Does my stuttering cause my social anxiety?

We have looked long and hard, but we now believe that stuttering does not result from a special type of personality, nor is it caused by being depressed. read more

My best guess is that a person who stutters can have a social anxiety disorder also. It an be a contributing factor to social anxiety. Stuttering is multidimensional and impact or level of handicap may very significantly. It certainly can contribute social anxiety, limited social cohesion, isolation. Not necessarily the CAUSE of it. read more

But there is a link between stuttering and anxiety: In fact, the speech disorder can actually increase anxiousness. “If children become adults who stutter, anxiety and stress often become a part of the problem," says Tedra Walden, PhD, a professor in the department of psychology and human development at Vanderbilt. read more

Nonetheless, evidence does suggest that PWS have higher levels of social anxiety (Craig, 2000), in which the anxiety is more likely a consequence rather than a cause of stuttering. After all, speaking to others is an important social skill and experiencing an involuntary disruption to this skill will more than likely result in increased fears. read more

From a stuttering management perspective, we also now know that untreated social anxiety and other mental illnesses can increase the risk of relapse for people who’ve been successfully treated with an evidence-based speech restructuring treatment like the Camperdown Program (e.g. Iverach et al, 2009). read more