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Causes of Stuttering


There are a lot of factors that may cause stuttering in a person. The root cause usually lies in speech development during childhood. Some of the causes of the condition include:

  • Problems in Speech Development: Young children often stutter because they have not completely developed their language. If the stuttering is caused simply because of a lack of complete language and speech development, most children are able to outgrow such limitations. By the time a child is four years old, they would be able to speak without stuttering.
  • Brain Abnormalities: Often, this condition runs through generations. Though this is generally not genetic, some people may have a genetic anomaly in the language center of the brain. This makes them stutter and if the anomaly is genetic, it could be hereditary.
  • Brain Injuries: The brain has a language center and often, a stroke or a brain injury may affect it. This means that if you have a stroke or injure your head, it is quite possible that you may develop speech impediments. Other kinds of physical trauma may also cause speech problems.
  • Deteriorating Mental Health: Though this is rare, emotional trauma or deteriorating mental health may often cause speech problems. There was a time when it was believed that mental health problems were the only cause of stuttering. However, with the research that has been done over the years, it has become clear that such problems are rarely ever the cause of stuttering.

Stuttering
Signs & Symptoms
References
  1. Pirkko Rautakoski, Therese Hannus, Susanna Simberg, N. Kenneth Sandnabba, Pekka Santtila, Genetic and environmental effects on stuttering: A twin study from Finland, Journal of Fluency Disorders, Available online 28 February 2012, ISSN 0094-730X, 10.1016/j.jfludis.2011.12.003.
  2. Gerald A. Maguire, Christopher Y. Yeh, Brandon S. Ito, Overview of the Diagnosis and Treatment of Stuttering, Journal of Experimental & Clinical Medicine, Available online 2 March 2012, ISSN 1878-3317, 10.1016/j.jecm.2012.02.001.