A Temporal Analysis of Disfluencies in Children Who Stutter Close to Onset and Controls
Patricia Sandrieder, Ulrich Natke, Melanie van Ark, Reinhard Pietrowsky and Karl Theodor Kalveram
Heinrich-Heine-University Diisseldotf, Institute of Experimental Psychology, Universitiitsstrasse I, 40225 Diisseldorf, Germany
SUMMARY
The purpose of this study was to investigate the temporal proportion of normal disfluencies in children who stutter (CWS) and those who do not (CWNS). The participants of the study were 12 children who do stutter and were close to onset of stuttering, and a control group. The frequency and duration of stuttering-like disfluencies (SLD) and other disfluencies (OD), including pauses were analyzed from audio- and video-taped speech samples consisting of at least 1000 syllables. No significant differences in the proportion of OD were found for CWS and CWNS or for CWS with or without remission. OD are shown to be highly significant dependent on age.