For most of us, speaking fluently comes naturally. But if you have a stutter, getting the words out can be a real struggle. Some sounds are repeated or prolonged or a word gets stuck and doesn’t come out at all. At times it’s impossible even to say your own name or where you live, which can cause huge distress and embarrassment.

Stammering or stuttering (it’s the same thing) affects more than 70 million people globally – that’s about 1% of the world’s population. It’s a neurological condition, based on the brain’s wiring. But other factors, like genetics, also play a part. Becky Milligan examines why some people develop a stammer, what treatments are available and whether stammering can ever be cured.

Becky talks to Dr Deryk Beal from Holland Bloorview Children’s Rehabilitation Hospital, to find out how the brain of someone who stutters is different from someone with no stutter; she visits the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children where 12 year-old Sam is getting treatment from speech therapist Kevin Fower; we hear from 22 year-old Rishabh Panchamia, who was so ashamed of his stammer he considered suicide. He’s now found fluency with the help of the McGuire programme. And Becky meets Betony Kelly who tells us that being open about having a stammer has helped her to accept and be proud of it as part of her identity.

(Photo: Rishabh Panchamia playing snooker. Credit: BBC Copyright - Rishabh Panchamia)

The Why Factor: Stammering

McGuire Program DE