Vertical transmission of susceptibility to stuttering with sex-modified expression

Stuttering is not usually considered genetic, although it has long been known to be familial. Data collected on 2035 relatives of 397 unrelated adult stutterers confirm and quantify the strong familial concentration. Our analytic approach to these family data, one that does not require specification of a genetic hypothesis, shows that stuttering among relatives occurs in a pattern indicating vertical transmission of a susceptibility to stuttering with sex-modified expression. Although simple Mendelian hypotheses are not sufficient to explain the observed pattern of stuttering in families, more complex genetic models can explain the pattern. In the past, such evidence has been considered sufficient, because it does not preclude the possibility of cultural transmission. However, certain cultural transmission hypotheses previously proposed for stuttering are excluded by these data. The findings in this study support a growing opinion among speech pathologists that most stuttering is a genetically inherited neurologic disorder.