For Kids Who Stutter, Rhythm Perception May Be Key
For Kids Who Stutter, Rhythm Perception May Be Key
By Amy Norton
HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, May 27, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Children who stutter may have difficulty perceiving musical rhythms, a small study suggests.
Researchers say the findings could offer some clues to the origins of the speech problem -- and even hint at potential therapies.
The study, reported online recently in the journal Brain & Language, involved 17 children with stuttering and 17 without. The investigators found that kids with the speech disorder tended to have trouble distinguishing drumbeat patterns during a computer game.
Exactly what it all means is not clear. "But our hypothesis is, children with stuttering have difficulty with internal rhythm generation," said researcher Devin McAuley, a professor of psychology at Michigan State University, in East Lansing.
That's important, he explained, because our ability to keep a rhythm is one of the keys to speaking fluently.
However, the study does not prove that problems with perceiving rhythm actually cause stuttering, McAuley said.
Heather Grossman, clinical director of the American Institute for Stuttering, in New York City, emphasized that point.
Difficulty with perceiving rhythm could be something that commonly goes along with stuttering and is caused by "something more central in the brain," Grossman said.
It's also possible that the stuttering comes first. When a child starts stuttering, Grossman explained, the brain organizes around the habit. "Differences in rhythm perception might be a byproduct of that," she said.
Around 5 percent of all children stutter at some point in their lives -- usually beginning between the ages of 2 and 5, according to the U.S. National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Most kids outgrow the problem, with only about 1 percent of all adults affected by persistent stuttering.
At one time, stuttering was viewed as an emotional problem, Grossman said. But researchers now know that children who stutter show differences in how their brains process language.
Genetics is thought to play an important role, since stuttering tends to run in families, Grossman added.
Still, scientists do not completely understand the mechanisms behind stuttering. And the new study, McAuley said, appears to be the first to find that kids who stutter can have problems perceiving musical beats.
HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, May 27, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Children who stutter may have difficulty perceiving musical rhythms, a small study suggests.
Researchers say the findings could offer some clues to the origins of the speech problem -- and even hint at potential therapies.
The study, reported online recently in the journal Brain & Language, involved 17 children with stuttering and 17 without. The investigators found that kids with the speech disorder tended to have trouble distinguishing drumbeat patterns during a computer game.
Exactly what it all means is not clear. "But our hypothesis is, children with stuttering have difficulty with internal rhythm generation," said researcher Devin McAuley, a professor of psychology at Michigan State University, in East Lansing.
That's important, he explained, because our ability to keep a rhythm is one of the keys to speaking fluently.
However, the study does not prove that problems with perceiving rhythm actually cause stuttering, McAuley said.
Heather Grossman, clinical director of the American Institute for Stuttering, in New York City, emphasized that point.
Difficulty with perceiving rhythm could be something that commonly goes along with stuttering and is caused by "something more central in the brain," Grossman said.
It's also possible that the stuttering comes first. When a child starts stuttering, Grossman explained, the brain organizes around the habit. "Differences in rhythm perception might be a byproduct of that," she said.
Around 5 percent of all children stutter at some point in their lives -- usually beginning between the ages of 2 and 5, according to the U.S. National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Most kids outgrow the problem, with only about 1 percent of all adults affected by persistent stuttering.
At one time, stuttering was viewed as an emotional problem, Grossman said. But researchers now know that children who stutter show differences in how their brains process language.
Genetics is thought to play an important role, since stuttering tends to run in families, Grossman added.
Still, scientists do not completely understand the mechanisms behind stuttering. And the new study, McAuley said, appears to be the first to find that kids who stutter can have problems perceiving musical beats.
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