Geoffrey A. Coalson

Description of multilingual participants who stutter

PURPOSE The purpose of this review was to examine the descriptions of multilingual participants provided in stuttering literature to determine how frequently and consistently relevant factors of language profile are reported. METHOD We conducted a systematic search of published studies that included multilingual participants who stutter and reviewed the level of detail provided regarding language history, function, proficiency, stability, mode, accent, covert speech, and affective factors. RESULTS Twenty-three studies qualified to be included in the systematic review, consisting of 342 different multilingual stuttering participants. Of these 23 studies, the most frequently reported information included language proficiency (70%), history (56%), and function (43%). The specificity of the information used to define these factors was inconsistent. Affect was mentioned in 22% of studies, and language stability, mode, and accent information was included in less than 10% of the studies. CONCLUSIONS Results demonstrate that description of multilingual stuttering participants is inadequate and inconsistent. A recommended framework is provided for future studies to facilitate cross-study comparisons and enhance our ability to interpret the manifestation of stuttering in multilingual participants. EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES The reader will be able to: (a) summarize the current validity of cross-study comparisons in available research of multilingual participants who stutter; (b) describe the range of language factors to be included when providing descriptions of multilingual participants who stutter; (c) discuss the importance of consistency when describing language profiles of multilingual research participants.

The influence of phonetic complexity on stuttered speech

The primary purpose of this study was to re-examine the influence of phonetic complexity on stuttering in young children through the use of the Word Complexity Measure (WCM). Parent–child conversations were transcribed for 14 children who stutter (mean age = 3 years, 7 months; SD = 11.20 months). Lexical and linguistic factors were accounted for during the analysis. Results indicate that phonetic complexity, as measured by WCM, did not exhibit a significant influence on the likelihood of stuttering. Findings support previous data that suggest stuttering in preschool-age children does not appear significantly related to phonetic complexity of the production.

Metrical Encoding in Adults Who Do and Do Not Stutter

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to explore metrical aspects of phonological encoding (i.e., stress and syllable boundary assignment) in adults who do and do not stutter (AWS and AWNS, respectively). METHOD Participants monitored nonwords for target sounds during silent phoneme monitoring tasks across two distinct experiments. For Experiment 1, the 22 participants (11 AWNS, 11 AWS) silently monitored target phonemes in nonwords with initial stress. For Experiment 2, an additional cohort of 22 participants (11 AWNS, 11 AWS) silently monitored phonemes in nonwords with noninitial stress. RESULTS In Experiment 1, AWNS and AWS silently monitored target phonemes in initial stress stimuli with similar speed and accuracy. In Experiment 2, AWS demonstrated a within-group effect that was not present for AWNS. They required additional time when monitoring phonemes immediately following syllable boundary assignment in stimuli with noninitial stress. There was also a between-groups effect, with AWS exhibiting significantly greater errors identifying phonemes in nonwords with noninitial stress than AWNS. CONCLUSIONS Findings suggest metrical properties may affect the time course of phonological encoding in AWS in a manner distinct from AWNS. Specifically, in the absence of initial stress, metrical encoding of the syllable boundary may delay speech planning in AWS and contribute to breakdowns in fluent speech production.

Nonword repetition in adults who stutter: The effects of stimuli stress and auditory-orthographic cues

Purpose Adults who stutter (AWS) are less accurate in their immediate repetition of novel phonological sequences compared to adults who do not stutter (AWNS). The present study examined whether manipulation of the following two aspects of traditional nonword repetition tasks unmask distinct weaknesses in phonological working memory in AWS: (1) presentation of stimuli with less-frequent stress patterns, and (2) removal of auditory-orthographic cues immediately prior to response. Method Fifty-two participants (26 AWS, 26 AWNS) produced 12 bisyllabic nonwords in the presence of corresponding auditory-orthographic cues (i.e., immediate repetition task), and the absence of auditory-orthographic cues (i.e., short-term recall task). Half of each cohort (13 AWS, 13 AWNS) were exposed to the stimuli with high-frequency trochaic stress, and half (13 AWS, 13 AWNS) were exposed to identical stimuli with lower-frequency iambic stress. Results No differences in immediate repetition accuracy for trochaic or iambic nonwords were observed for either group. However, AWS were less accurate when recalling iambic nonwords than trochaic nonwords in the absence of auditory-orthographic cues. Conclusions Manipulation of two factors which may minimize phonological demand during standard nonword repetition tasks increased the number of errors in AWS compared to AWNS. These findings suggest greater vulnerability in phonological working memory in AWS, even when producing nonwords as short as two syllables.

Phonetic complexity of words immediately following utterance-initial productions in children who stutter

PURPOSE The purpose of the present study was to analyze phonetic complexity in the speech of children who stutter in a manner distinct from previous research with specific emphasis on three methodological considerations: (1) analysis of the word immediately following the initial word in the utterance; (2) accounting for other additional linguistic and lexical factors; and (3) discrimination of disfluency types produced. METHODS Parent-child conversations were transcribed for 14 children who stutter (mean age=3 years, 7 months; SD=11.20 months) and coded for phonetic complexity using the Word Complexity Measure (WCM). Phonetic complexity of words immediately following the initial fluent or stuttered words of an utterance were included within binomial regression analyses, along with additional linguistic and lexical factors. RESULTS Analyses indicate that the phonetic complexity of the second word of an utterance was not a significant contributor to the likelihood of whole- or part-word repetitions on the preceding initial word of the utterance. CONCLUSION Findings support previous data that suggest the phonetic complexity of speech, at least as measured by the WCM, does not distinctly influence stuttered speech in preschool-age children.

Exploring the Effectiveness of an Intensive Treatment Program for School-Age Children Who Stutter, Camp Dream. Speak. Live.: A Follow-up Study

&NA; The purpose of this follow‐up study was to explore the effectiveness of an intensive treatment program— Camp Dream. Speak. Live.—within older, school‐age children who stutter. Twenty‐three school‐age children who stutter (age range: 7‐14 years) attended this week‐long intensive therapy program for the first time. Outcome measures included Overall Assessment of the Speakers Experience of Stuttering and the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Pediatric Peer Relationships Form. Findings demonstrate significant improvements in quality of life and communication attitudes can be achieved in a short period of time when increasing fluency is not a target.

A Kinematic Analysis of Coarticulation Effects on Schwa

Purpose: This study investigated coarticulatory effects on schwa. The purpose was to establish a viable phonetic environment and analysis for future studies of coarticulation, particularly in motor speech disorders. Method: Seven female adults read 2 phrases containing 4 target words in a CVC structure embedded in the carrier phrases, “Put a CVC here” and “Get CVC a puppy.” A 3D electromagnetic articulography system was used to track lingual movements during schwa production. Two indices of coarticulation were employed: (a) tongue position difference between the temporal midpoint (grand mean of each speaker) and the onset/offset of schwa immediately following or preceding a transconsonantal vowel and (b) tongue position differences between the grand mean of each speaker and each utterance repetition, both measured at the temporal midpoint of the schwa. Results: Both measures indicated that schwa is significantly influenced by transconsonantal corner vowels. The magnitude of coarticulation effects on schwa varied among the 4 corner vowels in the order of /i/>/ɑ/ = /æ/>/u/. Conclusion: Findings support the use of schwa in future studies when examining coarticulatory effects in people with and without motor speech disorders. Some methodological issues such as selection of measurement points and speech stimuli are also discussed.

Segmental and metrical complexity during non-word repetition in adults who stutter

ABSTRACT Non-word repetition is weaker for adults who stutter (AWS) compared to adults who do not stutter (AWNS) as phonological demands increase. However, non-word stimuli used in previous studies varied by length, but did not vary with regard to segmental or metrical complexity. The purpose of the present study was to examine the unique influence of these two distinct types of complexity on non-word repetition in AWS and AWNS via administration of the Test of Phonological Structure (TOPhS). Twenty-four adults (12 AWNS, 12 AWS) repeated 96 non-words within a soundproof booth immediately after auditory presentation. All 96 non-word targets included on the TOPhS were one to four syllables in length and ranked based on segmental complexity (simple, moderate and complex) and metrical complexity (simple, moderate and complex). No main effect of metrical complexity was detected between groups, and no differences in accuracy were observed for non-words with simple or moderate segmental complexity. However, AWS were significantly more likely to produce a phonemic error when repeating words with complex segmental structure than AWNS, irrespective of metrical complexity. Segmental complexity may contribute to the differences in phonological working memory in AWS when controlling for metrical complexity and length.

The effect of phonetic complexity on the speed of single-word productions in adults who do and do not stutter

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of phonetic complexity as measured by the Word Complexity Measure (WCM) on the speed of single-word production in adults who do (AWS, n=15) and do not stutter (AWNS, n=15). METHOD Participants were required to name pictures of high versus low phonetic complexity and balanced for lexical properties. Speech reaction time was recorded from initial presentation of the picture to verbal response of participant for each word type. Accuracy and fluency were manually coded for each production. RESULTS AWS named pictures significantly slower than AWNS, but there were no significant differences observed in response latency when producing word of high versus low phonetic complexity as measured by the WCM. CONCLUSION Findings corroborate past research of overall slowed picture naming latencies in AWS, compared to AWNS. Findings conflict with data that suggest that the phonetic complexity of words uniquely compromises the speed of production in AWS. The potential interaction between lexical and phonetic factors on single-word production within each group are discussed.

Uniqueness Point Effects during Speech Planning in Adults Who Do and Do Not Stutter

Background/Aims: Previous studies employing a variety of tasks have demonstrated that adults who stutter (AWS) present with phonological encoding differences compared to adults who do not stutter (AWNS). The present study examined whether atypical preverbal monitoring also influenced AWS performance during one such paradigm – the silent phoneme monitoring task. Specifically, we investigated whether monitoring latencies for AWS were accelerated after the word’s uniqueness point – the phoneme that isolates the word from all lexical competitors – as observed for AWNS when monitoring internal and external speech. Methods: Twenty adults (10 AWS, 10 AWNS) completed a silent phoneme monitoring task using stimuli which contained either (a) early uniqueness points (EUP), (b) late uniqueness points, or (c) no uniqueness point (NUP). Response latency when identifying word-final phonemes was measured. Results: AWNS exhibited the expected uniqueness point effect when monitoring internal speech; word-final phonemes were accessed more rapidly for words with EUP than NUP. In contrast, AWS did not differ in the phoneme monitoring speed. That is, AWS did not exhibit the expected uniqueness point effects. Conclusion: Findings suggest that inefficient or atypical preverbal monitoring may be present in AWS and support theories that implicate the internal speech monitor as an area of deficit.