A study tested the differences between eight children (ages 6 through 11) who stutter and typical children on measures of narrative complexity and cohesion use in two narrative tasks and in stuttering frequency produced across tasks. No significant differences were found on measures of narrative complexity or cohesion use. (Author/CR)

A four-year study of 84 preschool children (25 to 59 months) who stutter found a continuous diminution in the frequency and severity of stuttering over time as many children progressed toward recovery. Findings indicate a 74% overall recovery rate for stuttering and a 26% persistency rate. (CR)

Ten speech-language pathology students judged five-second audiovisually recorded speech intervals as stuttered or nonstuttered in group and single-subject experiments. Results showed that judgment accuracy tended to increase after training, both for speakers used during the training process and unfamiliar speakers. Slight increases in interjudge…

A panel of speech professionals was randomly presented with speech samples from four neurogenic and four developmental stutterers and was asked to classify them accordingly without any patient knowledge. Results support the view that, based on the patient's verbal output only, it is difficult to distinguish between neurogenic and developmental…

Simplified regulated breathing (SRB) has been demonstrated to reduce or eliminate stuttering in children. However, much of the current research has evaluated the intervention with school-aged children within educational contexts. In the current case report, we extended the application of SRB by evaluating its effectiveness in treating stuttering…

The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of phonological neighborhood density on the speech reaction time (SRT) and errors of children who do and do not stutter during a picture-naming task. Participants were nine 3-5-year-old children who stutter (CWS) matched in age and gender to nine children who do not stutter (CWNS). Initial…

In light of emerging findings concerning untreated recovery and neural plasticity, this paper re-examines the viability of an NIH conference recommendation [Cooper, J. A. (1990). Research directions in stuttering: Consensus and conflict. In Cooper, J. A. (Ed.), "Research needs in stuttering: Roadblocks and future directions" (pp. 98-100).…

Neuroimaging studies have indicated that persistent developmental stuttering (PDS) may be associated both with an abnormality in white matter of left-hemispheric speech areas and a right-hemispheric hyperactivity. The latter may compensate for the deficient structural connectivity in the left hemisphere. To investigate the effects of stuttering…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine whether standard pharmaco-economic preference methods can be used to assess perceived quality of life in stuttering. Method: Seventy-five nonstuttering adults completed a standardized face-to-face interview that included a rating scale, standard gamble, and time trade-off preference measures for…

This is a review of the contingency management literature and current related treatment programs for stuttering in childhood: the Lidcombe Program, Gradual Increase in Length and Complexity of Utterance (GILCU), and Prolongation (PS). Treatment efficacy research has shown these treatments to be effective and efficient for children, but there…

Provided is a program of behavioral objectives for use with speech handicapped preschool and elementary level children in the areas of articulation disorders, language disorders, stuttering, tongue thrust, and voice. Communication disorders are defined as substandard behaviors which interfere with the student's ability to perform acceptably for…

Fifteen stutterers (aged 5-16) were treated using graded airflow, tension/relaxation, and electromyographic biofeedback to reduce stuttering frequency. In a second study, addition of a discriminative stimulus control procedure to maintain fluency made the treatment program more effective than the first study and achieved a level of <1% stuttered…

This volume of an annual collection presents 13 essays relating to instruction in the basic communication course. Six of the essays are on the theme of cultural diversity in the basic course. The essays are: "The Differential Impact of a Basic Public Speaking Course on Perceived Communication Competencies in Class, Work, and Social…