What is it about?

The paper is written from the point of view of epidemiology with a broad search of the literature to discuss the factors that result in persistent developmental stuttering. We revisit complications related to intermittent breakdown in oxygen which may be disruptive to neural mechanisms that support speech and speech fluency.

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Why is it important?

Addresses the need for an explanation of the cause of persistent stuttering, with a focus on perinatal trauma.

Perspectives

Writing this article was a great pleasure as I had an opportunity to work with an epidemiologist who is a person who stutters and who has extensive experience with large scale studies. The work was completed prior to my appointment at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center where excellent work regarding stuttering has been produced over the years. The bulk of the work representing my article was completed at my previous employ. We do not know at this time if the common feature in all persistent developmental stuttering is perinatal trauma. However, my former colleague and collaborater seeks to address whether perinatal trauma is the primary cause of all persistent developmental stuttering. The study is important because dependent on the significance of the association of trauma at birth, there would be support for a clear strategy for prevention of perinatal trauma as a straight forward method of reducing persistent stuttering in children.

Dr. Nola T. Radford
University of TN Health Science Center

Read the Original

This page is a summary of: Toward a Theory of Stuttering, European Neurology, January 2016, Karger Publishers,
DOI: 10.1159/000452215.
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