Researchers are looking into the biological causes of stuttering.Stuttering is a speech problem that causes the speaker to repeat the beginning sound of some words.For centuries, people have feared being judged for stuttering.It is a condition often misunderstood as a psychological problem caused by things like bad parenting or emotional trauma.But research presented at a recent science conference explores its biological causes: genetics and brain differences.Stuttering affects 70 million people around the world, including U.S. President Joe Biden.Biden has spoken publicly about being bullied by classmates for his speech problem.He has said that overcoming his stutter was one of the hardest things he ever did.After a campaign event in 2020, he met a New Hampshire teenager who also stuttered, Brayden Harrington.They ended up talking for an hour.Living with a stutter has not been easy, Brayden told The Associated Press."I want to carry on what Joe Biden said to me," he said."That this does not define you and that you can be much more than you see yourself as."Stuttering has been recorded as far back as ancient China, Greece and Rome.
