impact it has on a person’s emotional and psychological well-being, and their reaction to the stammer. 
• Children will often differ in which situations they find easier and more challenging.

There is also a difference between a ‘developmental stammer’ in children and rarer late-onset stammering or an ‘acquired stammer’ that can happen after a brain injury or traumatic event.