[Treatment of stuttering]

Abstract

Stuttering in children will usually pass either with therapy or spontaneously. It remains permanent in approx. 20 to 30% of cases. Psychogenic and neurogenic stuttering have an adulthood onset. Behavioral methods aim to change the stutterer's attitude to his/her own speech or to control the extent of stuttering. By using assistive devices it is possible to slow down speech production and thereby increase its fluency. Due to the lack of suitable drugs, pharmacological therapy is seldom used. Moderate and severe stuttering should be treated also in children under school age.