The Differential Diagnosis of Late-Onset Stuttering

Abstract

Neurogenic stuttering, by definition, is stuttering caused by damage to the central nervous system. In this respect neurogenic stuttering clearly differs from developmental stuttering of which the cause to date is unknown. The fact that in neurogenic stuttering there is an evident cause does not mean, however, that the diagnosis of neurogenic stuttering is always straightforward. As reported in a number of studies, stuttering, when not developmental, may also occur as a side-effect of medication (see for instance Nurnberg and Greenwald, 1981 or McClean and McLean, 1985). Also, cases of non-developmental stuttering have been reported in which the stutter was of psychogenic origin (see for instance Deal, 1982; Deal and Doro, 1987; Roth et al., 1989; Tippet and Siebens, 1991; Mahr and Leith, 1992). In this paper a case of stuttering is presented which illustrates this problem of differential diagnosis in non-developmental stuttering. The patient presented with stuttering for the first time after she had suffered brain damage.Yet, there are reasons to believe that her dysfluency was not of neurogenic origin.