Gene linked to speech disorder

Speech Delay Pratiksha Gupta January 21, 2016

May be while talking about a good looking mother and daughter, or a brainy dad and son, or a family of obese parents & kids. These hereditary blocks that pass traits from parents to offsprings and further down the ladder are called genes! The most typical types of developmental delay include language delays. One out of every five kids will develop their language skills later than other kids their age. Some kids struggle with behaviour because they feel irritated with not being able to articulate their needs or wants.

Scientific progress in the field of genetics has been an eye opener even for Speech Pathologists like me. We now know that many speech/language/hearing disorders are genetically linked. Difficulties like stammering, autism, ADHD(Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder), Specific Language Impairment, Reading disorders and Hearing loss etc have all been indicated to have a genetic preponderance.

How often have you heard the phrase, “it runs in the family” ?

A recent study indicated that a gene on Chromosome 6 – KIAA0319 – was associated with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) and reading disorder (dyslexia). Earlier it had been established that Chromosome 6 is among those that are linked to Speech Sounds Disorder (SSD) and Reading Disability/Dyslexia (RD ).

This new finding has opened new doors of understanding the complexities of speech and language problems. It shows that all these difficulties of speech , language and reading etc may be interlinked. Hence, hinting at the fact that a child with some speech disorder may also have reading /writing difficulties!

This newly discovered gene is surely a culprit!

But keeping the genetic play in mind, we can always aim at earlier diagnosis, and early intervention of children facing such difficulties.

Tell us how you liked our The Gadget Fit story.

Book your sessions

For more ideas check out our other blogs