How is stuttering different from apraxia of speech?
Apraxia of speech (AOS) is a sequencing disorder making it difficult for individuals to say a string of sounds. While a speaker with AOS may have no problem saying a word like “paw”, there would be difficulty in saying “popular” due to the several syllables it contains. Individuals who have apraxia of speech know what they want to say, but the tongue movements to create the appropriate sounds become difficult to coordinate. Those who stutter have a similar difficulty of not being able to get out the sounds they want to say, but the trouble is less about coordination and sequencing, and more about tension and airflow. For individuals with AOS, longer words and sentences are more difficult than shorter ones; for those who stutter, the length of the word or phrase is mostly irrelevant-- is it more so the sounds, and particularly the initial ones.
Samuel L. Jackson is a Black actor who stutters. He reports that he was able to overcome it through acting.
As airflow is the foundation of speech, when the airflow is obstructed due to tension and uncontrolled closing of oral muscles, the sound produced is compromised.
Craig Skistimas, also known as Stuttering Craig, the co-founder of ScrewAttack which is a production company for video games.
The adored pig from Looney Tunes, Porky Pig, has a stutter. It has been found that he stutters 23% of his spoken words and uses a wide variety of stuttering types.
Stuttering affects around 70 million people worldwide, so yes of course there is going to be a comedian who stutters.
The National Stuttering Association (https://westutter.org/) is a good website to find news about stuttering. The ‘Stuttering Foundation’ is another website that provides the most up to date news (https://www.stutteringhelp.org)
News reporter John Stossel is a news reporter who stuttered. News reporter and journalist Byron Pitts also stutter.
There are two general philosophies of stuttering treatment: Fluency shaping, and Stuttering acceptance
When an individual stutters, the voice may change as there is additional tension on the vocal folds and on the musculature surrounding it.