What Is the Rate of Stuttering Recovery?

Discussion Stuttering is defined as to utter with involuntary repetition of sounds. This commonly occurs in young children especially of initial sounds (Li-li-li-like he can’t do that!) but it can be whole word repetition (Like-like-like he can’t do that!). Stuttering as a normal utterance markedly decreases by age 6, so by age 7 if the child has stuttering the child should be evaluated by a professional speech and language pathologist (SLP). Indications for referral to a SLP for stuttering and other problems can be found here. A recent review of stuttering epidemiology found: Initiation of stuttering occurs usually before age 5, most often around 3 years of age Females are more affected than males Higher socio-economic status has been shown to occur in some studies, but there are methodological problems with some of the studies Overall life incidence of 7-8%, and prevalence of <1% Genetic studies have found that ~70% of stuttering may be due to genetics and have found a variety of candidate genes on numerous chromosomes depending on the type of study. Treatment for stuttering in the past has tried a variety of pharmacological treatments with conflicting results as to efficacy and potentially serious negative side effects. Behavioral interventions with SLPs are the mainstay of treatment for patients and families. Behavioral treatment is defined as “…interventions that involve a change in speech behavior through (a) the direct modification of the ...
Source: PediatricEducation.org - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news