Speech language pathologists providing early intervention services for stuttering are urged to evaluate conceptual and practical aspects of various intervention procedures. After a review of three treatment methods (environment manipulation, prolonged speech, and response-contingent stimulation), the article concludes that response-contingent…

Sixteen preschool subjects were evaluated within several weeks after stuttering onset and followed for six months. Findings showed a strong tendency for reduction in stuttering-like disfluencies, number of head/face movements, and parent and clinician severity ratings of stuttering. Several subjects, including severe cases, exhibited complete…

Stuttered sentences pronounced by 12 4- to 6-year-old children in spontaneous conversation were analyzed for length and grammatical complexity. Results indicated that sentences in which stuttering occurred within the first three words were significantly longer and more complex than sentences where no fluency failure was found. Implications for…

A study investigated the effectiveness of three stuttering treatments (intensive smooth speech, parent-home smooth speech, and intensive electromyography feedback) for 62 students (ages 11 to 18) who stutter after two to six years after treatment. Results indicate treatment gains were maintained and that there were no significant differences among…

A study of eight Dutch individuals (ages 14 to 56) who stutter found that adaptation of stuttering frequency during repeated readings may be a result of motor learning. Furthermore, during repeated readings, reductions in stuttering frequency were not related to reductions in the variability of acoustically derived measures of speech production.…

This study investigated the disfluencies and phonic tics in an 18- year-old male with Tourette syndrome before and after a 3-week period of speech therapy. The subject's speech pattern did not completely conform to the classic pattern of stuttering but bore more resemblance to cluttering. A limited number of therapy sessions resulted in a…

The effect of extended, continuous exposure to frequency-altered auditory feedback during an oral reading and monologue task on the stuttering frequency and speech rate of 12 adults was examined. A significant decrease in stuttering events and an increase in number of syllables produced was found for the oral reading task but not for the monologue…

Background: The paper reports on a laboratory investigation of the effects of self-modelling on stuttering rate in adolescents and adults. Self-modelling refers to a therapeutic or training method, usually involving videotape, that uses exposure to oneself performing selected error-free behaviours as the conduit for promoting behaviour change.…

The question of whether people who stutter are generally more anxious than people who do not stutter has not yet been resolved. One major methodological barrier to determining whether differences exist has been the type of stuttering sample used. Studies investigating anxiety levels of those who stutter have mostly assessed people referred to…

The purpose of this investigation was to assess the temperamental characteristics of children who do (CWS) and do not (CWNS) stutter using a norm-referenced parent-report questionnaire. Participants were 31 CWS and 31 CWNS between the ages of 3;0 (years;months) and 5;4 (CWS: mean age = 48.03 months; CWNS: mean age = 48.58 months). The CWS were…

This final report describes activities and accomplishments of a 3-year project which analyzed the speech and related behaviors of 28 young children (mean age 52.5 months) who stuttered, their mothers, and similar non-stuttering children and mothers. A loosely structured conversation between each mother and child was recorded and analyzed. In…

This monograph describes the National Speech and Hearing Survey (NSHS) database and examines the prevalence of articulation deviations, voice deviations, stuttering, dialects, hearing impairments, and multiple deviations. Literature on the coexistence of communication disorders is then reviewed, focusing on coexistence in articulation and language…

This study analyzed overlap (or interruption behavior) in conversations between mothers and their stuttering children to determine how overlap relates to fluency. Subjects for the study, which is part of the Genesis of Stuttering Project, were 20 preschool stuttering children and their mothers. Three forms of overlap were examined: simultaneous…

In Study one, the effect on stuttering frequency of contingent monetary gain and contingent monetary loss resulted in decreased stuttering. In Study two, monetary gain and loss was made contingent on units of fluent speech. Fluency increased for the group during monetary gain, but monetary loss did not decrease fluency. (Author)

A three-factor model for the management of early childhood stuttering is proposed that takes into account stuttering's psychosocial, psycholinguistic, and physiological aspects. The primary focus of the present article is the psycholinguistic factor. To this end, a rationale for the use of language-based therapy is presented, together with…