The Stuttering Foundation has kept accurate data on the calls it has received to date from concerned parents or family members of 18,260 preschool children who are reported to be stuttering.

The number of enquiries rises sharply at 3 years of age and then lessens for children aged 4 and then further reduces for children aged 5 years.  Across all ages, we receive more enquiries from parents of boys than we do of girls, reflecting what we know—that more boys stutter than girls (Bloodstein, 2008; Yairi, 2013).

When we look at the proportion of those children who are male and female, it is interesting to see that the ratio of females to males differs across the age groups, with proportionally fewer calls from parents of 5-year-old girls compared to 2 year olds.

Research has found that girls are more likely to recover from stuttering than boys (Yairi, 2013).  Our data lends further support to this.  Ongoing research with preschool children may shed more light on neurological development during these crucial preschool years.

Since 1984, the Stuttering Foundation has been fielding phone calls from people who stutter (and their families and friends) from all over the world! Basic data collected from those phone calls continue to help advance global stuttering research for children and adults alike.

From the Fall 2021 Magazine

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