Speech disfluencies in bilingual Greek-English young adults.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the frequency and types of disfluencies in Greek-English bilingual adults across naturalistic speech samples and compare frequency and types of disfluencies between the participants' L1 and L2. METHODS: Participants in the study included 26 Greek-English bilingual young adults. All participants were sequential bilinguals, whose first language was Greek and second language was English. Two speech samples were collected in each language, a conversational and a narrative sample, which were subsequently analyzed for the frequency and types of disfluencies. RESULTS: Results indicated that participants produced more typical disfluencies in English compared to Greek across speaking samples. The most frequent types of disfluencies were filled pauses and vowel prolongations (without tension or struggle) across speaking samples and languages. CONCLUSION: Our results revealed differences in the types and frequencies of disfluencies produced in participants' native compared to their second language. Results add to the growing body of literature addressing the manifestation of speech disfluencies in bilingual speakers.

Differences in auditory verbal working memory between adults who do and do not stutter on an N-back task.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate auditory verbal working memory in adults who do (AWS) and do not (AWNS) stutter using a highly demanding linguistic N-back task. METHODS: Fifteen AWS and 15 AWNS matched in age, gender and educational level were asked to hear series of words and respond by pressing a "yes" button if the word they just heard was the same as the word one, two, or three trials back. Words were either phonologically similar (i.e., Phonological Linguistic Condition) or phonologically dissimilar (i.e., Neutral Linguistic Condition). Accuracy and false alarms rates as well as reaction time on correct target trials, missed target trials and false alarms were collected and analyzed. RESULTS: Differences were not found between AWS and AWNS in accuracy. Both groups were more accurate and significantly faster in 1- followed by 2- followed by 3-back trials. However, AWS were significantly slower than AWNS in the 2-back level, regardless of linguistic condition. Furthermore, AWS demonstrated more false alarms compared to AWNS. CONCLUSION: Results revealed differences in auditory verbal working memory and interference control between AWS and AWNS when processing highly linguistically demanding stimuli.

Working memory in adults who stutter using a visual N-back task.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate working memory in adults who do (AWS) and do not (AWNS) stutter using a visual N-back task. Processes involved in an N-back task include encoding, storing, rehearsing, inhibition, temporal ordering, and matching. METHODS: Fifteen AWS (11 males, 4 females; M = 23.27 years, SD = 5.68 years) and 15 AWNS (M = 23.47 years, SD = 6.21 years) were asked to monitor series of images and respond by pressing a "yes" button if the image they viewed was the same as the image one, two, or three trials back. Stimuli included images with phonologically similar (i.e., phonological condition) or phonologically dissimilar (i.e., neutral condition) names. Accuracy and manual reaction time (mRT) were analyzed. RESULTS: No difference was found between AWS and AWNS in accuracy. Furthermore, both groups were more accurate and significantly faster in 1- followed by 2- followed by 3-back trials. Finally, AWNS demonstrated faster mRT in the phonological compared to neutral condition, whereas AWS did not. CONCLUSION: Results from this study suggest different processing mechanisms between AWS and AWNS for visually presented phonologically similar stimuli. Specifically, a phonological priming effect occurred in AWNS but not in AWS, potentially due to reduced spreading activation and organization in the mental lexicon of AWS. However, the lack of differences between AWS and AWNS across all N-back levels does not support deficits in AWS in aspects of working memory targeted through a visual N-back task; but, these results are preliminary and additional research is warranted.

The Communication Benefits of Participation in Camp Dream. Speak. Live.: An Extension and Replication.

School-based guidelines often require that treatment focuses on minimizing or eliminating stuttered speech. The purpose of this study was to examine the benefits of explicit training in communication competencies to children who stutter without targeting stuttered speech. Thirty-seven children (ages 4-16) completed Camp Dream. Speak. Live., an intensive group treatment program which targets the psychosocial needs and communication of children who stutter. Outcome measures included the Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering (OASES), the Communication Attitude Test for Preschool and Kindergarten Children Who Stutter (KiddyCAT), and the Patient Reported Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Pediatric Peer Relationships Short Form (PROMIS Peer Relationships) and Parent Proxy Peer Relationships Short Form (PROMIS Parent Proxy). Pre- and posttreatment public presentations were rated on nine core verbal and nonverbal communication competencies by a neutral observer. Similar to previous studies, participants demonstrated significant improvements in communication attitudes (OASES) and perceived ability to establish peer relationships (PROMIS Peer Relationships), particularly school-aged participants (ages 7-16). Participants also demonstrated significant improvement in eight of the nine communication competencies. Findings suggest that, in addition to the psychosocial gains of programs such as Camp Dream. Speak. Live., children who stutter benefit from explicit training in communication skills, and these gains are not dependent on the presence of stuttered speech.

Executive Control in Adults Who Stutter: The Antisaccade Task.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate executive control in adults who stutter (AWS) and adults who do not stutter (AWNS) via a nonspeech paradigm, wherein eye movements were monitored (i.e., antisaccade task). Processes involved in an antisaccade task include working memory, attention, and voluntary motor control, but the task primarily provides insight into inhibitory control. Method Seventeen AWS (14 men, three women; M = 23.41 years) and 17 AWNS (M = 23.29 years) were presented with a combination of prosaccade (i.e., looking toward a target) and antisaccade (i.e., suppress a reflexive saccade toward the target and look in the opposite direction) trials. The distance of the target from the center of the screen was also manipulated (i.e., 5.5o = short distance and 10.8o = long distance). Data for accuracy and reaction time of the first accurate saccade were collected and analyzed. Results No difference was found between AWS and AWNS in accuracy or in reaction time. Both groups were more accurate in the prosaccade than the antisaccade trials and in the long compared to the short distance trials. Furthermore, both groups demonstrated longer saccade latencies for long compared to short distances and for antisaccade compared to prosaccade trials. Conclusions Preliminary results do not support deficits in inhibition in AWS during a motorically simple, non-speech-related oculomotor task, but additional research is warranted.

Bimanual task performance: Adults who do and do not stutter.

Research has demonstrated children who stutter score significantly lower than children who do not stutter on the Purdue Pegboard Test. Past data also suggest performance on this task may be associated with stuttering frequency (Choo et al., 2016; Mohammadi et al., 2016). The purpose of this study was to explore whether these performance differences and the relationship to stuttering frequency are present in adults who stutter (AWS). Forty-eight participants (AWS = 24, and AWNS = 24) matched for age, gender, education, and handedness completed all four tasks of the Purdue Pegboard Test. There were no significant between group differences and stuttering frequency did not predict performance. These findings suggest previous differences may only be applicable to subgroups and/or that, with development, the manual tasks unique to the Purdue Pegboard Test may not be sensitive enough to reveal differences.

Genetic factors and therapy outcomes in persistent developmental stuttering.

PURPOSE: We investigated whether outcomes of therapy for persistent developmental stuttering differ in individuals who carry a mutation in one of the known genes associated with stuttering compared to individuals without such mutations. METHOD: We studied outcomes of an intensive fluency shaping-based therapy program in individuals with persistent developmental stuttering. We evaluated a cohort of 51 stuttering individuals with who carried a mutation in either the GNPTAB, GNPTG, NAGPA, or AP4E1 gene. We compared therapy outcomes in these individuals with outcomes in 51 individuals matched for age, gender, and ethnicity, who stutter and underwent the same therapy program, and did not carry a mutation in any of these genes. Fluency pre- and post-therapy was evaluated using blinded observer-based quantitative stuttering dysfluency measures (Dysfluent Words Score, DWS), and by subjects' self-reported measures of struggle, avoidance and expectancy behavior associated with speaking (Perceptions of Stuttering Inventory, PSI). The difference between pre- and post-therapy fluency scores was taken as the measure of near-term therapy efficacy. RESULTS: Comparison of fluency measures showed a strong effect of therapy overall. Mutation carriers achieved significantly less resolution in PSI following therapy, with PSI scores showing significantly less improvement in individuals who carry a mutation (p = 0.0157, RR = 1.75, OR = 2.92) while the group difference in DWS between carriers and non-carriers was statistically not significant in the present study, the trend observed in the results warrants further research focused on this important issue. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest stuttering is more resistant to therapy in individuals who carry a mutation in one of the genes known to be associated with stuttering.

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

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 Speaker's 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.

Clinical utility of self-disclosure for adults who stutter: Apologetic versus informative statements.

PURPOSE: The purpose of the present study was to explore the clinical utility of self-disclosure, particularly, whether disclosing in an informative manner would result in more positive observer ratings of the speaker who stutters than either disclosing in an apologetic manner or choosing not to self-disclose at all. METHOD: Observers (N=338) were randomly assigned to view one of six possible videos (i.e., adult male informative self-disclosure, adult male apologetic self-disclosure, adult male no self-disclosure, adult female informative self-disclosure, adult female apologetic self-disclosure, adult female no self-disclosure). Observers completed a survey assessing their perceptions of the speaker they viewed immediately after watching the video. RESULTS: Results suggest that self-disclosing in an informative manner leads to significantly more positive observer ratings than choosing not to self-disclose. In contrast, use of an apologetic statement, for the most part, does not yield significantly more positive ratings than choosing not to self-disclose. CONCLUSION: Clinicians should recommend their clients self-disclose in an informative manner to facilitate more positive observer perceptions.

Stuttering on function words in bilingual children who stutter: A preliminary study.

Evidence suggests young monolingual children who stutter (CWS) are more disfluent on function than content words, particularly when produced in the initial utterance position. The purpose of the present preliminary study was to investigate whether young bilingual CWS present with this same pattern. The narrative and conversational samples of four bilingual Spanish- and English-speaking CWS were analysed. All four bilingual participants produced significantly more stuttering on function words compared to content words, irrespective of their position in the utterance, in their Spanish narrative and conversational speech samples. Three of the four participants also demonstrated more stuttering on function compared to content words in their narrative speech samples in English, but only one participant produced more stuttering on function than content words in her English conversational sample. These preliminary findings are discussed relative to linguistic planning and language proficiency and their potential contribution to stuttered speech.

The Effects of Self-Disclosure on Male and Female Perceptions of Individuals Who Stutter.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of self-disclosure on observers' perceptions of persons who stutter. METHOD: Participants (N = 173) were randomly assigned to view 2 of 4 possible videos (i.e., male self-disclosure, male no self-disclosure, female self-disclosure, and female no self-disclosure). After viewing both videos, participants completed a survey assessing their perceptions of the speakers. RESULTS: Controlling for observer and speaker gender, listeners were more likely to select speakers who self-disclosed their stuttering as more friendly, outgoing, and confident compared with speakers who did not self-disclose. Observers were more likely to select speakers who did not self-disclose as unfriendly and shy compared with speakers who used a self-disclosure statement. Controlling for self-disclosure and observer gender, observers were less likely to choose the female speaker as friendlier, outgoing, and confident compared with the male speaker. Observers also were more likely to select the female speaker as unfriendly, shy, unintelligent, and insecure compared with the male speaker and were more likely to report that they were more distracted when viewing the videos. CONCLUSION: Results lend support to the effectiveness of self-disclosure as a technique that persons who stutter can use to positively influence the perceptions of listeners.

The Client's Perspective on Voluntary Stuttering.

PURPOSE: Voluntary stuttering is a strategy that has been suggested for use in the clinical literature but has minimal empirical data regarding treatment outcomes. The purpose of the present study is to explore client perspectives regarding the impact of the use of this strategy on the affective, behavioral, and cognitive components of stuttering. METHOD: The present study used an original survey designed to explore the intended purpose. A total of 206 adults who stutter were included in the final data corpus. Responses were considered with respect to the type of voluntary stuttering the participants reportedly produced and the location of use. RESULTS: A client perceives significantly greater affective, behavioral, and cognitive benefits from voluntary stuttering when the production is closely matched to the client's actual stutter and when it is used outside the clinical environment. CONCLUSIONS: To enhance client perception of associated benefits, clinicians should encourage use of voluntary stuttering that closely matches the client's own stuttering. Clinicians should also facilitate practice of voluntary stuttering outside of the therapy room. Finally, clinicians should be aware that clients, at least initially, may not perceive any benefits from the use of this strategy.

Veridical and false recall in adults who stutter.

PURPOSE: This study used a false memory paradigm to explore the veridical and false recall of adults who stutter. METHOD: Twelve adults who stutter and 12 age-matched typically fluent peers listened to and then verbally recalled lists of words that consisted of either semantic or phonological associates or an equal number of semantic and phonological associates (i.e., hybrid condition) of a single, unpresented critical "lure" word. Three parameters of recall performance were measured across these 3 conditions: (a) number of accurately recalled words, (b) order of recall (primacy vs. recency effect), and (c) number of critical lures produced (i.e., false memories). RESULTS: Significant group differences were noted in recall accuracy specific to list type and also list position as well as relative to critical lure productions. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that certain basic memory processes (i.e., recency effect) and the processing of gist semantic information are largely intact in adults who stutter, but recall of verbatim phonological information and subvocal rehearsal may be deficient.