What causes stuttering?

Answer 1

Charles Van Riper, one of the early pioneers of stuttering research and treatment, once paraphrased Winston Churchill by stating that stuttering is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma." Today, the cause of developmental stuttering still eludes us, although many of the layers of the riddle are slowly starting to come unwrapped. A very influential theory of stuttering, which had its origins in the 1950s and was promoted by Wendell Johnson at Iowa University, proposed that stuttering was the result of negative reactions by parents or other people in the child's immediate environment to normal developmental disfluencies. As a result, parents were often advised to ignore early signs of stuttering and told that if left alone, a child would spontaneously outgrow his or her speech difficulties. Even today, many parents still receive this message when they express concern about their child’s early signs of stuttering.

We now know that factors such as traumatic life events, illness or other environmental factors may act as triggers for the onset of stuttering in some individuals. Other variables, such as anticipatory anxiety or listener reactions may influence the development and maintenance of stuttering. It is widely accepted today, however, that children who develop stuttering must have a predisposition to the disorder that is biological in nature and, in many instances, genetic. The nature of this predisposition is most likely to be found in brain processes involved in the planning and execution of speech movements. Several observations point directly or indirectly to such a neurobiological etiology:

* The reported incidence of stuttering is around 5 percent worldwide, regardless of language, culture or particular child-rearing practices within a culture.

* The sex ratio for stuttering is about four males to every female. This male predominance for the speech disorder is similar to many other biologically-based disorders such as Tourette's syndrome, congenital deafness, learning disabilities, and Down syndrome, to name a few.

* Acquired stuttering, which can develop in patients with brain trauma, strokes or neurodegenerative diseases who previously were fluent speakers, provides clear evidence for the role of neural systems in the control of speech fluency.

* A number of medical drugs are known to affect speech fluency in people who stutter. Trials are underway to investigate the therapeutic potential of some of these drugs.

* There is clear evidence for the role of genetic influences in the onset and development of stuttering. Research on twins has shown clearly that the concordance for stuttering in twins is far higher than for non-twin siblings who grow up in the same family. Family studies also have demonstrated a clear genetic inheritance pattern spanning various generations. Up to 75 percent of persons who stutter have family members who stutter or who have stuttered in the past.

* Atypical motor patterns in person who stutter can be observed not only during moments of disfluencies, but also during perceptually fluent speech, suggesting the presence of a pervasive underlying speech motor control deficiency. A number of investigations also have provided evidence that the motor control problems are not limited to oral articulatory movements but may extent to sequential movements executed by the fingers, hands and limbs as well.

Recently a number of research groups, including the one in our lab, have started to use modern functional neuroimaging technology such as positron emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate differences in neural activation between people who stutter and those who do not. The results from these investigations have revealed some interesting differences in how the brain is active in people with stuttering difficulties. Stuttering individuals typically show a general overactivation of the neural systems involved in motor control, including the cerebellum. Many of these neural systems are known to cause difficulties with speech motor control and disruptions of speech fluency in patients who suffer damage to these areas. Conditions that enhance fluency, such as speaking in unison with someone else or behavioural fluency treatment, seem to result in a partial normalization of the activation in these cortical and subcortical regions.

Research is currently underway to analyze these observed activation differences in more detail. Undoubtedly, this work will yield a better understanding of how brain processes are involved in the control of speech fluency. More importantly, it could clarify what deficiencies in these processes, either at the system or cellular level, or both, result in stuttering. We already know that intervention early in the development of stuttering can be very effective, whereas treatment at an older age is often much more difficult and prone to relapse. A better understanding of the brain processes underlying fluency disorders should allow us to develop more effective intervention tools for the treatment of this often devastating speech disorder..

Answer 2

What causes stuttering? There are four factors most likely to contribute to the development of stuttering: genetics ( approximately 60% of those who stutter have a family member who does also); child development (children with other speech and language problems or developmental delays are more likely to stutter); neurophysiology ( recent research has shown that people who stutter process speech and language in different areas of the brain than those who do not stutter); and family dynamics ( high expectations and fast-paced lifestyles can contribute to stuttering).

Stuttering may occur when a combination of factors comes together and may have different causes in different people. It is probable that what causes stuttering differs from what makes it continue or get worse.

Answer 3

stuttering is caused when the person thinks too fast about what thier gonna say while talking. when that happens they basically going into an overload where thier mouth cannot catch up with what the brain is wanting to say. If someone you know has a stuttering problem just stop them and tell them to calm down a little bit and talk slower. i used to have a bad stuttering problem and that is what my speach therapist taught me.

Answer 4

I stuttered for over 21 years. Mine was a cause of nervousness, anxiety and childhood abuse. If I found myself the center of attention or discussion, it became worse. I had a series of repeat words I would always use"and then" Uh"sometime the event would cause facial distortions in trying to get the words out. People would slap me on the arm or back and and say"spit it out" or "slow down " which would just make it worse.
I listed stuttering on my Jr. college application and received the help I needed. The Speech Therapist taught me ways to handle stress to speak calmly. She also got to the root of the problem and recommended counseling. She noticed certain topics brought serious bouts of stuttering.
I went through the public school system and never received help. My parents always told me I would out grow it.

Answer 5

The exact cause of stuttering remains to be determined. Recent studies suggest that genetic factors play a role in the disorder. It is thought that many, if not most, individuals who stutter inherit traits that predispose them to develop stuttering. The exact nature of these traits is presently unclear. Whatever the traits are, they obviously impair the individual's ability to string together the various muscle movements that are necessary to produce sentences fluently.

According to current thinking, not everyone who is predisposed to stutter will develop the disorder. For many people who are predisposed to stutter, certain life events are thought to "trigger" fluency difficulty. One of the triggers for developmental stuttering may be the acquisition of grammar skills. Between the ages of 2 and 5 years, children acquire many of the grammatical rules of language. These rules allow children to transform immature messages (Mommy candy.) into lengthy sentences that require considerable coordination to produce fluently (Mommy put the candy in my backpack.). Thus, a child who is predisposed to stutter may have no difficulty speaking fluently when the sentences he or she produces are all one or two words long. However, when the child becomes capable of producing longer, more complex sentences and then attempts to use such sentences in daily settings, he or she may find that the speech system is not quite up to the challenge - and disfluent speech results.

After stuttering has begun, other factors may act to maintain or aggravate fluency difficulty. For example, a child who is easily frustrated may be more likely to tighten or tense speech muscles when disfluencies occur and such tension may increase the length of time a disfluency lasts. Listeners' responses to stuttering (e.g., teasing) can aggravate fluency difficulties as well. Speakers who stutter vary widely in how they react to the disfluencies in their speech. Some appear to be minimally concerned. Others - especially those who have encountered unfavorable reactions from listeners - may develop emotional responses to stuttering that hinder speech production further. Examples of these emotions include shame, embarrassment, and anxiety.

Answer 6

nervousness, anxiety, and self insecurity around other people. . .it is a known fact that people with stuttering problems speak perfectly normal when they are talking to themselves or to an animal. . .

Answer 7

number of things. for me its stress/anxiety. when I Get nervous or shy I start to studder.

Some people have medical reason for studdering (brain damage due to something and such)

lots of reasons for studdering but usualy phychological.
if I run into a cute guy , no one can comprehend my speach lol

Answer 8

I have found that it is often caused by the person trying to get their point across while being "overtalked" by another. Often a younger sibling.
This becomes habitual.