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jandajoy

Early bilingualism may increase stutter risk Posted 2 hours 28 minutes ago Children who are bilingual before the age of five are more likely to stutter than non-bilingual counterparts and also find it harder to shed this impediment, according to a British study published on Tuesday. The research was conducted among 317 London children who were referred to a speech therapist when they were aged between eight and 10. One in five of the stutterers were bilingual, speaking English at school and a second language at home. Boys outnumbered girls by a ratio of four to one. The study, headed by psychologist Peter Howell of University College London, appears in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood, published by the British Medical Association (BMA). It found that stuttering, bilingual children usually stutter in both languages, rather than just one. By concentrating on the minority language up to the age of five, and then acquiring English, the risk of stuttering is reduced and overcoming the problem is easier, the study proposes. Starting English somewhat later, and learning it at the same time as the minority language, does not affect educational success, according to tests on children at the age of seven and 11, it said. - AFP


I mentioned this in an earlier thread but figured it might be of interest to those of you with kids growing up in a bilingual environment.

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