Characteristics of stuttering in Dutch‐speaking individuals

Abstract

Clinical diagnostic procedures to distinguish stuttering from non-stuttering individuals partially rely on the observation of characteristics of stuttered words or syllables. The purpose of this study was to examine the sensitivity and specificity of such a procedure, and to describe the observed characteristics of stuttered words. Methods involved the recording of the frequency, duration, and physical tension of stuttered words in conversational speech samples (total 43, 100 words) and in an oral reading task (total 43, 100 words). In this manner, 351 native Dutch speaking people, aged 8-53, who stutter were compared to a group of non-stuttering peers (n = 80). Findings suggest that applying a criterion of 3% stuttered words in conversational speech makes it possible to distinguish stuttering from non-stuttering individuals with high sensitivity (.9345) and perfect specificity (1.0000). Frequency, duration, and physical tension accompanying stuttered words are described for the group of stuttering participants, and these characteristics were compared to the group of non-stuttering speakers.

CNV amplitude as a neural correlate for stuttering frequency: A case report of acquired stuttering

“…It is an ongoing debate whether or not to count monosyllabic word repetitions as stutters (Einarsdottir and Ingham, 2005). In this study, repetitions of monosyllabic words were considered as stuttered dysfluencies when they were repeated at a high rate (Bezemer et al, 2010;Guitar, 2006), with apparent undue stress, tension or struggle (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 1999; Van Zaalen and Winkelman, 2009) or when the number of repetition units was 3 or more (Boey et al, 2009;Gregory, 1993). Because stuttering severity can vary considerably over the course of a conversation, long speech samples are recommended to obtain a reliable representation of the stuttering pattern (Sawyer and Yairi, 2006).…”

Influence of Methylphenidate on the Frequency of Stuttering

“…Recording the frequency, duration, and physical tension of stuttered words in conversational speech and in oral reading tasks in a group of Dutch-speaking people who stutter and do not stutter has a sensitivity of 93.5% and a specificity of 100%. 19 The rater who scored the videotapes was blinded to each participant's treatment for the session being scored.…”