Disfluency characteristics of 36 nonstuttering boys aged two, four, and six years were analyzed from tape recorded speech samples made during free play within neutral and stress situations. Comparisons of frequency of disfluency were made among the different ages within each situation and between the neutral and stress situations. (Author)

Eight chronic adult stutterers underwent an electromyographic (EMG) biological feedback training program to reduce masseter muscle tension in an effort to improve fluency. All subjects mastered the program within 10 30-minute sessions. Measures of muscle tension and fluency indicated improvements that were maintained three to six months later.…

There was a significant decrease in the difference between observed and expected probabilities over the first 30 words following a stutter. Also, the two adult Ss initially increased their stuttering rate. Findings supported a combination of the anxiety and feedback models of A. W. Still and C. A. Sherrard. (Author/DLS)

Discounts the theory that bilingualism causes pathological disorders as well as stuttering. Emphasizes that bilingualism does not create medical problems. (NCR)

A study compared the eye movements of 16 stutterers and a control group of 16 nonstuttering speakers (mean age of both groups 22.9 years) to determine if eye movements differed. (PHR)

Clause, syllable, and response latency characteristics of conversational utterances were assessed in 14 boys who stuttered and 14 normally fluent boys. Findings suggest that changes in the number of clausal constituents that must be constructed, stored, or coordinated within an utterance may influence the likelihood of speech errors and, hence,…

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…

The speech of 12 adults in prolonged speech treatment was assessed prior to treatment and after discharge. Results showed that stuttering was eliminated without using unusually slow or unnatural speech patterns, and many clients maintained stutter-free speech at high rates of speech. Speech rate correlated to perceived posttreatment speech…

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…

A study of 10 nondialect speakers who stutter, 10 nondialect speakers who do not stutter, and 10 dialect speakers who do not stutter, investigated the effect of speech dialect on listeners' speech naturalness ratings. Speech naturalness ratings were influenced by type of dialect, speech fluency and speaking rate. (Author/CR)

The difficulties of generalization and maintenance in stuttering treatment is discussed. Three strategies for promoting generalization and maintenance in school settings are suggested based on current research evidence: probing and training for generalization; incorporating real-life elements into therapy; and training clients to self-regulate…

The study compared speech naturalness ratings of 280 perceptually fluent speech samples produced by nonstutterers and stutterers who had been treated in six different therapy programs. A significant difference existed between the naturalness ratings of nonstutterers and the treated stutterers. No difference was found in the posttreatment…

Studies examining language onset and disorders of articulation, syntax, morphology, semantics, and word finding are analyzed. Although evidence is not convincing that stutterers as a group are more likely than nonstutterers to have deficits in these areas, it is clear that some stutterers do have concomitant speech and language problems.…

Relative timing of 15 stutterers' speech was compared with 15 nonstutterers, using two fluent utterances of the same phonetic content. Relative timing was not influenced by whether the talker was a stutterer or not, nor by the presence of fluency or disfluency in the environment in which the utterance occurred. (Author/JDD)