Which term best describes an individual’s difficulty with fluency, such as stuttering?

The term that best describes an individual's difficulty with fluency, such as stuttering, is indeed a speech disorder. Speech disorders encompass a range of issues related to the production of speech sounds, fluency, and voice quality. Stuttering specifically falls under the category of fluency disorders, which are characterized by interruptions in the flow of speech. This can manifest as repetitions of sounds, syllables, or words, as well as disruptions known as blocks.

Language disorders, on the other hand, typically refer to issues related to understanding or producing language at the level of vocabulary, grammar, or pragmatics, rather than the physical act of speaking. Aphasia is a form of language disorder that affects a person's ability to communicate due to brain damage, typically acquired from a stroke or injury, affecting comprehension and expression of language, rather than fluency. Neurodivergence refers to variations in the human brain regarding sociability, learning, mood, and other mental functions, which can include various conditions like autism or ADHD, but it does not specifically address issues related to speech fluency.

Thus, the classification of stuttering as a speech disorder accurately captures the nature of the difficulty experienced by individuals with fluency issues.