UD is teaming up with the University of Michigan to enhance data collection for the study which will begin after the school year starts in late September or early October. 

“We have access to the largest neuroimaging data set in the world so we can do this type of research,” Chow said. “We have sufficient preliminary data to show there’s a possibility that there are different subgroups in children who stutter.” 

For now, study participants will include children who stutter between the ages of 6 to 13 years old, but researchers may lower the age range to include children ages 3 to 5 years old to account for stuttering onset. 

“If we want to understand why some children recover from stuttering and why some children have persistent stuttering, we must start with a younger age group so we can follow them for a number of years,” Chow said. 

Studies have shown young boys, who are lagging most in speech language and motor development, have an increased risk of stuttering persisting into adulthood. Family history and genetics are also factors in stuttering persistence. 

But brain structure and function are believed to be at the core of the speech disorder. In a past genetics study, Chow said brain imaging showed an abnormality in the subcortical areas and the corpus callosum, which connects the left and right sides of the brain, permitting communication. 

“We don’t know exactly why that affects speech, but if the corpus callosum is related to stuttering, we can decide different therapies to enhance the connection between the left and right hemispheres of the brain,” Chow said.

Another portion of the brain that may be tied to stuttering includes the basal ganglia which plays a critical role in motor learning, behavior, and emotion.  

Their findings will help speech-language pathologists best allocate limited resources and ultimately impact treatment for children who stutter. 

“Once we confirm the neural subtypes associated with stuttering based on the atypicality in each subtype, we can determine the most effective therapies for children who stutter,” Chow said. “Depending on what kind of behavior characteristics and anatomical structures are associated with each subtype of stuttering, we can design different therapies.” 

While this five-year research grant focuses on children whose stuttering persists, UD is in a unique position to study the complex human social behavior on various levels.

“Stuttering involves genetics, neurology, psychology, and individual labs may focus on one of those levels,” Usler said. “At UD, we can look across those different levels by examining gene mutations in animal models, neuroimaging of young children, and behavior and EEG activity to determine how cognition and motivation in real-time during various speaking tasks may affect whether one has a moment of stuttering or how severe the stutter may be.”

Determining specific neural subtypes associated with how stuttering manifests in each child, Usler said, will lead to better clinical decisions at UD’s Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic and beyond. 

“What if we find neural risk factors of stuttering severity that in the future gives us some idea which children are not likely to recover on their own?” Usler said. “Perhaps that’s a subpopulation that should receive speech therapy resources as soon as possible.”

UD’s goal is to become a leading center for stuttering research with the assistance of the UD community and local Delawareans. If you’re a person who stutters and would like to assist researchers with this project or desire more information, please contact via email stutteringproject@udel.edu.