A review of the research evidence suggests that labelling the nonfluent child as a stutterer may not always be warranted. Premature labelling and its influence upon the child's self-concept and progressive socialization were evaluated. (Editor/RK)

Tape recorded speech samples from 10 4-year-old boys in their preschool classroom and in a structured interview situation were compared for frequency and duration of disfluency. (KW)

Training in self evaluation of speech performance was combined with a self managed, performance contingent maintenance schedule during the treatment of two young adult stutterers. Covert and overt assessment indicated that whenever the self evaluation training procedure was introduced to the maintenance schedule, it was associated with…

Using comparative speech tasks and EMG recordings to assess the potential of EMG biofeedback-assisted relaxation to reduce stuttering, a preschool child was able to reduce larynegeal tension but not without some difficulty. The small effect of the training was in the direction of less stuttering. (Author/CM)

This article, directed to the classroom teacher, provides background information on stuttering and suggests ways that the teacher can alleviate the stuttering child's anxiety and restore his confidence in his ability to communicate effectively. (Author/SJL)

Fifteen listeners using the Listener Comfort Scale rated videos of 10 adults before and after stuttering treatment and videos of 10 controls. Results were compared with those of 15 listeners who used the Speech Naturalness Scale. Reliability of the Speech Naturalness Scale was superior; however, the Listener Comfort Scale captured different…

Presents 10 techniques teachers can use to help stutterers manage their fluency problems. (MM)

This paper introduces a special issue focusing on the treatment of preschool and school-age children who stutter and discussing current intervention strategies and procedures. Summaries of the issue's articles are presented, generally contending that fluency disorders can be effectively managed using age-appropriate, individualized techniques and…

This article explores the connections between conversation demands and the ability of children who stutter to maintain fluency. A model of conversation management useful both in assessment and intervention is introduced. The three-component model considers competencies at the utterance level, suprasegmental level, and discourse level. (Author/JDD)

A survey of 324 members of the Association for Stammerers in Great Britain addressed the frequency of bullying, types of bullying, teacher/family awareness, intervention, and short- and long-term effects of bullying. Eighty-two percent of respondents reported being bullied at some period in their school lives, and the bullying was often related to…

The influence of visual signals (echo and reverberation) on speech fluency in 60 stutterers and nonstutterers was examined. Visual signals were found to exert a corrective influence on the speech of stutterers but less than the influence of acoustic stimuli. Use of visual signals in combination with acoustic and tactile signals is recommended. (DB)

Utterances from stuttering and normally speaking children, aged two through four years, were analyzed by clinicians specializing in stuttering, general clinicians, and university students (total n=25). Results indicated that the validity of the data language used by researchers to describe stuttered and normal speech in early childhood may be…

The characteristic features of psychogenic stuttering of adult onset are reviewed, and four cases of this disorder are presented. Psychogenic stuttering of adult onset is classified as a conversion reaction, and tentative criteria for this diagnosis are proposed. (Author/JDD)