"good" speech genes?

[Caroline Bowen]

Do typical and advanced speech acquisition run in families?

It is known from various studies that there is family aggregation of speech
and language disorders. Rates of speech and language impairment in
first-degree relatives of children with speech impairment (SI) range from
23% to 41% (Lewis, Freebairn & Taylor, 2000); and  Felsenfeld, McGue & Broen
(1995) reported that 33% of children whose parent had a history of SI
required treatment for that same speech impairment.

But, do you know of any family studies around typical SPEECH acquisition,
and advanced SPEECH acquisition? That is, any tendency for early and or
typical phonetic development to run in families; and or, for early and or
typical phonological development to run in families.

Many thanks,
Caroline Bowen
and
Nicole Watts Pappas

Felsenfeld, S., McGue, M., & Broen, P. A. (1995). Familial aggregation of
phonological disorders: Results from a 28-year follow-up. Journal of Speech
and Hearing Research, 38(5), 1091-1107.

Lewis, B. A., Freebairn, L. A., Taylor, H. G. (2000) Academic outcomes in
children with histories of speech sound disorders. Journal of Communication
Disorders, 33(1), 11-30.

Caroline Bowen PhD
Speech Language Pathologist
9 Hillcrest Road
Wentworth Falls NSW 2782
Australia
e: cbowen at ihug.com.au
i: http://www.slpsite.com
t: 61 2 4757 1136