ABSTRACT
There are some authors who think that risk factors for onset and later course of stuttering are the same. For instance, this appears to be Bernstein Ratner’s position (see Chapter 7 where some of her comments appear to suggest that syntax is important both for onset and later course of stuttering are discussed). It is also possible that risk factors for onset of stuttering (initial diagnosis) are not the same as risk factors for its later course (prognosis). Two separate sections below report on studies that look at onset, and course through to teenage years, and permit some evaluation of this question. Both of these sections start with a review of studies that have reported on individual risk factors. At the end of each of the sections, a single study that has assessed how well these factors predict risk for onset (section 13.2) or risk for course into recovery or persistence (section 13.3) is described in detail. Both studies used prospective designs to predict risk of onset in a sample before any of the children have started to stutter, or chance that children attending a clinic at age 8 will recover or persist at teenage years.
