Will Stuttering in Children Harm Development?

A new study shows that stuttering will not necessarily harm or slow the brain development of children in school. In fact, according to an Australian study, researchers found that preschool kids who stutter may actually do better in school and develop language and non-verbal skills when they aren't as distressed by this language barrier. 

The American Speech Language Association shows that stuttering affects the fluency of speech and begins during childhood, with some cases that can last throughout life. This disorder is regularly characterized by disruptions in the production of speech sounds called "disfluencies." Most people produce brief disfluencies from time to time, according to the organization, but some words are repeated and others are preceded by "um" or "ugh." This speech can cause complications in communication with others.

Researchers from the University of Melbourne, Murdoch Children's Research Institute and the University of Sydney looked at 1600 children. Study participants were followed from birth to the time when they were four years old. The study group showed that approximately 11 percent of the children stuttered while talking.

At four years, children who stuttered showed signs of good language skills and non-verbal abilities. Yet there were also no signs of emotional distress in these children, as researchers said their parents could take the "wait and watch" method before beginning any further treatments. (Various treatments for stuttering include speech therapy, psychological counseling and electronic devices.)

"Current best practice recommends waiting for 12 months before commencing treatment, unless the child is distressed, there is parental concern, or the child becomes reluctant to communicate. It may be that for many children treatment could be deferred slightly further," Professor Sheena Reilly, lead researcher of the study said, via a press release.

"Treatment is effective but is intensive and expensive, this watchful recommendation would therefore help target allocation of scarce resources to the small number of children who do not resolve and experience adverse outcomes, secure in the knowledge that delaying treatment for a year or slightly longer has been shown not to compromise treatment efficacy."

More information regarding the study can be found in the journal Pediatrics.