Below the Surface: Treating the Emotional Aspects of Stuttering

[ Contents | Next | Previous | Up ]


Re: Emotional Aspects of Stuttering

From: Woody Starkweather
Date: 10/23/01
Time: 7:35:04 AM
Remote Name: 64.12.101.158

Comments

Hi Brenda:

It's just that there is as yet no evidence of a genetic etiology, although genetics obviously play a role in stuttering as they do in all developmental behavior. And, although the etiology of stuttering is certainly in some sense neurological, there is no clear evidence of it yet. The recent brain imaging studies only show that stutterers function differently with regard to speech, which was clear to us before. I don't mean to imply that the brain imaging research should not be done; indeed it has been very illuminating. But many of the researchers (not all) have vastly overinterpreted their results. At the moment, what we know is that stuttering begins in some way, presumably a neurodevelopmental glitch of some type, and then develops and grows as a result of learning and conditioning as the child reacts to the problem. The development of stuttering has always been the most important aspect of it. The etiology is nearly irrelevant.

Woody


Last changed: September 12, 2005