This study compared duration characteristics of single repetitions of single-syllable words in the speech of 15 preschool children near the onset of stuttering to those of 18 nonstuttering children. There appeared to be a tendency for repetitions of very early stutterers to be faster than repetitions of nonstuttering children. (Author/DB)

Preliminary findings from a longitudinal study of 32 preschool children who stutter and 32 nonstuttering controls reveal 4 subgroups: (1) persistent stuttering; (2) late recovery; (3) early recovery; and (4) control. Comparative data for the groups regarding frequency of disfluency, acoustic features, phonologic skills, language development,…

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,…

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…

Data on the onset of stuttering in 22 children two and three years of age were obtained through systematic parent interviews using a coded questionnaire. All children were reported to have begun stuttering prior to 36 months of age. (Author)

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)

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…

A study of children who stutter (n=12), who have recovered early from stuttering (n=12), and who recovered later from stuttering (n=12) compared the phonological characteristics of the three groups with a control group. Results indicated that poor phonological ability in the early stage of stuttering appeared to be a contributing factor to the…

This article reviews and critiques the research on possible genetic factors in stuttering. The failure to consider epidemiologic factors is thought to have biased previous research, but recent data provide evidence that spontaneous recovery and chronicity are influenced by genetic factors. Findings support previous conclusions about combined…

Preschool children (n=27) were followed for 2 to 12 years after stuttering onset. Findings indicated a marked deceleration in the mean frequency of stuttering-like disfluencies. Most of the reduction took place early, especially near the end of the first year postonset. Chronic and recovering stutterers could be distinguished by 20 months…

Stuttering has been considered a heritable disorder since the 1930s. There have been different models of transmission that have been proposed most involving a polygenic component with or without a major locus. In spite of these models, the characteristics being transmitted are not known. This study used two different tasks--a tapping task that is…

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…

Interviews with parents of 87 preschool children within a year of a stuttering diagnosis found that onset tended to occur earlier than was previously thought and was sudden and/or severe in many cases; about twice as many boys as girls stuttered; and there was a positive relationship between severe stuttering and sudden onset. (DB)