Stuttering is a highly misunderstood speech disorder that affects millions of people all over the world. It is nothing more than a neurological disorder that interferes with the fluency and production of speech. Apart from the dis-fluencies and disruptions in the speech, there is nothing wrong with people who stutter. In fact, even the answer to can stuttering be cured to some extent, is a major yes.

However, negative stereotypes and false assumptions about stammering still exists. These myths not only lead to discrimination and prejudice from the people but only affects the self-confidence of the ones who stutter.

On that note, here’s busting five of the most common myths about stuttering.

Myth 1. Stuttering is caused by stress and anxiety

Though anxiety and stress can worsen stuttering, it does not cause the condition. Thus, when questioning can stuttering be cured, the answer doesn’t lay in focusing solely on a person’s anxiety.

Stuttering usually starts in childhood, and the person might get many negative reactions due to it along the way. An important part of their treatment is to deal with the damaging reactions of others.

Myth 2. Stutterers just need to calm down before speaking

Telling a stutterer to calm down or relax is only going to worsen the problem and not solve it. It creates additional pressure in their minds that they will have to speak normally, which gives rise to nervousness. As mentioned earlier, nervousness can further increase the disruptions in the speech.

Myth 3. The stutterers are not the smartest people

Some of the famous names on the list of stutterers include Isaac Newton, Lewis Carroll, and Winston Churchill. No one would call these stalwarts as lacking in intelligence or smartness.

Stuttering has absolutely nothing to do with a person’s intelligence. It is a problem with speech fluency, which does not mean that a person is confused about their ideas.

Myth 4. Inexperienced parenting is a cause of stuttering

It is not the fault of the parents that their child stutters. Stress in the surroundings might increase stammering, but it’s never the cause. So, the answer to the question of can stuttering be cured does not always lead to addressing parenting skills.

Stuttering is often genetic, which means the child is prone to have it if the disorder runs in the family. But, it cannot be imitated from parents.

Myth 5. Can stuttering be cured?

One of the major queries about this speech disorder is can stuttering be cured, and the answer is not that simple. Though no cure is yet known for stuttering, a number of treatments have shown great results in increasing the fluency of their speech. Thus, dis-fluency cannot be cured but controlled to a great extent.

So, these were the myths about stuttering that people need to stop believing. These myths create nothing more than greater challenges for stutterers in various situations, and thus, it’s important for people to really make an effort to know more about this common speech disorder.