Speech disfluency

Alright, kiddo. Do you know what it means when we keep pausing or repeating words while talking? That's called speech disfluency. Sometimes, we may say "um," "ah," or "like" a lot while talking because we're thinking of what to say next. Other times, we may repeat a word or a sound, like "t-t-t-today," because our brains are having trouble coordinating the movements of our mouth and throat to make the sound.

Everyone can have some speech disfluency sometimes, and it's not a big deal. But for some people, it happens a lot and can be frustrating or make it hard for them to get their point across. That's when a speech therapist can help them learn exercises and techniques to improve their speech fluency. They might also help them work on reducing stress or anxiety that can contribute to speech disfluency.