Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “STUTTERING”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 595 records · Page 33Linked to original sources

Self-disclosure in parents of stuttering children.

A review of the literature suggested a possible relationship between low self-disclosure or avoidance of the self in parents and stuttering in the child within the same family. The present research was designed to test whether there are any differences in self-disclosure between parents of stuttering children and parents of nonstuttering children. The Self-Disclosure Questionnaire, devised by Jourard, was administered to 64 mothers and 64 fathers, half of whom comprised the control groups. The results obtained by analyses of variance indicated that parents of stuttering children do not differ from parents of nonstuttering children in their actual self-disclosure. However, findings as to why disclosure did not occur on certain items indicated that, although the parents of stuttering children do not differ in self-disclosure, they may differ in declining to disclose information when asked for it.

Adolescent↗

The frequency of disfluencies during phonatory transitions in stuttered and nonstuttered speech.

The hypothesis that stuttering and nonstuttering adults have fewer disfluencies during voiced-voiced phoneme-to-phoneme phonatory transitions than during voiced-voiceless, voiceless-voiced, or voiceless-voiceless transitions was investigated. The speech of 11 adult stutterers and a matched group of nonstutterers was analyzed according to the occurrence of disfluencies during the above categories of phonatory transtions. Each subject's speech was recorded individually while reading several passages. The percentage of disfluencies varied significantly (p less than 0.001) across the four phonatory transition categories for both groups of subjects. Both stutterers and nonstutterers demonstrated a lower percentage of disfluencies during voiced-voiced transitions than during voiced-voiceless, voiceless-voiced, and voiceless-voiceless phonatory transitions. Furthermore, both groups of subjects demonstrated a similar distribution of disfluencies across the four phonatory transitions categories. An inability to successfully complete phoneme-to-phoneme phonatory transitions does not appear to fully explain the pattern of disfluencies for stuttering or nonstuttering adults.

Adolescent↗

Temporal factors in the effects of masking noise on fluency of stutterers.

Nineteen stutterers read sentences under four conditions: continuous 95-db white noise over headphones; white noise preceding speech initiation; no white noise. White noise preceding speech initiation did not improve fluency, contrary to Webster's auditory interference theory. White noise presented following speech initiation led to shorter reading times and fewer disfluent words, especially for part-word repetitions. The more severe the stutterer, as measured by an external task, the greater was the ameliorative effect of auditory masking. Results indicated that white noise may attack a pathological condition existing in stutterers, and supported Timmons and Boudreau's (1972) adaptation model, which posits that stutterers have difficulty adapting to discrepancies in delays of auditory feedback through different channels.

Adolescent↗

The Gestalt approach to stuttering.

This article describes the application of Gestalt therapy concepts to the treatment of stuttering. Within this framework stuttering is seen as an organized self-system rather than a symptom. This self-system is maintained and reinforced by the stutter's experience of this physical self, self-expectancies, self-messages, projections on others, and total viewing of self as a limited and inadequate person. The individual enmeshes himself or herself into this system and restricts himself to familiar behaviors, in this case stuttering, because he has no framework for other ways of functioning. The Gestalt therapeutic framework as a basis of unlocking the individual's limited style of functioning is explored.

Attention↗

The loci of stuttering: grammar or prosody?

Much of the research dealing with linguistic dimensions in stuttering has emphasized the various aspects of grammar, particularly as these aspects contribute to the meaning of utterances. However, data from several sources indicate that meaning and grammatical features are not likely to be the important language variables related to stuttering, but that stuttering occurrence is linked more closely to the prosodic dimension. The published literature in this area reports work done with English-speaking subjects; comparable material from other languages would be of considerable value to our understanding of linguistic determinants in stuttering.

Humans↗

The effects of auditory and visual "distractors" on the frequency of stuttering.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of auditory and visual "distractors' on the frequency of stuttering. Ten stutters spoke extemporaneously during conditions of auditory masking, when lights were turned on and off in a room, and during normal conditions. No significant differences in stuttering frequency were found between conditions. The results of this study suggest that further research is needed to clarify the relationship between stuttering frequency, vocal intensity, and supposed distractors during conversational speech.

Adult↗

Punishment of stuttering: contingency and stimulus parameters.

The influence of two major parameters of time out from speaking were investigated with 36 adolescent and adult stutterers. Subjects were assigned to four matched groups in an attempt to examine whether time out has to be contingent to be effective and whether simply signaling stuttering (no time out) produces response reduction. The major finding was that reliable reductions in stuttering frequency were produced only when tone presentations were contingent and signaled time out from speaking. Overall results are discussed in terms of their implications for the various major models used to account for the effects of response-contingent procedures on stuttering. Assigning a label of distraction, attention, or punishment is less important than identifying the parameters responsible for observed effects.

Adolescent↗

A review of linguistic factors associated with early childhood stuttering.

This paper summarizes recent thinking on several aspects of early childhood stuttering. The concept of fluency is examined, and a review of research that traces the acquisition of fluency in young children and its relationship to language acquisition is presented. Other topics considered are the relationship of normal childhood nonfluencies to early stuttering, stuttering as it relates to language acquisition, and psycholinguistic influences on stuttering in young children.

Adolescent↗

A comparison of stutterers and nonstutterers on masking level differences and synthetic sentence identification tasks.

Ten stutterers and ten nonstutterers, matched for sex, were tested for Masking Level Differences (MLDs) at 500 Hz, and were evaluated on the Synthetic Sentence Identification test with Ipsilateral Competing Message (SSI-ICM) under message-to-competition ratios (MCRs) of 0, -10, and -20 dB. No significant differences on the SSI-ICM task were seen between groups, but the stutterers did produce significantly (p less than .01) poorer MLDs than the nonstutterers. This may be interpreted as support for Kent's (1983) hypothesis that stutterers may be poorer at temporal processing. In addition, the present results support the concept of a continuum of auditory processing ability, with normals and stutterers of different degrees of disfluency revealing decreasing performance measures.

Adult↗

Speech shadowing characteristics of stutterers under diotic and dichotic conditions.

The purpose of this study was to compare adult stutterers' and adult nonstutterers' fluent speech patterns produced during one nonshadowed reading and two speech shadowing conditions. Subjects' speech error rates, shadowing strategies, and fluent speech segment durations were obtained during baseline, diotic speech shadowing, and dichotic speech shadowing conditions. Results indicated that stutterers produced fewer speech production errors (i.e., omissions, substitutions, and insertions) than nonstutterers during each shadowing condition. Stutterers also favored the use of a word-by-word speech shadowing strategy, while nonstutterers utilized both word-by-word and small phrase shadowing strategies. Finally, stutterers exhibited significantly longer vowel and phrase durations than nonstutterers during the shadowing conditions.

Adult↗

A behavioral-cognitive therapy program for adults who stutter: computers and counseling.

This paper evaluates the efficacy of a behavioral-cognitive treatment program for adults who stutter. The program combines a commercially available computer-assisted biofeedback program for the reduction of stuttering and a relapse management program for counseling and attitude change. Four adults who stutter, between the ages of 20 and 25 years, participated in a study with multiple baseline across individuals. The initial treatment was conducted in an intensive time block, followed by extended treatment sessions. Results show that subjects reduced their disfluencies to below 3% stuttered syllables and maintained those changes at the 6 and 12 month follow-up. Measures of attitude changes were also assessed and showed that increases in positive feelings and attitudes were maintained at follow-up.

Adult↗

Neural mechanisms underlying stuttering: evidence from bimanual handwriting performance.

Left- and right-handed male and female stutterers were compared with fluent speakers on a bimanual handwriting task. On each trial four words were read to the subject. After repeating the words, subjects had to write the initial letters as quickly as possible using the two hands simultaneously and without visual guidance. As a group, stutterers were slower, made more mirror-reversed letters, and formed letters of poorer quality than fluent speakers. The effects were the same for males and females, and the data for left- and right-handers were mirror-symmetric with respect to left and right hands. Evidence was found for two subgroups of stutterers with respect to scores on the dependent variables. It was suggested that the overall pattern of results implicates the supplementary motor area in the mediation of stuttering, possibly through relatively ungated callosal pathways.

Adult↗

Developmental stutter in a patient with callosal agenesis disappears during steroid therapy.

A 10-year-old left-handed girl with a developmental stutter and agenesis of the corpus callosum with associated hydrocephalus ceased stuttering immediately upon initiation of steroid therapy for colitis. Steroid taper resulted in a recurrence of the stutter and resumption for treatment of recrudescent colitis caused its disappearance again. Baseline agenesis of the corpus callosum with hydrocephalus and the patient's course in the face of the known effects of steroids on white matter lend support to the hypothesis that stuttering reflects anomalous dominance and/or atypical interhemispheric connectivity, as evidenced by the fact that presumed alterations of white matter tracts affected speech rhythms/stuttering.

Agenesis of Corpus Callosum↗

A comparative investigation of the speech-associated coping responses reported by adults who do and do not stutter.

UNLABELLED: The Behavior Checklist, a self-report test procedure, was administered to 42 adults who stutter and 76 who do not in order to investigate the number, frequency of usage, type and nature of the responses that they reportedly employ to cope with the anticipation and/or presence of speech disruption. As a group, the participants who stutter reported a significantly greater number of speech-associated coping responses and a greater use of them than their nonstuttering peers did. Moreover, factor analysis made apparent fundamental between-group differences in the type and nature of certain forms of the coping responses reported by those who stutter and those who do not. This suggests that the quantitative and qualitative differences in the coping responses of those who do and do not stutter are potentially useful with respect to differential diagnostic and therapeutic decision making. EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES: (1) The reader will be able to describe differences in the number, frequency and types of coping behaviors used by PWS and PWNS. (2) The reader will be able to list similarities and differences in the type and nature of coping behaviors used by PWS and PWNS. (3) The reader will be able to discuss the features and use of the Behavior Checklist, a self-report procedure for assessing the responses used by adults to cope with the anticipation and occurrence of speech disruption.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

Cortical plasticity associated with stuttering therapy.

UNLABELLED: Neuroimaging studies have indicated that persistent developmental stuttering (PDS) may be associated both with an abnormality in white matter of left-hemispheric speech areas and a right-hemispheric hyperactivity. The latter may compensate for the deficient structural connectivity in the left hemisphere. To investigate the effects of stuttering therapy on brain activity nine male adults with PDS underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) before and within 12 weeks after fluency shaping therapy. Brain response differences during overt sentence reading before and after therapy were assessed by utilizing random effects analyses. After therapy, a more widespread activation was observed in frontal speech and language regions and temporal areas of both hemispheres, particularly and more pronounced on the left side. Interestingly, distinct posttreatment left-sided activation increases were located directly adjacent to a recently detected area of white matter anomaly [M. Sommer, M.A. Koch, W. Paulus, C. Weiller, C. Buchel (2002). Disconnection of speech-relevant brain areas in persistent developmental stuttering. The Lancet, 360, 380-383] suggesting that fluency shaping techniques reorganize neuronal communication between left-sided speech motor planning, motor execution, and temporal areas. Hence, a therapeutic mechanism can be assumed to remodel brain circuitry close to the source of the dysfunction instead of reinforcing compensation via homologous contralateral brain networks. EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES: The reader will learn about and be able to: (1) describe brain activation changes detected shortly after fluency-shaping therapy; (2) identify left-hemispheric regions where a (re)functionalization after fluency-shaping therapy seems to occur adjacent to a recently described abnormal white matter region in PDS subjects; and (3) discuss how an effective cerebral compensation mechanism for stuttering could work.

Adult↗

Phonological neighborhood density in the picture naming of young children who stutter: preliminary study.

UNLABELLED: The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of phonological neighborhood density on the speech reaction time (SRT) and errors of children who do and do not stutter during a picture-naming task. Participants were nine 3-5-year-old children who stutter (CWS) matched in age and gender to nine children who do not stutter (CWNS). Initial analyses indicated that both CWNS and CWS were significantly faster (i.e., exhibited shorter SRTs) and more accurate on phonologically sparse than phonologically dense words, findings consistent with those found with older children (Newman & German, 2002). Further analyses indicated that talker group differences in receptive language scores weakened these findings. These preliminary findings were taken to suggest that phonological neighborhood density appears to influence the picture-naming speed and accuracy of preschool-aged children. EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES: The reader will learn about and be able to: (1) recognize the relevance of examining phonological variables in relation to childhood stuttering; and (2) describe the method of measuring speech reaction times and errors during a picture-naming task as a means of assessing linguistic skills.

Analysis of Variance↗

Experimental treatment of early stuttering: a preliminary study.

UNLABELLED: This pilot study compared two treatments for stuttering in preschool-age children. Thirty children were randomly assigned to either a Lidcombe Program (LP) treatment or a Demands and Capacities Model (DCM) treatment. Stuttering frequencies and severity ratings were obtained immediately before and after treatment (12 weeks). The stuttering frequencies and severity ratings significantly decreased for both treatment groups. No differences between groups were found. Parents of children in both groups were cooperative in many respects, and there were no differences between them on scales that measured their satisfaction with the two treatments. The findings suggest that randomized controlled trials of LP versus DCM treatments are feasible, and they underline the need for experimental analyses of the two treatments. EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES: The reader will be able to: (1) describe the principles and methods of Lidcombe treatment for early stuttering; (2) delineate principles and methods of Demands and Capacities Model treatment; and (3) summarize results of an investigation that compared these programs' relative effects in a pilot study.

Child, Preschool↗

Habit-reversal treatment for children's stuttering: assessment in three settings.

Two boys (9 and 14 years old) participated in an evaluation of treatment for stuttering. Habit reversal procedures (awareness training, regulated breathing, and social support) were combined with teaching positive attitudes to parents. During treatment, stuttering frequencies decreased, speech rates increased, and speech naturalness ratings increased. These changes occurred in the clinic, the child's home, and the child's school. After treatment, stuttering remained low in the clinic and at home, but increased stuttering was found at school.

Adolescent↗