Stuttering is characterized by an uneven rate of speech, pauses, and/or repeated words, syllables or sounds (NIH). In comparison to normal stuttering, disfluencies typically last longer than 6six months. Secondary behaviorsbehaviours can also occur because of the stutter. These include physical tension, emotional reactions, speech anxiety, low self esteemself-esteem, avoidance of speaking or frustration (Neumann 2017). These broad behaviorsbehaviours and variability of stuttering make it a challenging disorder to study and treat.
Rehan’s symptoms included prolongations of syllables and abnormal pauses. Rehan never knows when he is going to stutter and often experienced secondary behaviorsbehaviours. There were periods in his life where he wouldn’t stutter at all, and other times, he stuttered quite often and felt frustrated all the time. After he stutters, he mentions he sometimes feel regret or shame. As a child, he preferred reading over talking in school and avoided asking questions because of his stutter. He also constantly thinks about conversations before they even happen.