How often have you heard the phrase, "it runs in the family" ? 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!
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,Hearing loss etc have all been indicated to have a genetic preponderance.
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.
So be sure to get your child assessed thoroughly if she exhibits any speech difficulty or if you know anybody in your family who has one. Early identification and intervention are the best tools that you as a caregiver can exploit!
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