Analysis of lip and jaw motion in 18 stutterers and 10 nonstutterers found that adult stutterers who had been through speech therapy showed significant increases in jaw movement duration and time to peak velocity of the upper lip, lower lip, and jaw. Results suggest that anomalies in stutterers' fluent speech may be the result of acquired…

This study examined acoustic durations in 12 children (ages 3 to 9) who stuttered and received treatment based either on speech motor training (SMT) or extended length of utterance (ELU). Although the ELU treatment reduced stuttering more than the SMT, the SMT was more effective in increasing vowel duration and decreasing stop gap duration.…

This study investigated changes in the speech patterns of young adult male subjects when stuttering was modified by deliberately prolonging speech. Three subjects showed clinically significant stuttering reductions when using prolonged speech to reduce their stuttering. Resulting speech was perceptually stutter free. Acoustic and…

This study analyzed spontaneous speech samples of 10 children (ages 10-14) who stuttered, with no history of treatment based on prolonged speech. Acoustic measures showed no significant posttreatment increases in durations of acoustic segments. However, for acoustic measures of vowel duration and articulation rate, posttreatment speech samples…

This paper examines a prolonged speech treatment model for stuttering, the Camperdown Program. Sixteen participants showed minimal or no stuttering in everyday speaking situations for up to 12 months after entering the program's maintenance phase, with speech rates in the normal range. Results were achieved in a mean of 20 hours of clinic…

A time-out from speaking contingency was evaluated in the treatment of stuttering in three school-age children. A red light time-out signal appeared for five seconds when the child stuttered. Two of the children responded to time-out with clear reductions in stuttering. Listeners did not detect any differences between the perceptually stutter-free…

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…

Four studies evaluated perceptions of fluency of persons who had been treated with the "smooth speech" fluency shaping technique. The studies examined (1) client satisfaction with treatment; (2) increased employment opportunities for program completers; (3) employer perceptions of employees' speech quality; and (4) possible determinants…

A parent-conducted program of verbal response-contingent stimulation was effectively used to reduce stuttering to near zero levels in 12 children (younger than age 5). Treatments were completed in a median of 10.5 1-hour clinic sessions and 84.5 days. (Author/DB)

A rating instrument is described that can be used to assess the results of stuttering treatments. The instrument yields a comprehensive and detailed description of speech quality in terms of articulation, phonation, pitch, and loudness, as well as naturalness. Psychometric characteristics of the instrument are analyzed, and methodological problems…