A new study from Wayne State University and partners is changing the way scientists and the public understand stuttering.

Researchers studied genetic data from 1.1 million 23andMe customers and found 57 DNA regions linked to stuttering, some tied to how the brain processes speech and rhythm.

Shelly Jo Kraft, a geneticist and speech-language pathologist at Wayne State University, who co-authored the study, said it gave her team a rare opportunity to study more than 99,000 people who stutte

“It really helped to propel this huge architectural description of stuttering and even create profiles for us based on every race, ethnicity and gender,” Kraft explained.

Stuttering usually begins in children between ages two and five. While most recover, about one in five continue into adulthood. The research marks the largest study of its kind and is part of a global effort led by the International Stuttering Project.

The study revealed links between stuttering and conditions such as autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, which researchers said opens the door to new insights and possible therapies. Kraft noted parents of children who stutter often feel guilty, thinking it stems from something they did wrong, or stress in their child’s life. She emphasized it is not the case,

“Stuttering is genetic,” Kraft underscored. “There is nothing anyone did. There’s a lot of old wives tales, there’s a lot of beliefs that families hold for why someone stutters. Someone I know said that they were told that they were tickled too much as a child and that’s why they stuttered.”

According to the Stuttering Foundation, there are about 70 million people worldwide who stutter.