Normal disfluencies are speech interruptions everyone experiences when talking spontaneously. They happen occasionally and are usually brief. They do not disrupt communication and some, such as intentional pauses, may even enhance communication. Normal disfluencies sometimes become more noticeable when a person is nervous, unprepared, or unsure of what to say or how to say it. Unlike stuttering, normal disfluencies relate to language and thought formulation: they do not interfere with the ability to physically say words.
Preschool children will at times have more normal disfluencies than adults in their speech because their speech and language skills are in a process of development. Young children may not always have the vocabulary to express themselves, or they may be unsure about how to put together a sentence or which words to use or may be unable to “find” a word they know. An excessive number of normal disfluencies in a child’s speech should not be ignored, however, even if there is no stuttering. An excessive number of normal disfluencies would be noticed by parents who may wonder if the child is stuttering. Consultation with a Speech-Language Pathologist is recommended.
Preschool children who stutter will have normal disfluencies as well as stuttering in their speech. Usually, stuttering stands out to parents. Towards the end of therapy, when there is less to nearly no stuttering, parents may hear normal disfluencies and will sometimes assume that all repetitions are a form of stuttering. Normal disfluencies and stuttering are different from each other.
The following are examples of normal disfluencies:
Pause – e.g., “I want…chocolate.”
Filled pause – e.g., “It was um a circle.” “Like, like, he went up to the sky.”
Phrase repetition – e.g., “It was It was broken.”
Revision – e.g., “It was- He broke it.”
Word repetition – e.g., “Can Can we go outside?”
Normal disfluencies can become associated to stuttering. This is not usual for preschool children; however, normal disfluencies can become part of stuttering as children become aware that they stutter and attempt to hide or stop it from happening. A person may, for example, use a filler or multiple fillers in a row, repeat words or phrases, or revise when trying to move out of a stuttering block or trying to hide stuttering. These “normal disfluencies” take on a different quality – there can be a sense of pressure or urgency, repetitions can be multiple, and speech can be dysrhythmic. For example, “I’ll have a uh a uh a uh, you know, a uh a d-d-d-double. Yeah, double.” This is different from, “I’ll have, hmm, a double-double today.”
When in doubt, it is best to consult a Speech-Language Pathologist for assessment.