![\"dsc_4459\"](\"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/DSC_4459.jpg\")
Curtin University researchers are on the hunt for the genes which may be responsible for stuttering, believing genetics, rather than environmental or behavioural factors, may trigger the disorder which affects approximately 11 per cent of Australia\u2019s population.<\/p>\n
Associate Professor Janet Beilby, from Curtin\u2019s School of Psychology and Speech Pathology, said the hunt to identify the genes which may be responsible for the condition would see researchers examine saliva samples from 4,000 participants over the next two years.<\/p>\n
\u201cStuttering is a problem in the ongoing rhythm of speech where a person knows exactly what they want to say but involuntarily loses control of their speech muscle patterns just as they are about to speak,\u201d Associate Professor Beilby said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt manifests itself as either repetitive speech or a dragging or cessation of speech but individuals are perfectly eloquent if they are singing, whispering or talking in time to a beat.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe still don\u2019t know what causes stuttering but the overall consensus is that it is a complex interplay between a multitude of factors.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we are doing now is hunting for the genetic markers for stuttering \u2013 we haven\u2019t found them yet but the hunt is proving very interesting because it is uncovering a lot of unique findings, one of which is a strong penetrance in Western Australian families.\u201d<\/p>\n
The study builds upon Associate Professor Beilby\u2019s 2014 research project on stuttering.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn England or Europe you may find only a couple of people across a few generations of the same family who stutter but in WA we are finding an increased penetrance with a whole generation of young people with these particular symptoms,\u201d Associate Professor Beilby said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor this new study, we are seeking participants who stutter but are especially keen to collect samples from multiple generations of people who stutter in the same family \u2013 their stories and data will go a long way to potentially identifying the gene responsible for the debilitating condition.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ultimate aim of the study is to identify which genes are responsible for stuttering so it can be screened for and children identified at risk can be monitored and offered early intervention as needed. This would prevent the \u2018watch and wait\u2019 approach currently utilised and which often results in the disorder being strengthened over time until it is too intractable to treat.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople who stutter start to do so between two and three years of age when they are beginning to master adult speech development,\u201d Associate Professor Beilby said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the ideal age to nip it in the bud so if we can stop the child practising it, then we can set them up successfully for life.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithin the family cohorts we already have, there is a unique family whereby 15 members across four generations all stutter \u2013 imagine the impact this research could have on the lives of their future children.\u201d<\/p>\n
The research, which is funded by an AUD$391,000 grant from America\u2019s National Institute of Health, is being conducted at Curtin University Stuttering Treatment Clinic in collaboration with Dr Shelly Jo Kraft from Wayne State University, Detroit.<\/p>\n
For more information, email Dr Janet Beilby on j.beilby@curtin.edu.au<\/a> or visit the Curtin Stuttering Clinic website at http:\/\/healthsciences.curtin.edu.au\/schools-and-departments\/psychology-and-speech-pathology\/clinical-services\/stuttering-clinic\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Curtin researchers are on the hunt for the genes which may be responsible for stuttering, believing genetics, rather than environmental or behavioural factors, may trigger the disorder.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4275,"featured_media":10609,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_research-areas":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[],"research-areas":[],"class_list":["post-18728","media-release","type-media-release","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-and-global-community","category-research"],"acf":{"post_options":{"":null,"additional_content":{"title":"","content":"","image":false},"related_courses":false,"credits":{"author":"","photographer":{"title":"Alana Blowfield","url":"#","target":""},"media":false},"display_author":true,"banner":{"image":false}}},"featured_image":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/DSC_4459-720x500.jpg","author_meta":{"first_name":"Curtin","last_name":"University","display_name":"Curtin University"},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media-release\/18728","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media-release"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/media-release"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4275"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media-release\/18728\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10609"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18728"},{"taxonomy":"research-areas","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/research-areas?post=18728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}