Diagnostic features of Childhood-Onset Fluency Disorder includes:

• Broken words (e.g., pauses within a word)
• Audible or silent blocking (e.g., filled or unfilled pauses in speech)
• Circumlocutions (e.g., word substitutions to avoid problematic words)
• Words produced with an excess of physical tension
• Monosyllabic whole-word repetitions (e.g., "I-I-I-I see him")

These disturbances in normal fluency vary from situation to situation and often is more severe when there is special pressure to communicate (i.e., giving a report at school, interviewing for a job)