November 2002

Project looks at cause of stuttering

A Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) research program aims to discover what causes stuttering in children.

Research will be conducted at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) and led by clinicians and researchers from the hospital’s Speech Pathology Department.

Using a multi-disciplinary approach researchers will:

• For the first time, examine brain function in children who stutter through neuro-imaging (functional MRI);

• Investigate the relationship between epilepsy and stuttering;

• Explore genetic links.

Stuttering is a common developmental disorder and occurs in about one per cent of the overall population, while between five and 15 per cent of children stutter at some point in childhood.

Six-year-old Andrew Monagle and his mother, Christine, were present at the research launch.

Christine had a slight stutter, now under control.

Andrew’s stutter was treated in the Speech Pathology Department at the RCH using conventional methods.

When these methods failed an EEG examination was conducted to check for other causes.

This revealed abnormal electrical activity in the area of his brain that deals with speech.

Anti-epileptic medication was prescribed and his stutter disappeared.

Andrew’s sister also stuttered and responded to conventional treatment.

This family’s experiences illustrate the different pathways that may result in stuttering.

The fact that stuttering occurs among family members is of interest to researchers.

There is also increasing interest in the fact that there may be anomalies in the speech and language areas of the brain in people who stutter.

Professor Vicki Anderson will investigate this by applying fMRI (functional MRI) technology for the first time to children who stutter.