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From: Brian Humphrey
Date: 21 Oct 2005
Time: 12:30:54 -0500
Remote Name: 137.52.96.68
Very general questions are often easy to ask but difficult to answer. The literal answer to this question is: Yes, stuttering can increase or decrease during adolescence. That's not a very helpful answer, but perhaps the answers to some related questions may be more helpful: Can we predict what will happen for a given individual? Not really. Variability across situations and over time are hallmarks of stuttering. However, for an individual who continues to stutter into adolescence, stuttering is more likely to become a lifelong issue; and feelings and attitudes about speaking and stuttering may become more significant components of the individual's stuttering problem. Can treatment help an adolescent who stutters gain fluency control and/or communicate more effectively? Yes - provided the individual in question is ready for treatment. Adolescence is a time of change, and for some individuals, stuttering problems may be less of a priority during adolescence than before or after adolescence. Support groups can also be helpful for adolescents who stutter. "Friends", a national association of young people who stutter, organizes an annual convention and publishes a newsletter called "Reaching Out". Information about "Friends" and "Reaching Out may be found at: www.friendswhostutter.org