Ehud Yairi

Predictive factors of persistence and recovery-Pathways of childhood stuttering-

This article presents broad preliminary findings from a longitudinal study of stuttering pertaining to differentiation of developmental paths of childhood stuttering, as well as possible early prediction of High Risk, Low Risk, and No Risk for chronic stuttering. More than 100 preschool children who stutter have been closely followed for several years from near the onset of stuttering using a multiple data collection system, with 45 nonstuttering children serving as controls. Thirty-two stuttering and 32 control subjects who have progressed through several stages of the investigation were identified for the present indepth analyses. They represent four subgroups: I. Persistent Stuttering; II. Late Recovery; III. Early Recovery; IV. Control. Comparative data for the groups with special reference to differences in frequency of disfluency, acoustic features, phonologic skills, language development, nonverbal skills, and genetics are presented. The results suggest several promising predictors of recovery and chronicity.

Epidemiology of stuttering: 21st century advances.

UNLABELLED Epidemiological advances in stuttering during the current century are reviewed within the perspectives of past knowledge. The review is organized in six sections: (a) onset, (b) incidence, (c) prevalence, (d) developmental paths, (e) genetics and (f) subtypes. It is concluded that: (1) most of the risk for stuttering onset is over by age 5, earlier than has been previously thought, with a male-to-female ratio near onset smaller than what has been thought, (2) there are indications that the lifespan incidence in the general population may be higher than the 5% commonly cited in past work, (3) the average prevalence over the lifespan may be lower than the commonly held 1%, (4) the effects of race, ethnicity, culture, bilingualism, and socioeconomic status on the incidence/prevalence of stuttering remain uncertain, (5) longitudinal, as well as incidence and prevalence studies support high levels of natural recovery from stuttering, (6) advances in biological genetic research have brought within reach the identification of candidate genes that contribute to stuttering in the population at large, (7) subtype-differentiation has attracted growing interest, with most of the accumulated evidence supporting a distinction between persistent and recovered subtypes. EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES Readers will be exposed to a summary presentation of the most recent data concerning basic epidemiological factors in stuttering. Most of these factors also pertain to childrens risks for experiencing stuttering onset, as well as risks for persistency. The article also aims to increase awareness of the implications of the information to research, and professional preparation that meets the epidemiology of the disorder.

Early childhood stuttering III: initial status of expressive language abilities.

This investigation evaluated the expressive language abilities of 84 preschool-age children who stuttered, 62 who recovered from stuttering, and 22 who persisted in stuttering. The participants were identical to those identified in E. Yairi and N. G. Ambrose (1999) and E. Paden, E. Yairi, and N. G. Ambrose (1999). A range of lexical, morphological, and syntactic measures--calculated from spontaneous language samples of approximately 250-300 utterances in length collected relatively near stuttering onset--were used to examine the childrens expressive language skills. For the purpose of analysis and comparison to normative data, children were grouped into three age intervals, in terms of the age at which they entered the study (2- to 3-year-olds, 3- to 4-year-olds, and 4- to 5-year-olds). Findings revealed similarity in the expressive language abilities of children whose stuttering persisted as opposed to abated at all age intervals. In addition, persistent and recovered stutterers displayed expressive language abilities near or above developmental expectations, based on comparison with normative data, at all age intervals. Children who entered the study at the youngest age level consistently demonstrated expressive language abilities well above normative expectations; this pattern was found for both persistent and recovered groups. These findings provide relatively limited information to assist in the early differentiation of persistence in or recovery from stuttering, but they do shed light on theoretical issues regarding the nature and character of early stuttering and potential associations with language learning.

The development of awareness of stuttering in preschool children

Abstract The development of awareness of stuttering and of fluent speech in preschool children was examined by means of an instrument designed for this purpose. The measure employs a videotape of two identical puppets, one of whom stutters. Twenty stuttering children and twenty normally fluent children were followed for three visits over two years. The effects of group, age, and severity on the awareness score over the three visits were investigated. Results indicated statistical significance for experimental versus control groups, for older versus younger subgroups, and between the first and second, and first and third visits. Differences in stuttering severity were not associated with statistically significant differences in awareness scores. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.

Genetic bases of stuttering: the state of the art, 2011.

Objective: The literature on the genetics of stuttering is reviewed with special reference to the historical development from psychosocial explanations leading up to current biological research of gene identification. Summary: A gradual progression has been made from the early crude methods of counting percentages of stuttering probands who have relatives who stutter to recent studies using entire genomes of DNA collected from each participant. Despite the shortcomings of some early studies, investigators have accumulated a substantial body of data showing a large presence of familial stuttering. This encouraged more refined research in the form of twin studies. Concordance rates among twins were sufficiently high to lend additional support to the genetic perspective of stuttering. More sophisticated aggregation studies and segregation analyses followed, producing data that matched recognized genetic models, providing the final ‘go ahead’ to proceed from the behavior/statistical genetics into the sphere of biological genetics. Recent linkage and association studies have begun to reveal contributing genes to the disorder. Conclusion: No definitive findings have been made regarding which transmission model, chromosomes, genes, or sex factors are involved in the expression of stuttering in the population at large. Future research and clinical implications are discussed.

The Role of Repetition Units in the Differential Diagnosis of Early Childhood Incipient Stuttering

The role of the number of repetition units as a differentiating factor in the identification of very early stuttering in young children is explored. Speech samples of 1,000 syllables each from 29 e...

Children Recovered From Stuttering Without Formal Treatment: Perceptual Assessment of Speech Normalcy

The purpose of this study was to determine if the speech of adults who self-judged that they were recovered from stuttering without the assistance of treatment is perceptually different from that o...

Incidence of hoarseness in school children over a 1 year period

Abstract Approximately 1500 school-aged children were screened for hoarseness twice within a 3-month time span. Consensus of three judges was used as the final criterion for regarding a child as having a hoarse voice quality. Results indicated that the general incidence of hoarseness was approximately 13%; however, only between 2.4% and 3.4% of the children were regarded as having a clinically significant problem. Incidence of chronic hoarseness was 5%. A year later, speech samples were obtained from 251 children who were hoarse during the first phase of this study and from an identical number of control children who did not exhibit hoarseness in the first phase. Again, a panel of three judges rated the speech samples for hoarseness. Results indicated that the incidence of hoarseness in the experimental group was considerably and significantly higher than in the control group.

Early Childhood Stuttering: Pediatricians’ Attitudes and Practices

A nationwide survey of pediatricians was conducted to assess their practices with and attitudes and beliefs about young children who stutter and their stuttering. Data obtained from 439 respondents...

Second formant transitions in fluent speech of persistent and recovered preschool children who stutter.

UNLABELLED This study investigated frequency change and duration of the second formant (F2) transitions in perceptually fluent speech samples recorded close to stuttering onset in preschool age children. Comparisons were made among 10 children known to eventually persist in stuttering, 10 who eventually recovered from stuttering, and 10 normally fluent controls. All were enrolled in the longitudinal Stuttering Research Project at the University of Illinois. Subjects fluently repeated standard experimental sentences. The same 36 perceptually fluent target segments (syllables embedded in words) from each subjects repeated sentences were analyzed. The syllables were divided into three phonetic categories based on their initial consonant: bilabial, alveolar, and velar placement. The frequency change and duration of F2 transitions were analyzed for each of the target CV segments. F2 transition onset and offset frequencies and their interval (duration) were measured for each utterance. Data indicate that near stuttering onset, children whose stuttering eventually persisted demonstrated significantly smaller frequency change than that of the recovered group. It is suggested that the F2 transitions should continue to be investigated as a possible predictor of stuttering pathways. LEARNING OUTCOMES (1) Readers will learn about studies regarding second formant transition related to stuttering. (2) Readers will learn about differences between children who persist in stuttering and those who recover from stuttering. (3) Readers will learn about research concerned with early identification of risk criteria in persistent stuttering.