According to studies, speech disorders with unknown causes (idiopathic) affect approximately 5% of the population at some point in their life. Some of these disorders like, stuttering and cluttering, are known for being detected early, during speech development.

Stuttering is characterized by sound and syllable repetitions and consonant/vowel prolongations. When stuttering is moderate to severe, it can interfere with a person's job and social activities.

Speech articulation disorders are characterized by omissions, or substitutions of speech sounds. The speech of a person who clutters is often difficult to understand. People are often unaware of the errors they make when speaking causing treatment of the condition to be very difficult.

The purpose of this research is to study an extended family whose members exhibit a pure form of speech articulation disorders

In addition, the study will use data and information gathered from the study and use it to develop guidelines (criteria) for defining and differentiating patients with speech disorders.

Condition
Developmental Articulation Disorder Speech Disorder Stuttering

The purpose of this protocol is to examine factors involved in the development of speech disorders -- stuttering and familial phonological processing disorder. Both disorders are developmental and occur during the critical period of speech development between 2.5 and 12 years of age. The majority of children affected with stuttering recover spontaneously during the critical period. Because of previous difficulties with definitions of cluttering, we have renamed the syndrome we are comparing with stuttering as a familial phonological processing disorder (FPPD). When symptoms persist, both stuttering and FPPD become life long chronic disorders. Our purpose is to determine which factors are involved in the development of these disorders and are associated with a familial pattern of inheritance.

Genders Eligible for Study:  Both

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Criteria

INCLUSION CRITERIA:
Developmental stuttering with onset prior to puberty with or without subsequent recovery.
Developmental phonological disorders includes speech sound omissions or errors during conversational speech with poor error awareness with or without subsequent recovery.
EXCLUSION CRITERIA:
Individuals who developed stuttering following brain injury.

Maryland
      National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), 9000 Rockville Pike,  Bethesda,  Maryland,  20892,  United States; Recruiting

Study ID Numbers:  960088; 96-N-0088
Record last reviewed:  May 21, 2004
Last Updated:  May 21, 2004
Record first received:  November 3, 1999
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:  NCT00001551
Health Authority: United States: Federal Government
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on 2004-11-08