ABSTRACT: The causes of stuttering are unknown but neurological development, parental reaction, trauma and a predisposition to stuttering have all been suggested.

The Onset of Stuttering

Stammering was recognized as long ago as the 4th Century BCE, when the philosopher Aristotle regarded it as being caused by 'too thick a hard tongue' leading to malfunction. Today we would reject his conclusion regarding the cause but we must acknowledge that stammering is not a condition to which only modern people have been prone.

For any one individual, the onset of stuttering may be gradual or sudden. For most preschool children the onset is gradual. Any sudden onset in this age range is usually a result of some traumatic experience. It is also common for dysfluent people to have periods of fluency. The duration of these periods, however, can vary widely – ranging from mere minutes to weeks or months.

But what causes stuttering?

Unfortunately, there still remain no clear cut answers. Several suggestions have been put forward but no one proposal appears to provide a complete explanation. A few of these proposals are outlined below.

Stuttering Causes

Neurological development

Parents of young children may remark that 'the brain is racing ahead of the mouth' or something similar. In part, this may apply to children between 2;00-4;00 years of age. The infant's ability to co-ordinate the movements of their lips, mouth and tongue in a flowing, smooth and easy manner is much less well developed than their mental ability to think of what they want to say. This rationale may go some way to explaining why more males then females stutter, as we know that the neurological development of males is slower than that of females. However, as children mature neurologically, and develop greater control over their oral musculature, the suggestion that mental ability outstrips motor skills no longer provides a satisfactory answer as to the cause of a persistent stutter after the age of about 6;00 years.

Adult reaction

We have seen elsewhere (see The Nature of Stuttering) that the essential difference between a primary stutter and a secondary stutter is the speaker's awareness of the negative impact of his or her involuntary repetitions, prolongations and hesitations on communication. Children who exhibit a primary stutter have no such awareness. However, some adults (e.g. parents, teachers, carers) will be more alert to the disruptive features of a primary stammer and may react negatively to the child's speech. They may focus attention on the disruptions by asking the child to, "Say it again," "Slow down and think!" and so on. Thus, believing that a child is developing a stutter may cause adults to respond negatively to a child's speech. This may then creates anxiety in the child and aggravate any dysfluency.

Learning that their reactions may be exacerbating their child's stutter can lead to parents feeling guilty. However, there is really no need to feel this way. PARENTS DO NOT CAUSE THE STAMMER. There is also much that can be done to help young children who may be stuttering . We know that parents can have a tremendously positive effect on helping their child develop fluent speech.

A speech therapist's job is to help parents better understand stuttering so that they can respond to their child's dysfluency in ways that will help their child speak more fluently.Typically a speech therapist will work with parents, and other adults who care for the child, to demonstrate new ways of responding to the child's dysfluency and, thereby, minimize any potential negative effects.

Trauma

Most people who stutter find that the stutter becomes more severe under conditions of stress. Many traumatic experiences can create the psychological conditions that lead to the onset of stuttering. The stutter may persist even when the effects of the initial trauma have been minimized.

Predisposition

We know that stuttering may run in families and it appears that some people are predisposed to stutter whereas others are not. Under certain conditions of stress such people may begin to stutter because they are predisposed to do so.

In summary, some researchers consider the cause of stuttering to be psychological whereas others ascribe an organic basis. However, at present, the true cause (if indeed there is only one cause) remains unknown.