Types of stuttering

This video and blog post focus on the types of people who stutter, not the types of stuttering itself — that’s a separate topic.

In general, we want to understand that there are two major types of stuttering: 1) developmental, and 2) neurogenic.

Developmental stuttering develops over some period of time, and it's typically associated with a certain emotional pain. Again, we'll talk about the relationship with the stuttering moment, it can be different, but typically a person tries (or at least the brain tries) to say it fluently. And it's not happening. And that doesn't feel great.

Neurogenic stuttering tends to be more even, flat, and consistent. This consistency is typically caused by a stroke or structural damage in the brain. People who have neurogenic stuttering will be category number five. And the first four types belong to developmental stuttering.

So, let's dive deeper into those first four groups.

#1 feels helpless

The first type of people stutter feels rather helpless about stuttering, I would even say depressed. Stuttering feels like a huge, life-shaping problem. I'm trying this and that and nothing seems to work. There's nothing I can do about it.

This brings us to the concept of 'learned helplessness,' which is absolutely crucial to understand. This concept was vividly demonstrated by Dr. Martin Seligman at the University of Pennsylvania in the 1960s.

In the first part of the experiment, dogs were restrained in a harness and subjected to electric shocks. We're interested in comparing two groups of dogs: one group could stop the shocks by pressing a lever, while the other group had no way to control or escape the shocks, regardless of their actions.

And then, the key part of the experiment: both groups of dogs were put in the same environment - a shuttle box divided by a low barrier. The only thing they needed to do to escape the shocks in this situation was to jump over a low hurdle.

The researchers observed a striking difference: the dogs that had control over the shocks in the first part quickly learned to jump the barrier to escape, while the dogs with no prior control in most cases remained passive. They lay down and whined, not even attempting to escape.

Now, why is this relevant for people who stutter? Obviously, because I believe all of us, at least at some point, have experienced that feeling where you’re trying to do something about it, but it’s not working — you still stutter. So, as people who stutter, we are exposed to this learned helplessness.

It's a big question whether we develop it or not, and to what extend. But one thing is clear: we are all exposed to it, and that’s something we need to realize.

It's very easy to develop this internal state where we say, 'Don’t suggest anything new; I’ve tried everything, and nothing works!'

And that’s very rational, because we don’t want to waste our energy or effort on something that doesn’t produce results. Especially after trying so many things: someone promised a cure, someone promised improvement, and yet nothing changed. So why would I bother trying again?

#2 wants to improve

The second type of people stutter is just the opposite — they want to improve and change.

Coming back to the learned helplessness experiment with the dogs: those who developed learned helplessness weren’t completely hopeless. So, what the researchers did was physically move the dogs over the hurdle, over the barrier, several times to help them develop a new understanding — a new feeling, a new feedback: 'Wow, you can escape; there is a choice.'

In our case, with people who stutter, there is a way to speak on your terms — where you decide and take the lead.

And the way to develop this is not through some miracle, a magic pill, or a quick fix — whether that’s medication, a device, or an app. There is no instant cure for stuttering that changes everything. What we need is to expose ourselves to new experiences where we feel there is a choice, where speaking becomes a source of relaxation, not tension.

That exposure brings about new feelings and develops a new emotional state that we're aiming to have while speaking and interacting.

#3 just lives with it

Type number three, group number three of people who stutter — they manage to deal with stuttering.

It's a broad spectrum. Within this group, there are a lot of people who still stutter but have managed to find a job, build relationships, got married.

In this group, I also include people who call themselves 'ex-stutterers' or say, 'I overcame it.' Personally, I don’t think it’s that beneficial to label yourself as an ex-stutterer, because what that implies is that you’re now a fluent person. And it’s tricky.

When you say, 'I’m fluent' or try to prove to everyone how fluent you are, at the same time, you might feel cautious, uncertain — wanting to speak fluently and then run away. This isn’t quite the emotional state you want to have, because that avoidance, that escaping, and playing it safe—that’s the stuttering state. It’s easy to relapse and return to that first group, where we feel bad and hopeless.

#4 is proud of it

Group number four consists of people who advocate for open stuttering and acceptance, claiming that stuttering is not a problem — it’s just part of who they are and how they speak. They believe we shouldn’t be ashamed of it or hide it. The idea here may be that if stuttering isn’t a problem, then why work on it? There's no point; we can just speak with our stutter and that’s it.

And if we come back to the relationship with stuttering, the first group has a very negative relationship — panic and feeling very bad about it. The second group is hopeful, believing we can explore and do something about it. The third group manages and deals with it, and they continue to live their life. The fourth group says, 'It’s not a problem, we don’t need to do anything about it.'

Again, this is a great conscious choice, and I respect this idea. I do believe that becoming free from stuttering is a path of acceptance, but there are different types and kinds of acceptance.

Actually, my view and my path combine elements of the fourth and second categories. When you focus solely on acceptance without addressing how your body and brain respond, they can react automatically in their own way. You can say, 'I’m not ashamed of it, let’s go for it,' but some part of your body or brain might respond differently.

So, when we combine it with helping our body and brain, it becomes much easier to truly accept it. When stuttering happens, when a glitch occurs — no worries, it’s not a problem! It then becomes not just a conscious approach, but also an automated response.

Don't stay in #1

Category number five is neurogenic stuttering, which we mentioned at the very beginning. People with neurogenic stuttering experience more consistent stuttering, typically due to more structural damage in the brain.

Of course, this is very fluid. Personally, I started in group #1, then read books about stuttering, learned various techniques, and moved to category #3. I got married, found a job. But at some point, I realized that stuttering was still holding me back in my career, so I moved back to group #2 and attended a speech program for stuttering. Later, I learned about open stuttering (group #4) and began incorporating those ideas into my life as well.

What I can say for sure is that the first group is not where we want to be. All of my content is aimed at helping you move from the first category into the second, third, or fourth — you pick, you choose. You can go back and forth between these, but please, don't stay in the first one.

There’s a lot we can do about stuttering and speaking. No matter which path you choose — whether it's more acceptance, more openness, or more focus on your speaking — it can be a very transformative and rewarding process.

I have a separate video about 10 facts about stuttering, where you can learn, for example, that people who stutter have been politicians, actors, musicians, singers, and even the president of the United States!

You can be anything you want to be. Don't let stuttering be an excuse for not leaving your life fully and truly.

Speaking and life in general doesn't have to be painful; it doesn't have to be a struggle. We want to feel present both in that speaking moment and in your life, where you feel that you truly belong here.

Which type of people who stutter are you? Maybe I forgot some type, maybe you had quite a journey moving back and forth — please leave a comment and share!