Purpose: Disfluency clusters in preschool children were analyzed to determine whether they occurred at rates above chance, whether they changed over time, and whether they could differentiate children who would later persist in, or recover from, stuttering. Method: Thirty-two children recruited near stuttering onset were grouped on the basis of…

Purpose: In this study, the authors sought to determine the prevalence of stuttering in African American (AA) 2- to 5-year-olds as compared with same-age European Americans (EAs). Method: A total of 3,164 children participated: 2,223 AAs and 941 EAs. Data were collected using a 3-pronged approach that included investigators' individual…

This study evaluated recorded performances of 84 children of whom 22 had persistent stuttering. Although initially the persistent stuttering group had significantly poorer phonological skills, assessment after 1 and 2 years found no differences indicating faster phonological improvement for the persistent stuttering group. Results raise questions…

Seventy-nine children (ages 3 through 7) were asked to discriminate between the speech (fluent and disfluent) of two puppets, identify the one who "speaks like you," and evaluate their speech. Children from age 3 showed evidence of some awareness of disfluencies but most children reached full awareness at 5. Negative evaluation of disfluent speech…

The authors of a research report (1999) on the diagnosis of stuttering in young children respond to a critical letter by questioning the accuracy, validity, credibility, and internal consistency of the letter writer's criticisms. The reply goes on to clarify the evaluation of stuttering-like disfluencies and single-syllable word repetitions in…

This response to a letter (EC 627 691) critical of the authors' research report (1999) on the diagnosis of stuttering in young children defends their subject selection criteria, justifies their use of a weighted measure of stuttering-like disfluencies, and notes continuing disagreement concerning the difference between stuttering and disfluency.…

A four-year study of 84 preschool children (25 to 59 months) who stutter found a continuous diminution in the frequency and severity of stuttering over time as many children progressed toward recovery. Findings indicate a 74% overall recovery rate for stuttering and a 26% persistency rate. (CR)

A study compared the phonological abilities of 22 preschool children whose stuttering persisted and 62 who recovered. Those whose stuttering persisted had poorer mean scores on a number of phonological characteristics, including mean percentage of error, relative levels of severity of phonological impairments, and error on specific phonological…

A study compared the expressive language abilities of 22 preschool children whose stuttering persisted and 62 who recovered over a four-year period. Findings revealed similarity in the abilities of children whose stuttering persisted as opposed to abated at all ages. All stutterers displayed abilities near or above developmental expectations. (CR)

This investigation compared changes in articulatory rate over a period of 2 years in subgroups of preschool children who stutter (either persistently or who recovered without intervention) and normally fluent children. Results indicated no significant differences among the three groups when articulation rate was measured in syllables per second,…

Immediate and extended families of 66 stuttering children were investigated to determine frequencies of persistent and recovered stuttering. Recovery was far more common among females than males. Recovery or persistence was found to be transmitted, but the two types are not genetically independent, consistent with hypothesis that both forms share…

A study evaluated the language production of 12 children (ages 5-8) who continued stuttering for 36 months or more after onset, 10 who recovered 18-36 months post onset, and 10 who recovered within 18 months of onset of stuttering. The majority of the children performed in the average range on measures of language production. (Author/CR)