Many children exhibit disfluencies during which phase of speech development?

Children often exhibit disfluencies during the phase of learning to speak because this is a critical time when they are developing their language skills and trying to construct sentences and express their thoughts. During this stage, children may have not yet mastered the coordination of the various components required for fluent speech, such as phonological awareness, articulation, and the timing of language production.

This period is marked by significant growth and experimentation with language, which can lead to interruptions, repetitions, and hesitations as they work to grasp new vocabulary and sentence structures. The process of learning to speak involves a natural phase where children are figuring out how to articulate their thoughts effectively, leading to common disfluencies. This is part of normal speech development, as they are learning to navigate the complexities of language communication.

While disfluencies can also occur in other contexts, such as learning new words or during social interactions, the foundational stage of learning to speak is particularly notable for the prevalence of such speech disruptions.