Stuttering Foundation
Furthermore, the sex distribution of the older preschooler is already different. Hence, several clinical predictors for recovery/persistence, such as stuttering severity or using nonwords to form rhymes — two means suggested by Walsh
et.al (2021) based on studies of 4-5-year olds, are, most likely, not applicable to 2- year- olds who are just a few weeks or months into stuttering.
Pertaining to the above is another important age-related phenomenon: the well-known high male-to-female ratio in the stuttering population. Whereas the initial ratio of 2 males to 1 female among 2 to 3-year-old children who stutter (Yairi & Ambrose 1999; 2005), it widens during the sequential preschool years and beyond, eventually reaching to 4/1 or 5/1 (Bloodstein, Bernstein, & Brundage, 2021). Among other consequences, the increased male-to-female ratio as a function of age in experimental child samples consisting of older preschoolers (4 and 5 years of age) lower the real percent of natural recovery as well as affecting other data. Specifically, the older the initial sample of preschoolers, their percent of females is smaller and, therefore, so is the level of their natural recovery. This, in turn, could lead to inadequate predicting factors if/ when applied to the younger preschool population as mentioned above.
Stuttering Foundation PreSchool Sex Breakdown
PSAge 2
3 4 5
PSSex F
M F M F M F M
PSCount Age Ratio Total Ratio 2
1,294 1,914
3,208 3
2,217 4,449
6,666 4
1,413 3,878
5,291 5
1,010 2,856
3,866
Overall Male Ratio: Overall Female Ratio: Total Count:
68.82% 31.18% 19,031
PSSex F
F F F
M40.34 %1,914 6.80 % 59.66 %
M33.26 %4,44911.65 % 66.74 %
3,208 2,217
M26.71 %3,878 7.42 % 73.29 %
6,666 1,413
M26.13 %2,856 5.31 % 73.87 %
5,291 1,010
3,866
Overall Male Ratio: Overall Female Ratio: Total Count:
68.82% 31.18% 19,031
23.38 % 20.38 % 15.01 % 10.06 %
40.34 % 59.66 %
33.26 % 66.74 %
26.71 % 73.29 %
26.13 % 73.87 %
PreSchool Sex Breakdown
(From
StutteringHelp.org IR Requests) PSAge
6.80 % 10.06 %
11.65 % 23.38 %
7.42 % 20.38 % 5.31 % 15.01 % (From
StutteringHelp.org IR Requests)
PSCount Age Ratio Total Ratio 1,294
P
This chart is longitudinal data from preschool parents collected by the Stuttering Foundation over a period of more than 20 years.
Yairi and Ambrose (2005) also called attention to the age-related brain phenomenon known as pruning that begins prior to birth and continues during the early years of life. It pertains to nonconductive,
Printed: 03/27/2026 8:0 4 Prin
The Age Factor in Stuttering: Exploring Risk Factors and Implications of Age
SFA RESEARCH . SPRING 2026
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