NIH Awards $3.1 Million to Michigan State University to Study Impact of Stuttering on Children
Researchers at Michigan State University’s Developmental Speech Laboratory have received a $3.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to examine how stuttering affects children over time.
The five-year project will investigate why some children who stutter experience more serious emotional, social, and developmental challenges than others. According to the research team, the study is the first large-scale longitudinal effort focused specifically on the long-term impact of stuttering on childhood development.
The study is led by Bridget Walsh, who said there is still limited understanding of how negative outcomes linked to stuttering emerge.
“We don’t yet understand how the negative effects of stuttering develop in children because we haven’t identified which personal or environmental factors place some children at higher risk, or which factors help protect them,” Walsh said. “This gap in knowledge makes it harder to intervene early and prevent long-term problems.”
Walsh explained that early and targeted support could significantly alter outcomes for children who stutter. Findings from the study are expected to guide treatment approaches and improve long-term well-being.
The newly funded project builds on earlier NIH-supported research awarded to Walsh and her colleagues in 2020, which focused on how stuttering begins in young children. A portion of that earlier work examined the condition’s emotional and social consequences.
The decision to expand the research was influenced by feedback from children and parents who participated in the initial study.
“Families shared a wide range of experiences, including both positive and difficult aspects of living with stuttering and how it shaped their daily lives,” Walsh said. “It became clear that understanding how the adverse effects develop was deeply important to them.”
Researchers hope the findings will help identify children who are most at risk and support earlier, more effective interventions.
