Stutter 1.2

Normal Disfluencies & Developmental Stuttering

Overview

  • Course code: CDS 6330

Stuttering by Age Group

  • Younger Preschool Child: Borderline Stuttering

    • Examples:

      • "Wa-WA-"

      • "Wa-Wa-Watch my car go"

    • Characteristics include the presence of disfluencies that are often considered normal at this stage but may show signs of emerging stuttering.

  • Older Preschool Child: Beginning Stuttering

    • Examples:

      • "C-C-C... Can I go out to"

      • "p-p-p... play?"

    • This stage can involve more pronounced repetitive speech patterns that may disrupt communication, indicating the start of a stuttering disorder.

  • School-Age Child: Intermediate Stuttering

    • Examples:

      • "I-I-I, uh, uh, don't, uh, know."

    • Children in this category may struggle with timing and rhythm of speech, leading to frequent interruptions and hesitations.

  • Adult and Adolescent: Advanced Stuttering

    • Examples:

      • "C... C... Could y... you make a ph... ph... phone call for me?"

    • Individuals tend to experience more complex stuttering behaviors and may have developed additional coping strategies to manage their speech difficulties, which can lead to secondary behaviors.

Developmental/Treatment Levels

  • Table 7.1: Developmental/Treatment Levels of Stuttering

    • Normal Disfluency: 1.5-6 years

    • Younger Preschoolers: Borderline Stuttering (1.5-3.5 years)

    • Older Preschoolers: Beginning Stuttering (3.5-6 years)

    • School-age: Intermediate Stuttering (6-13 years)

    • Older Teens and Adults: Advanced Stuttering (14 years and above)

Normal Disfluencies: Ages 2-5

  • Table 7.2: Categories of Normal Disfluencies

    • Part-word repetition: e.g., "mi-milk"

    • Single-syllable word repetition: e.g., "I…I want that"

    • Multisyllabic word repetition: e.g., "Lassie…Lassie is a good dog"

    • Phrase repetition: e.g., "I want a…I want a ice-ceem comb"

    • Interjection: e.g., "He went to the…uh…circus"

    • Revision-Incomplete Phrase: e.g., "I lost my…where’s Mommy going?"

    • Prolongation: e.g., "I’m Tiiiiiiiiimmy Thompson"

    • Tense Pause: e.g., "Can I have some more (lips together, no sound) milk?"

Characteristics of Normal Disfluency in the Average Nonstuttering Child

  • Table 7.3:

    • Typically, no more than 10 disfluencies per 100 words.

    • Usually consists of one-unit repetitions, occasionally two.

    • Most common disfluency types include interjections, revisions, and word repetitions.

    • As children mature past age 3, a decline in part-word repetitions is frequently observed, demonstrating natural language development.

Other Disfluencies (OD)

  • Examples:

    • Fillers (e.g., um, ah)

    • Interjections (e.g., I think, maybe)

    • Revisions

    • Multisyllable word repetitions

Stutter-Like Disfluencies (SLDs)

  • Characteristics:

    • Part-word repetitions (e.g., co-co-computer)

    • Single-syllable whole-word repetitions (e.g., I-I-I)

    • Tense pauses

    • Dysrhythmic phonations

    • Generally more frequent and can be more disruptive to communication efforts.

    • Often accompanied by physical tension, reflecting the emotional burden of the stutter.

Stuttering-Like Disfluencies in Preschool Children

  • Research Findings (Ambrose and Yairi, 1999)

    • Sample: 90 Children Who Stutter (CWS) vs. 54 Typically Developing Children (CNS)

    • Age Range: 23-60 months

    • Results: CWS exhibited a mean of 18.17 SLDs, compared to the CNS mean of 1.59 SLDs, indicating a significant disparity in fluency.

Percent Syllable Stuttered

  • Key Abbreviations:

    • PW = part-word repetitions

    • SS = single-syllable repetitions

    • D = sound repetitions

  • Mildly stuttering CWS tended to show a substantially increased frequency of SLDs compared to CNS children, highlighting the need for early detection and intervention.

Characteristics of Children with Normal Disfluencies

  • Normal disfluencies are typically not reacted upon; children seem unaware, suggesting that many may outgrow such speech patterns without intervention.

Factors that May Increase Normal Disfluencies

  • Factors include:

    • Language acquisition demands that challenge verbal fluency.

    • Advancements in cognitive, language, and speech-motor skills which put pressure on developing speech patterns.

    • Environmental and emotional demands (e.g., stress, excitement) that can exacerbate speech difficulties and observable disfluencies.

Calculating Normal Disfluencies

  • Steps to calculate:

    1. Transcribe speech samples.

    2. Identify where and what type of disfluencies occur.

    3. Calculate the percentage of disfluencies based on total syllables.

Speech Sample Analysis (Example)

Sample 1

  • "We all we all were trying to find him" (8 syllables, 1 disfluency)

  • "And you know what?" (4 syllables, 0 disfluencies, 0 fillers)

  • "Um we we um we let them go so we can find the new so they can find the mom and the new home" (14 syllables, 2 disfluencies, 2 fillers)

  • Total Calculation: 3/26 = 11.5% (7% F/OD)

Types of Disfluencies

  • Breakdown:

    • Stuttering Type Disfluencies:

      • Part-word repetition (PW)

      • Syllable repetition (SR)

      • Word repetition (WR)

      • Phrase repetition (PR)

      • Block (B)

      • Prolongation (P)

    • Other Disfluencies (OD):

      • Fillers (F)

      • Interjection (I)

      • Revision (R)